You can speed up performance for programs that frequently read from and write to the disk by using a RAM disk. A RAM disk allows you to use part of the built-in random-access memory (RAM) in your computer as a high-speed storage disk.

Note: Using a RAM disk also conserves battery power on portable computers.

Creating a RAM disk

To create a RAM disk:

•	Turn on the RAM disk option and adjust the RAM disk size in the Memory control panel, then restart the computer. Open the Memory control panel for me.

On certain computers, such as PowerBooks, you can select the "Save on Shut Down" option in the Memory control panel to save the contents of your RAM disk.

WARNING: If "Save on Shut Down" is not selected in the Memory control panel, the contents of your computer's RAM disk are erased when you turn off the computer. Be sure to copy the contents of your RAM disk onto your hard disk before turning off the computer.

Erasing the contents of a RAM disk

To erase a RAM disk:

1	Double-click the RAM disk icon to open it.
2	Copy any file you want to save onto a hard disk or floppy disk.
3	Drag everything on the RAM disk to the Trash.
4	Open the Special menu and choose Empty Trash.

Note: Erasing a RAM disk does not remove its icon or make memory available. To free the memory that the RAM disk is using, you need to remove the RAM disk and restart the computer.

Resizing a RAM disk

To resize a RAM disk:

•	Erase the contents of the RAM disk, then adjust the RAM disk size in the Memory control panel and restart the computer.

Removing a RAM disk

To remove a RAM disk:

•	Erase the contents of the RAM disk, then turn off the RAM disk in the Memory control panel and restart the computer.

Related topic

Adjusting your memory usage