[comp.sys.mac.system] Flashing "Largest Unused Block"?

jlhaferman@l_cae07.icaen.uiowa.edu (Jeffrey Lawrence Haferman) (06/12/90)

A friend has a MacIIx with system 6.0.4 installed.  We did
an "about the finder" and the largest unused block number was
flashing, and would alternate between 7122 K and 7130 K.  We 
closed all applications and all windows, and did the "about..."
again, and the "largest unused block" was constant.  We then
double clicked on his hard disk icon, which opened up a single
window, did the "about..." again, and the largest unused block
number was again flashing, alternating between numbers.  The difference
between the two numbers was again 8 K.  

What is happening here?  I've got an SE with a measly 1 Meg of RAM,
so I haven't the foggiest about those goofy Mac IIs.

He also had RAM cache turned on, if that makes a difference.


Jeff Haferman                            internet: jlhaferman@icaen.uiowa.edu
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Iowa
Iowa City IA  52240

pattersw@cs.rpi.edu (William Patterson) (06/13/90)

I have the same thing on my IIcx (4meg RAM, cache on, 5 or 6 inits).
Cause completely unknown.

-- 

-----------------------------------
Bill Patterson
pattersw@turing.cs.rpi.edu

Computer Science Department
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY.
-----------------------------------

adam@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Adam Glass) (06/13/90)

In article <3$?$A_|@rpi.edu> pattersw@cs.rpi.edu (William Patterson) writes:
>I have the same thing on my IIcx (4meg RAM, cache on, 5 or 6 inits).
> Cause completely unknown.

I've also noticed it on my '851 II, but only when MF is running.  I
don't know why the largest block size is changing, only that (for me)
it only changes whem multifinder is active.

Adam

chewy@apple.com (Paul Snively) (06/14/90)

In article <1671@ns-mx.uiowa.edu> jlhaferman@l_cae07.icaen.uiowa.edu 
(Jeffrey Lawrence Haferman) writes:
> A friend has a MacIIx with system 6.0.4 installed.  We did
> an "about the finder" and the largest unused block number was
> flashing, and would alternate between 7122 K and 7130 K.  We 
> closed all applications and all windows, and did the "about..."
> again, and the "largest unused block" was constant.  We then
> double clicked on his hard disk icon, which opened up a single
> window, did the "about..." again, and the largest unused block
> number was again flashing, alternating between numbers.  The difference
> between the two numbers was again 8 K.  
> 
> What is happening here?  I've got an SE with a measly 1 Meg of RAM,
> so I haven't the foggiest about those goofy Mac IIs.

Relax.  All it means is that something is (temporarily) using some of 
MultiFinder's free memory and letting it go again.  The Finder itself is 
probably the culprit--for example, copying files under MultiFinder 
temporarily changes the "largest unused block" because it grabs its 
buffers for doing the copies from that free space.

__________________________________________________________________________
                                Paul Snively
                      Macintosh Developer Technical Support
                             Apple Computer, Inc.

chewy@apple.com

Just because I work for Apple Computer, Inc. doesn't mean that I believe 
what they believe, or vice-versa.
__________________________________________________________________________

EY28@LIVERPOOL.AC.UK (06/14/90)

I have seen this on my SE (multifinder on) for sometime, although I have
never managed to stop the numbers changing. The amount of memory taken up
by the system also flashes betweentwo numbers..... about 8 K difference.

I hope this is nothing sinister!
______________________________________________________________________
 Andy Calder, Dept. Materials Science. Liverpool University England
 EMAIL: EY28@LIVERPOOL.UK.AC    ____________________________________
 PHONE: 051-794-5364           ! THE MOON SPEAKS ENGLISH?           !
   FAX: 051-794-4675           !                    TRUE OR FALSE?  !