Yeah, the system will run much cooler and faster with the CF instead of the hard drive. But like a large hard drive, there are limits as to what you can put in and set up.
Anything from OS 8 and below needs partitions of less than 2GB. This is the limitation of the Mac HFS Partition Map. Many say that a partition of 1.7GB works best. I prefer running with round numbers like 1.5GB and 500MB (.5GB). Makes it easier in the head with the math.
From OS 8.1 to 9.22, you use HFS+ which gives you up to 4GB of Partition space. Again, work with smaller partitions like 3.75GB.
From here a couple of problems happen:
1) System 7 to 8.0 will not be able to see HFS+ Partitions.
2) Nor can you create a HFS+ Partition and put System 7 to 8.0 in it and expect it to work, it wont.
3) You can not use Norton Disk Doctor or Apple's DiskFix programs from System 7 to 8.0 to work on HFS+. You will scramble that partition's data into unless binary data if you do. You need to run the right programs for the right partitions.
For a Color Classic, which is a 68K 030 CPU, 8GB is a big large. You can fit the entire 68K Mac software Library on 4GB... LOL! Don't let it deter you how ever. Partition the CF into the right sized slices and you should have no problems with it.
Problems with the CF:
- Like any SSD, a CF is limited to the number or writes to it, about 1million writes per cell. This averages to about 5 to 10 years of use. And when the CF begins to fail, it becomes a ROM like your CDs and DVD and you wont be able write to it. So after a (LONG!) while of writing to a file, it will no longer be writable anymore.
For me, I got a couple of Macs and PC Laptops with CFs in them as hard drives older than 15 years, and they are still working!
- Name Brands count. Beware of counterfeit CFs out there. I have a few trusted sources where I get my CFs. Counterfeit CFs do not give you the advertised Speed and Space of a NameBrand CF. They also do not last as long.
- Beware of Used CFs. You do not know how many times it has been written or how old the CF is, so therefore you do not know how long it will last when you have it.
Back to the limited number of Writes any SSD has, you need to do a couple of things:
- Max the RAM in your machine.
- Disable Virtual RAM on your machine. You can use it and it will run faster than a hard drive, but you are ranking up the number of writes to it quickly.
- Turn off any System Logging the OS has. This is more true for OSX than Mac OS.
- The bigger the CF, the longer it will last as larger CFs have more writable cycles to them.
- BEWARE OF STATIC ELECTRICITY!!! Nothing fries a CF more than a static shock. A Power surge can also kill a CF (along with the rest of the machine before it).
I think you will enjoy using the CF and wonder why you have not used them before.
Anything from OS 8 and below needs partitions of less than 2GB. This is the limitation of the Mac HFS Partition Map. Many say that a partition of 1.7GB works best. I prefer running with round numbers like 1.5GB and 500MB (.5GB). Makes it easier in the head with the math.
From OS 8.1 to 9.22, you use HFS+ which gives you up to 4GB of Partition space. Again, work with smaller partitions like 3.75GB.
From here a couple of problems happen:
1) System 7 to 8.0 will not be able to see HFS+ Partitions.
2) Nor can you create a HFS+ Partition and put System 7 to 8.0 in it and expect it to work, it wont.
3) You can not use Norton Disk Doctor or Apple's DiskFix programs from System 7 to 8.0 to work on HFS+. You will scramble that partition's data into unless binary data if you do. You need to run the right programs for the right partitions.
For a Color Classic, which is a 68K 030 CPU, 8GB is a big large. You can fit the entire 68K Mac software Library on 4GB... LOL! Don't let it deter you how ever. Partition the CF into the right sized slices and you should have no problems with it.
Problems with the CF:
- Like any SSD, a CF is limited to the number or writes to it, about 1million writes per cell. This averages to about 5 to 10 years of use. And when the CF begins to fail, it becomes a ROM like your CDs and DVD and you wont be able write to it. So after a (LONG!) while of writing to a file, it will no longer be writable anymore.
For me, I got a couple of Macs and PC Laptops with CFs in them as hard drives older than 15 years, and they are still working!
- Name Brands count. Beware of counterfeit CFs out there. I have a few trusted sources where I get my CFs. Counterfeit CFs do not give you the advertised Speed and Space of a NameBrand CF. They also do not last as long.
- Beware of Used CFs. You do not know how many times it has been written or how old the CF is, so therefore you do not know how long it will last when you have it.
Back to the limited number of Writes any SSD has, you need to do a couple of things:
- Max the RAM in your machine.
- Disable Virtual RAM on your machine. You can use it and it will run faster than a hard drive, but you are ranking up the number of writes to it quickly.
- Turn off any System Logging the OS has. This is more true for OSX than Mac OS.
- The bigger the CF, the longer it will last as larger CFs have more writable cycles to them.
- BEWARE OF STATIC ELECTRICITY!!! Nothing fries a CF more than a static shock. A Power surge can also kill a CF (along with the rest of the machine before it).
I think you will enjoy using the CF and wonder why you have not used them before.