How do I allocate more memory to a program?
Highlight the program's icon, and press Amiga+i, this will show you the Get Info (see picture 5.1 and picture 5.2 ) window. At the bottom of this window are the memory allocation boxes. Only amend the Preferred Memory field, it and your figure should be bigger than the Suggested Memory number (values in Kilobytes).
Should you need to alter a program's memory allocation parameters which is located on a CD, such as Norton's Speed Disk (a disk optimiser), then what you need is AppSizer. It can be downloaded from the any Mac web shareware site. It will allow you to edit the program's memory allocation.
Is it possible to use the RAM Disk feature in the Memory Control Panel?
No, it doesn't work with emulation, certainly not with Shapeshifter anyway (not sure about Fusion). It will induce an immediate crash, and will reboot your Amiga. This could also cause Mac emulation not to work next time round. Don't worry, the RAM Disk is switched OFF after the System is installed. See picture 5.3 for the Memory Control Panel.
How much memory does System 7.x & System 8.x take up?
System 7.0 to 7.55 will take up between 4 and 5 megabytes of RAM - this is for an average to heavy use of system Extensions, of course, it could be slightly more, depending on your System setup.
System 8 and 8.1, will take up about 200-300% more memory than MacOS 7.x. A minimum System, that is using only 10-20 or so Extensions, will take up approximately 6-8mb, while a medium to heavy amount of system Extensions (including Control Panels) will be anywhere between 10 and 15mb of RAM!
So, if you're thinking of installing MacOS 8 at some point, it's best to upgrade your RAM as well - I think 16mb, allocated to Mac emulation, under System 8, is the bare minimum - 32mb or more (total memory in your Amiga) is best for heavy Mac use. See picture 5.4, for memory used on typical programs & OS.
Will Mac emulation suffer from Memory Fragmentation, as real Macs do?
Yes and no. Although there will be a small amount of fragmentation (lost memory or 'memory leak'), you really shouldn't be that concerned, as the Amiga handles fragmentation very well. This means that you can quit any program, in any sequence, at will, and you'll still have 99% of your allocated memory available. Note that, in emulation, the amount of lost memory is measured in a few kilobytes, rather than megabytes on real Macs!
Is there a utility that can display exactly what is currently in memory, for the Mac?
Yes there is. What you need, is a utility called Memory Mapper from Street Logic Software. This neat program, displays all programs and the System currently in use, by name and by a coloured graph, try it!
How come my Mac's System is taking up most of the memory now?
This affects older versions of 68k Amigas (68000/020EC) & all System 7 revisions. These processors can only access 24bit memory or 8mb of RAM. In order for it to automatically detect memory above 8mb, you need to open the Memory Control Panel (see picture 5.3) and switch 32bit Addressing to on, then restart the Mac, that's it.
Is it possible to use virtual memory or RamDoubler in Mac emulation?
Not in any version of ShapeShifter. But you can use the System's own virtual memory feature in Fusion, however I'm not sure whether RamDoubler works on either of those emulators, any comments?
RAM costs less these days, so i suggest you go out and buy more memory, ie. 16mb will be quite cosy on the Mac with Workbench running, this is assuming you're not going to run any large programs. If you are going to use Mac emulation for serious work, then I recommend you have at least 32mb of RAM, the more the merrier - remember Mac programs are memory hungry beasts.
