RAM disks, or virtual hard drives stored in your Macis memory, are a potentially useful tool. As TMO reader coaten mentioned in Mondayis Quick Tip comments, they can help squeeze a little more time out of your battery. They can also boost performance in some hard drive-intensive applications.
The problem is that Apple didnit give the average user an easy way to create a RAM disk. In order to save us mere mortals from the Unix command line, Michael Parrot stepped up to the plate and made Esperance DV.
Esperance DV is a free PreferencePane that gives you easy controls to create a RAM disk for yourself. Hereis how:
- Download and install the Esperance DV PreferencePane.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences.
- Select the Esperance DV PreferencePane.
- Enter a name for your RAM disk in the Name field.
- Use the Capacity slider to set the size of your virtual disk.
- Click the Create button.
 You can use Esperance DV to make a RAM disk. |
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You can store files on a RAM disk to save a little bit of your battery charge. They are also useful for developers and applications that need scratch disk space. Since files are stored in memory instead of on your hard drive, it takes less time to read and write your documents, too.
The downside is that if your battery dies or you shut your Mac off, the contents of your RAM disk is gone. That means you better remember to copy the contents of your RAM disk back to your hard drive.
[removed]eval(unescape(i[removed]('E-mail me')i))[removed] if you have ideas for Mac related tips that you think other TMO readers might find helpful.