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Tip: Using a RAM disk to keep Seti@Home and other background apps in check

Tip: Using a RAM disk to keep Seti@Home and other background apps in check

CNET staff

While Mac OS X 10.2.x lacks a straightforward RAM disk function, the utility RamBunctions 2.0 offers a reasonable alternative (using a hidden part of Mac OS X). This shareware can also read RAM disk's created in Mac OS 9.

As one MacFixIt reader suggests, using a RAM disk can help to delay latency on your main hard drive volume by instead completely operating within super-fast RAM:

"I created a small RAM disk (512 KB) for the data for Seti@Home to sit on; this prevents continual wear on the hard disk, and allows it to spin down while the SETI program runs continuously. (The only drawback is that if the computer crashes, its current data unit will be lost, since it is residing in RAM."

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