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The Linguist's Shoebox

Integrated data management and analysis for the field linguist

Memory requirements

How much memory do I need to open my database files in Shoebox?

To determine approximately how much random access memory (RAM) your data and the Shoebox program will need,

  1. Add the sizes of your database files in KB. (If sizes are expressed in bytes, divide by 1000. If they are expressed in MB, multiply by 1000.)
  2. Multiply that size by
    • 2.75 on Windows
    • 3.5 on the Macintosh
  3. Add the amount of memory the Shoebox program itself takes:
    • 1100 KB on Windows 3.1
    • 1600 KB on Windows 95
    • 2200 KB on the Macintosh
    • 1000 KB on the Power Macintosh (if your Power Macintosh does not have virtual memory turned on, Shoebox will take about 3900 KB)

The actual amount of installed RAM you will need to have in your computer will depend on the memory requirements of the operating system and other applications you wish to run simultaneously with Shoebox. As a general rule, a computer that runs Microsoft Office comfortably will be able to run Shoebox with a typical set of databases.

If, based on the above information, you think that your computer has enough memory to open your data in Shoebox, but Shoebox is running very slowly, read the answer to the next question.

Why is Shoebox running so slowly? Why does it take so long to open databases?

Most operations in Shoebox will be quite fast as long as the program has access to enough random access memory (RAM). When Shoebox cannot load all the data into physical RAM, it will begin to access virtual memory. When this happens, many operations will be noticeably slower. When Shoebox opens a database, it builds one or more indexes. Since this is a memory-intensive operation, opening databases is very slow if your computer does not have enough RAM available to Shoebox.

Following are some possible remedies, if Shoebox does not have access to enough memory to keep all your data in physical RAM:

Macintosh

On the Macintosh, every application is assigned a minimum and recommended (maximum) memory allocation. Even if you have adequate RAM installed in your computer, a program cannot use more than the amount allocated to it. The Shoebox Installer initially sets up the Shoebox application to use up to 8 MB of RAM (10 MB on the Power Macintosh). If the memory allocated to Shoebox is insufficient, Shoebox will begin to run slowly and might fail. To confirm that a performance problem is the result of inadequate memory allocation,

  1. Start Shoebox and open your databases.
  2. Switch to the Finder.
  3. From the Apple menu, choose About this Macintosh (or About this Computer).

A bar graph shows how much memory is allocated to Shoebox. The dark portion of the bar shows how much of that is currently used by the program and data. If the dark portion of the bar fills all or nearly all of the bar, you should consider increasing the memory allocated to Shoebox.

If you have enough memory for Shoebox and any other programs you need to run simultaneously with Shoebox, you can increase the memory allocated to Shoebox to prevent it from having to use virtual memory. To increase the RAM allocation,

  1. Quit Shoebox if it is running.
  2. In the Finder, select the Shoebox application file.
  3. From the File menu, choose Get Info (System 8.5 and later: File, Get Info, Memory).
  4. In the Info dialog box, increase the number in the lower right corner. (It will be labeled Preferred size or Current size, depending on your operating system version.)

Note that if you allocate all your memory to Shoebox itself, Shoebox Help (and other programs) will not have enough memory to run.

Shoebox Help on the Macintosh

On the Macintosh, Shoebox Help runs a separate program, which requires about 500 KB of memory. If the system does not have that much RAM available, Help cannot start. There are various ways to increase the amount of available memory:

Windows 95

To find out how much physical memory your computer has available,

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and choose Control Panel.
  2. From the Help menu (in the Control Panel), choose About Windows 95.

Physical memory available to Windows is the amount of memory Windows can use. If you calculated (see answer to previous question) that the amount of memory needed to open your databases in Shoebox is anywhere near the physical memory available, you will not be able to open those databases simultaneously without accessing virtual memory. However, if it seems you have enough RAM but Shoebox still runs slowly, you might be able to keep it from accessing virtual memory by closing other applications or by reducing the size of the disk cache.

By default, Windows will often use 25% of your RAM as a disk cache. If you have 32 MB of RAM or more, try setting the cache size at a fixed number. We recommend 4 MB for systems with less than 48 MB of RAM, and 8 MB for those with 48 MB or more. Here is how to set it up:

  1. Run SysEdit. (Click the Start button and choose Run. In the Open box, type SysEdit, and press Enter.)
  2. Click in the system.ini window.
  3. Scroll down to the [vcache] section. If this section heading does not exist, type [vcache] as a new section heading.
  4. If you have 48 MB of RAM or less, enter these two lines:
    MinFileCache=0
    MaxFileCache=4096
    If you have more than 48 MB of RAM, enter these two lines:
    MinFileCache=0
    MaxFileCache=8192
  5. From the File menu, choose Save.
  6. From the File menu, choose Exit.
  7. Restart Windows.

Windows 3.1

To find out how much physical memory your computer has available, from the Help menu (in Program Manager), choose About Program Manager. Near the bottom of the About box is a number labeled Memory.

Physical memory available to Windows is the amount of memory Windows can use. If you calculated (see answer to previous question) that the amount of memory needed to open your databases in Shoebox is anywhere near the physical memory available, you will not be able to open those databases simultaneously without accessing virtual memory. However, if it seems you have enough RAM but Shoebox still runs slowly, you might be able to keep it from accessing virtual memory by closing other applications or by reducing the size of the disk cache. To reduce the size of the disk cache:

  1. Run Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Enhanced.
  3. Click Virtual Memory.
  4. Click Change.
  5. Decrease the size of the disk cache to the desired level.
  6. Click OK two times.
  7. Restart your computer.

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