FAQS! FACTS! FAX! 037 (17/12/96)

MAC CACHE

I’ve been given conflicting advice about how to set the disk cache on my recently   acquired Apple Mac Quadra 840. What would be the correct value for a machine with 8 Mb RAM ?

D. C. M., Middlesbrough

A

Disk cache can have a big influence on how efficiently your Mac operates, especially when it comes to processing repetitive and routine tasks. A bug in System 7 (and below) puts the upper limit at 512k, if you set it any higher the machine will slow down. There’s no such restriction on System 7.5 but in both cases the usual advice is to allocate 32k of cache for every megabyte of RAM memory. The correct setting in your case would be 256k, but don’t take that as gospel. Try other values either side, and note how the machine performs. You may well find a higher or lower setting works better, depending on the software you’re using and how you work.

US U/S

I cannot get my PC to connect with a colleagues computer in the USA although the modem works perfectely well for other uses. We are both using PC Anywhere software and US Robotics 28,000 Sportster modems but he uses Windows 3.1 while I have Windows 95. The connection is made but the US PC answers, then hangs up. I have tried various script files, and reducing the baud rate to as low as 1200 without success.

D. W., Watford

A

Check first that you’re using the same or compatible versions of PC Anywhere. PCA 2.0 for Windows definitely works with PCA 5.0 for DOS and PCA 7.0 for Windows 95, but other permutations, especially if it involves an older version, can be troublesome. Conflicts have been reported on PCs with Windows 95 installed on top of  Windows 3.1, this might involve editing the SYSTEM. INI file on your colleagues machine. For more information about how to do that, plus several other possible remedies and more specific help from their technical support people, check out the Symantec web site at: http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/pca.html#dg

APPLE SOURCES

Further to the enquiry from R.H. (FFF 03/12/96), regarding transferring data from old Apple II floppy discs, there is another method. Apple II emulators can be found on the internet. They’re available for the following platforms: MS-DOS, MS-Windows (16 & 32 bit), Linux, Macintosh, Atari, Amiga and probably others too.  I am familiar with the PC based versions and prefer the DOS program ApplePC; Windows based AppleWin is easier to use but does not  have as much functionality, nor is it as quick. As the gentleman has a Mac, he could use STM or ‘Stop The Madness’. Apple emulators and FAQs can be found at http://www.asimov.net/apple_II/site.

J. L. F., via e-mail

MORE HELP

Apple II is far from dead, in spite of no support at all from either Apple in the UK or in the States. The last version of the Apple II was the IIGS, and there is a lively IIGS user group in the UK, plus other local support groups. On CompuServe there is an Apple II Users Forum, and a message posted here will usually receive a rapid and knowledgable response. The British Apple IIGS Club, they can be reached at: The Lilacs, Luxted Road, Downe, Orpington, Kent BR6 7JS. Tel. 01689 857085

H. N., London

A

Thanks to everyone who responded to this item with advice and the many offers of help, they have been passed on to R.H.