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    can someone explain the istat pro widget - memory in particular

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by MightyAimetti, Oct 8, 2007.

  1. MightyAimetti

    MightyAimetti Notebook Consultant

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    can someone explain what these mean for the memory portion of istat pro
    i dont really understand- if my inactive memory is 1.16GB and my FREE is only 25MB ??? i dont get it.. also my bar under those is a little under 1/2 way full

    wired
    active
    inactive
    free

    and the bar
     
    MightyAimetti, Oct 8, 2007
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  2. Sam

    Sam Notebook Virtuoso

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    Well, basically the wired and active RAM are in use, and inactive and free RAM are not. So yes, that 1.16 GB of inactive memory is not being used, and is free.
     
    Sam, Oct 8, 2007
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  3. MightyAimetti

    MightyAimetti Notebook Consultant

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    are inactive and free the same thing?

    why is one 1.16 gb and my free all the way down to 25MB sometimes
     
    MightyAimetti, Oct 8, 2007
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  4. Sam

    Sam Notebook Virtuoso

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    Well, I'm not too familiar in this area myself, but as far as I know, inactive RAM is RAM that was used sometime ago, for some application or such, and now it is no longer in use, so it is labeled inactive. And free RAM is RAM that has not been used at all since the last restart.
     
    Sam, Oct 8, 2007
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  5. Paul

    Paul Mom! Hot Pockets! NBR Reviewer

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    I think your inactive is memory that is being used as cache for applications and processes that aren't currently running. It allows them to open and operate faster. The free memory is memory that isn't being used for anything. I could be wrong, though, as I'm not a Mac user.
     
    Paul, Oct 8, 2007
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  6. MightyAimetti

    MightyAimetti Notebook Consultant

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    alright yea, that makes some sense... i think itunes with thousands of songs kills my RAM lol

    thanks for the replies
     
    MightyAimetti, Oct 8, 2007
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  7. Xander

    Xander Paranoid Android

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    Xander, Oct 8, 2007
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  8. MightyAimetti

    MightyAimetti Notebook Consultant

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    xander you are full of useful information lol thanks
     
    MightyAimetti, Oct 8, 2007
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