Apple Macintosh Performa 5400 Series - Manual (Page 50)

49 Using Programs and Backing Up Disks
Increasing memory available to run applications
A computer function called virtual memory allows you to open several
applications and windows at the same time by creating extra random-access
memory (RAM) on your computer’s hard disk. Virtual memory, however, can
also result in slightly slower performance. See the “Memory” topic of
Macintosh Guide, available in the Guide (h) menu, for more information.
IMPORTANT Your computer comes with virtual memory turned off. You
shouldn’t use virtual memory unless you need to keep several applications
open at once, and you should turn it off when you no longer need it. You can
turn virtual memory on or off by using the Memory control panel in the
Control Panels folder in the Apple (K) menu.
Protecting the information on a disk
When you have a valuable document like a birth certificate, you probably
make an extra copy of it for safekeeping. Similarly, you should make a copy of
the documents you create on your computer. The extra copy is called a
backup, and the process of making the copy is called backing up.
Once you have a backup, you’re protected from accidentally losing the
information on your hard disk. In the unlikely event that something happens
to your hard disk, you can easily get the information back.
Making backup copies of your documents
m You should regularly make copies of the documents you create.
m You can back up files stored on your hard disk by copying them to
floppy disks.
m You can back up an entire floppy disk by copying it to another floppy disk
of the same capacity or larger, or by copying it to a hard disk.
m If a file is too large to fit onto a single floppy disk, you need to use a
commercial backup program to copy the file onto multiple floppy disks.
m You can use a commercial backup program to copy new and changed files
from a hard disk to another hard disk, to a tape drive, or to a series of
floppy disks.
m If your computer is on a network, you may be able to back up files by
copying them to a shared disk on the network.