Resource Considerations
OSs vary in the hardware resources they require. Some, such as DOS, need only a few megabytes of hard disk space and can operate with so little RAM that any new PC you might buy would have enough memory to run the OS. Others, such as Windows 2000, are designed for the high-end systems of early 2000.
In this section, I examine the varying needs of OSs for three main types of resources: disk space, memory, and central processing unit (CPU) speed. Disk space is shared between OSs, so adding new OSs increases your need for disk space; when you boot an OS, however, it takes over the memory and CPU, so adding a new OS doesn't affect your old ones with respect to these resources. Toward the end of this chapter, I also cover ...
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