Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!cornell!batcomputer!itsgw!imagine!pawl18.pawl.rpi.edu!kudla
From: kudla@pawl18.pawl.rpi.edu (Robert J. Kudla)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: New User Seeks the Straight Dope on the A500
Message-ID: <364@imagine.PAWL.RPI.EDU>
Date: 15 Feb 88 01:13:38 GMT
References: <1326@edison.GE.COM> <5224@well.UUCP>
Sender: news@imagine.PAWL.RPI.EDU
Reply-To: kudla@pawl18.pawl.rpi.edu (Robert J. Kudla)
Organization: RPI Public Access Workstation Lab - Troy, NY
Lines: 35
Keywords: Disk drives, Memory Expansions, PD software and prices

In article <5224@well.UUCP> ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) writes:
>you *cannot* survive with a single drive.  Some will claim that you can copy
>most of WorkBench into RAM disk with 1 meg, and have a useable system.  They
>are wrong.  (I love blanket statements, don't you?  Let's see if I can
>justify it.)
Let's see if I can blow it up. :) For the record, I have a shiny new Amy 500
with a meg of RAM and a second disk drive on back-order (Yuck!) from 47th
street Photo.

>
>	First off, in order to copy all of WorkBench into RAM, you'll need a
>minimum of 1.5 megs.  The 500 can only be internally expanded to 1 meg.
>Second, if your machine crashes, you have to reload your RAM disk when
>re-booting.  This is a major drag.  Even with VD0: (which isn't guaranteed
>to work in the 500's expansion RAM), it's still a drag.
But you don't need ALL of Workbench. i only load about half the commands
into vd0:, and it eats maybe 250K (maybe less). And VD0 I have no problems
with; in fact, once my entire CLI survived 21 warmboots intact. 
>
>	The other side of the coin is that, if you have two drives, life
>immediately becomes much easier.  Disk copying becomes easier.  Re-boots
>will be more pleasant, since you won't need to reload a RAM disk.
>
This much is true. But many, many programs dislike  unexpanded Amys.
I use DPAINT a lot, for instance, and I'd be in trouble without a meg.

So what's the point? None whatsoever....



   ------------Robert J. Kudla - Pseudo-Freshman Extraordinaire-------------
   Screw the disclaimers- flame at will!!                Itt@RPITSMTS.BITNET
   And you may ask yourself- How do I work this?      FU7Z%mts@itsgw.rpi.edu
             (I sure as hell do...)                       kudla@pawl.rpi.edu
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