Mac Encarta 97: Readme.txt: Performance (158596)

MORE INFORMATION

Readme File

If Encarta seems to be running slowly or its audio and video clips are
choppy or interrupted, there are a number of things which may help:

If less than 6,144K of memory are free when you launch Encarta, you may
still notice some performance problems. Check the Memory Use section for
tips on freeing memory in the Read Me file on the CD ROM.

For more information, query on the following article in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE ID: Q158595

   TITLE: Mac Encarta 97: Read Me: Memory Use


INCREASE THE PREFERRED SIZE FOR ENCARTA'S MEMORY ALLOCATION.

   By default, it's set to a suggested memory size of 6,144K. If you
   have more than 8 MB of installed RAM, you can increase the amount
   of memory the program requests by quitting the application,
   clicking the Encarta 97 Encyclopedia application icon, choosing
   Get Info from the File menu, and then changing the preferred size
   in the section labeled "Memory Requirements".

   If you are using Virtual Memory to expand available memory to more
   than double your physical RAM capacity, you may find that Encarta
   runs slowly. For optimal performance, reduce Virtual Memory to its
   lowest possible level. For more details on Virtual Memory, check
   the MEMORY USE section.

ENABLE THE MODERN MEMORY MANAGER.

   On Power Macintosh computers, the Modern Memory Manager offers
   better performance than the old 68K Memory Manager because it runs
   in the native PowerPC environment and has been optimized to improve
   heap management. To turn on the Modern Memory Manager, open the
   Memory control panel, switch the Modern Memory Manager radio button
   to On, and then restart your computer.

INCREASE THE SIZE OF YOUR DISK CACHE.

   In the Memory control panel, you can set aside a portion of your
   RAM to store recently used information read from your CD-ROM drive
   or hard disk. A larger cache can improve performance considerably
   because RAM is much faster than CD-ROMs and hard disks.

   NOTE: On systems earlier than 7.5, setting your cache any higher
   than 512K will cause degraded performance. On System 7.5 and later,
   Apple recommends setting your Disk Cache to 32K per MB of
   installed RAM for optimal performance.

TURN OFF FILE SHARING.

   File Sharing turns your Macintosh into a file server, letting you
   share folders and files on your hard disk with other people on the
   network. Maintaining File Sharing, however, takes considerable
   memory and processing power and you may notice degraded performance
   when running Encarta Encyclopedia. To disable File Sharing, open
   the Sharing Setup control panel and click the "Stop" button for
   File Sharing. The button name should change to "Start".

UPGRADE TO THE LATEST SYSTEM SOFTWARE RELEASE.

   There have been several reliability and performance enhancements
   added since System 7.5.3 that improve virtual memory performance,
   particularly on launch and when switching between applications. If
   you already own System 7.5.3, these updates are available for
   download at no charge from the following Apple sites:

   http://www.apple.com/ 
   http://www.info.apple.com/swupdates/ 
   ftp://ftp.info.apple.com/Apple.Support.Area/Apple.Software.Updates/ 


Encarta is designed to work properly on a double-speed CD-ROM drive. A
triple-speed or faster CD-ROM drive will provide even better performance
in some areas. If your CD-ROM drive has a sustained transfer rate of less
than 300K/sec, it may not be able to supply audio and video information
to the Macintosh at the speed required. This problem cannot be fixed
short of upgrading to a faster CD-ROM drive. If you suspect a problem
with your drive, ensure that it is properly terminated and that its
software is properly installed. For details on SCSI termination, see
your Macintosh or CD-ROM drive documentation, or contact your Apple
dealer.

A dirty or scratched CD can cause your drive to perform poorly or
unpredictably. Make sure the bottom surface of the Encarta 97 discs
are clean and undamaged.