ok.. here is a little explanation of what the code does...
Code:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/SWAP bs=1M count=128
This command is like a copy command, but can be used to copy devices..
if= (input file) /dev/zero is a pretend file, with an infinite number of xzero's in it.
of= (output file) save the zero's to this file
bs= (block size... 1M = 1 megabyte)
count= (number of blocks to copy)
size of output file will be block size multiply count.
Code:
losetup /dev/loop1 /SWAP
losetup is a program used to setup loop devices.
a loop device is a driver that allows a revular file to be accessed asif it was a /dev/ device, like a pretend hard disk.
this will point the pretend hard disk named "loop1" to the real file /SWAP which we created earlyer.
mkswap is used to format a hard disk partiton as virtual RAM.. (swap space)
it will format /dev/loop1 which is a loop pointer to /SWAP
swapon turns ON swap space.
These commands will give linux an extra 128megs of memory, but take 128megs from your hard disk.
only the losetup command, and swapon command need to be run on each reboot.
its worth noting that although you now have all the memory you need to run things like yast,
swap memory is MUCH slower than real memory.... if your machine is unbareably slow, you may need to buy more
ram.... have a look at ebay.com for second hand memory, you only need a little extra memory... and the price of memory just keeps comming down.
