[comp.sys.apple] Expanding //e RAM

Rankins@DOCKMASTER.ARPA (08/07/87)

Can anyone tell me if it is possible to replace the 8 RAM chips on my
//e extended 80 column card (or a Microsoft Premium Softcard //e)
with 8 64K RAM chips to increase the amount of RAM on the card to 512K?
Will I be able to use the extra memory, or won't the computer be able to 
recognize it?  Mainly what I want to be able to do is use it as a
RAM drive in Prodos.  I realize programs like Appleworks won't be 
able to make use of it without special software.  Can Prodos recognize
the extra memory without requiring special software to do so?  If not, 
does anyone know of any software or Prodos patches available that will
allow Prodos to use the extra memory?

Also, does anyone know of any PD software that will add a Copy File 
command (that will allow me to copy a file from disk into RAM or to 
another disk, without having to use Prodos Filer) or any other command 
extensions to Prodos?  What about this ECP 8?  What exactly is it and
what features does it have?  Is it shareware, and if so, how can I 
get a copy of it?

                                        Thanks in advance,
                                        Ray

                                        Rankins@Dockmaster.arpa

mkao@pnet01.cts.COM (Mike Kao) (08/08/87)

I don't believe that's possible on the standard Apple RAM card. The card is
only able to accomodate 64K. Besides, 8 64K chips do NOT comprise a total of
512K! Each chip holds 64K BITS (not BYTES!!); thus, it takes a set of 8 to
comprise the whole 64K bytes. This means that 8 64K chips make up 64K, not
512K. 

To insure my reception of any replies, please respond via e-mail. Thanks!

                                                                  -- Mike Kao

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kamath@reed.UUCP (Sean Kamath) (08/08/87)

In article <870806172336.994509@DOCKMASTER.ARPA> Rankins@DOCKMASTER.ARPA writes:
>
>
>Can anyone tell me if it is possible to replace the 8 RAM chips on my
>//e extended 80 column card (or a Microsoft Premium Softcard //e)
>with 8 64K RAM chips to increase the amount of RAM on the card to 512K?
--------^^^^^^^

The extended 80 column card had 64K RAM chips on it.  The 64K is in
bits.  At this point the only chips measured in bytes are SIMMs, such as
used in the OctaRAM and the mac +.

What you mean is can you increase the amount of memory on the 80 column
card by simply replacing chips.  While some boards alow this with
special circuitry, the Apple board has no such circuitry to allow this.
Usually, the manufacturer says "Can use 64K or 256K chips ...".  Get a
Ramworks or Checkmate if you want the memory.  They are reliable and
pretty cheap, as well as coming with the software you need to modify
appleworks and make a RAM disk.

>                                        Thanks in advance,
>                                        Ray
>
>                                        Rankins@Dockmaster.arpa


Sean kamath.
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