Help w/ computer Lingo please?

Question

So i was told the other day that adding lots of cd's onto my mac wouldnt hog my memory. The guy said that only applications hog my memory (and i have added a few). But then said that i should get an external hard drive to make my computer run faster. so im really sorry but, WHAT? how does an external hard drive work? do i always have to have it if i want to play itunes, or would my laptop still have itunes on it? What about games? im sorry but im a novice and i just thought buying this fancy computer would be enough, but now its running slower (not slow) then when i got it, i want to start adding serious songs & photos onto my computer, but i dont understand how the harddrive works (in theory or actually).
Thanks if you can help.
macbook pro

Answer 1

First of all, props for having a Mac. :] Secondly: an external hard drive is basically something you plug into your computer (via USB or FireWire) that gives it more space, so you can put more things on it. You won't have access to the things you put on your external hard drive unless it is with you and plugged into the computer. For example, if you put your iTunes onto your external hard drive, you will only be able to use iTunes when your external drive is plugged into your computer. Same with games. If your Mac is running slowish, you should look into getting memory added. You can have anywhere between 256MB and 3GB of RAM (Random Access Memory), the 3GB makes the computer run faster. Though it can be a bit pricey, it really is worth what you spend on it.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Memory and Hard Drive space both affect the performance of your system. The less Hard Drive space you have on your system the slower the performance you get. Also if you move a lot of music on and off the system (deleting it then replacing it) or large files then fragmentation can happen and your system performance will also be affected.

The external harddrive lessens this problem because you would be storing your less utilized information on a drive that the system does not rely on to run.

What I would advice is to get a mobile firewire drive, they are small and there is no need for a power adapter or cable, you can keep it attached at all times. I would then save all large documents, movies, pictures and such to that drive.

iTunes however becomes a small dilemma, if you don't want to connect the drive to have access to your music in iTunes then it would be best to keep that music on your harddrive. You will eventually hit the storage problem if you continue to add a CD of music at a time. 1 CD is usually about 100MBs at 192 bit encoding. That can add up quickly.

As for games or applications, those should always be installed to the local harddrive and not an external harddrive. This is both for performance but also a basic recommended method.

In terms of an external harddrive it can get a bit complicated. There is the mobile firewire solution I have stated above, one wire and you can get a drive with capacity upwards on 120 GBs. You could also get a networkable solution such has a Buffalo TeraStation with drive size upward of 250GB, but this solution is not portable. So if you want to move your information around the mobile drive is your best bet.

Answer 3

"So i was told the other day that adding lots of cd's onto my mac wouldnt hog my memory."
What do you mean by adding CDs? Do you mean copying what's on the CD into the computer? If so, then yes, it wouldn't hog memory. They will however use up space on the hard disk.

"The guy said that only applications hog my memory"
Correct. Your computer needs two types of storage. One is permanent, the other is temporary. When the computer and various computer programs run, they need to remember various bits of data, and put that information somewhere. Memory, which is fast, but only temporary, works best.

You also want to save programs, music, and other files permanently to the computer. That's what a hard disk is for. It's slower than memory though, so you want to avoid forcing the computer to use the hard disk for what memory should be used for.

"But then said that i should get an external hard drive to make my computer run faster."
Now that makes no sense. You know that as more and more programs are used up, more memory gets used. Now, if the computer runs out of memory, it starts using the hard disk (remember, HD is slow). Which makes your computer look slow. Getting another hard disk isn't helping matters, obviously. You want memory, not a hard disk. So the solution is to get more memory (but only if you don't have enough).

"how does an external hard drive work?"
Just like the hard drive inside your computer. The only difference is that it is not installed inside your computer. It runs outside, and transmits data to the computer using a firewire or USB cable. Note that there is a performance loss to using an external hard drive. But you can't use an internal hard drive unless your computer physically has enough space inside for it.

"do i always have to have it if i want to play itunes, or would my laptop still have itunes on it?"
No, you're fine.

You only need to bother with another hard disk if you're running out of hard disk space. And once again, if you're computer is slowing down because memory is being used up, a hard disk doesn't help. You want memory. If you run out of hard disk space, then you need another HD.

"but now its running slower (not slow) then when i got it, i want to start adding serious songs & photos onto my computer, but i dont understand how the harddrive works"
Get more memory for sure. How much do you have right now?

As for harddrive space, how much do you have left?

Answer 4

Here's what I do: (and as an fyi, on a mac, most of your apps don't chew up memory, but big video and audio files can). We store our music, games and videos on an external hard drive. It is USB and it's 75 gigs, which is plenty for most people (you can get obscene amounts of storage that individual users don't need). Itunes will still be on your desktop harddrive, but you can store extra songs in the external hd. To play them, just open and double click, or import them or create a linked playlist.
Other things that will slow you down will be too much allocation to virtual memory (check this), you can also check for files you don't need (especially with word and excel, you get tons of backup files everytime it auto saves that chew up space).
Best of luck.

Answer 5

An external hard drive would connect via USB, and would be used for additional storage.

A hard drive works similar to an LP record, with a round disk, and a needle. The round disk is where the data is stored, and the needle (laser) "reads" the info from the drive.

There are alternate ways of keeping your computer running fast, so if you want to know what that is let me know. : }




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Answer 6

OK, I am going to tell you in laymen's terms.

An external harddrive is like your harddrive in the computer, except it is connected to the outside. You would get one that is USB compatible.

When you address the drive, it will be a different letter. (i.e. Drive E:) If you bring your laptop and ask the clerk, I'm sure he will show you how to do it.

Answer 7

2 better solutions to save you money:
1. put pictures and songs in a space/ webspace, many places online offer free website. you can upload your file to there. Use it as a stroage space instead.
2. Get a DVD/CD burner for your computer, burn pictures and songs to your DVD/CD and save space on yoru computer

Hint: your new external hard drive will soon be occupied as well if you have too much pictures and song, you soon will need another one.

Answer 8

i have about 4200 songs on my laptop & it used about 24 gb of memory. i use an external hard drive for back up in case something happens to my laptop.{i own a dj service}