WinBook xl Guía Del Usuario
Chapter Two: Basic Computing
The WinBook XL is designed to be run straight out of the box, so, if you are an experienced
computer user, you should be ready to go. You can find additional information about specific
features of your system in the chapters that follow and in the WinBook XL Help File in the
WinBook folder on your hard drive. If you are not an experienced user or are new to the
Windows 95 operating system, you should take a few minutes to read this chapter and familiarize
yourself with some basic aspects of computing with your WinBook XL.
computer user, you should be ready to go. You can find additional information about specific
features of your system in the chapters that follow and in the WinBook XL Help File in the
WinBook folder on your hard drive. If you are not an experienced user or are new to the
Windows 95 operating system, you should take a few minutes to read this chapter and familiarize
yourself with some basic aspects of computing with your WinBook XL.
RAM
RAM (Random Access Memory), also sometimes referred to as system memory, is the active
memory of your computer, where it holds programs and data that are currently in use. The more
RAM your computer has, the more space it has to run programs. Your WinBook XL came with a
certain amount of RAM (probably 8MB or 16MB), but that is not the limits of the memory used
by Windows 95. Windows 95 will set up a swap file on your hard drive to provide additional
"virtual memory." When the programs you are running need more than the memory available in
RAM on your computer, Windows 95 will "swap" some programs from RAM to that hard drive.
When those bits of memory are needed, Windows 95 will swap them back into RAM (and, if
necessary, swap other bits of memory to the hard drive). Even with the fast data bus and fast hard
drive in your WinBook XL, the reading and writing to the disk is slower than having the data
available in RAM. If you find that your computer is doing a lot of swapping and this is slowing
the response time of your computer, you should consider upgrading the memory in your
computer (see Chapter Six).
memory of your computer, where it holds programs and data that are currently in use. The more
RAM your computer has, the more space it has to run programs. Your WinBook XL came with a
certain amount of RAM (probably 8MB or 16MB), but that is not the limits of the memory used
by Windows 95. Windows 95 will set up a swap file on your hard drive to provide additional
"virtual memory." When the programs you are running need more than the memory available in
RAM on your computer, Windows 95 will "swap" some programs from RAM to that hard drive.
When those bits of memory are needed, Windows 95 will swap them back into RAM (and, if
necessary, swap other bits of memory to the hard drive). Even with the fast data bus and fast hard
drive in your WinBook XL, the reading and writing to the disk is slower than having the data
available in RAM. If you find that your computer is doing a lot of swapping and this is slowing
the response time of your computer, you should consider upgrading the memory in your
computer (see Chapter Six).
Some programs will require a lot of RAM to run. As a result, the number of programs that you
can run simultaneously will vary with the type of applications in use. Your system has ample
space to run several programs, but you should consider adding RAM if you want to use a large
number of programs simultaneously. This will optimize the performance of your WinBook XL.
can run simultaneously will vary with the type of applications in use. Your system has ample
space to run several programs, but you should consider adding RAM if you want to use a large
number of programs simultaneously. This will optimize the performance of your WinBook XL.
When you place your WinBook XL in the Suspend mode, it will use a small amount of battery
power to keep the RAM active while shutting down the other elements of your system. When
you resume using the system, your active sessions in RAM will be available just as you left
them. When swapping batteries, the built-in bridge battery will keep the RAM active while the
batteries are switched.
power to keep the RAM active while shutting down the other elements of your system. When
you resume using the system, your active sessions in RAM will be available just as you left
them. When swapping batteries, the built-in bridge battery will keep the RAM active while the
batteries are switched.
Hard Drives
The hard drive is the fixed disk, which provides the primary storage medium for your data. Most
of your programs and data will be stored on the hard drive. The capacity of your hard drive will
probably be one or more gigabytes (1 gigabyte (GB) = 1,073,741,824bytes or 1024MB). The
programs you run and the data you create will be stored on this hard drive and take up some of
that available space. Programs tend to take up a lot of disk space (some may take up over 100
megabytes, with software suites taking up considerably more), while the files that you create will
of your programs and data will be stored on the hard drive. The capacity of your hard drive will
probably be one or more gigabytes (1 gigabyte (GB) = 1,073,741,824bytes or 1024MB). The
programs you run and the data you create will be stored on this hard drive and take up some of
that available space. Programs tend to take up a lot of disk space (some may take up over 100
megabytes, with software suites taking up considerably more), while the files that you create will