Storage & Memory Flashcards
6 cards from real ACMT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Storage & Memory flashcards as text
Which macOS file system is used by default on APFS volumes, and what key feature does it offer over HFS+?
Answer: APFS; space sharing between volumes in the same container and native snapshot support
APFS allows multiple volumes to share the same storage container and provides built-in snapshot capabilities, both of which HFS+ lacked.
A customer's Mac reports 'Your disk is almost full.' What is the best way to identify what is consuming the most space?
Answer: Go to Apple menu > About This Mac > Storage, or use 'du' in Terminal to identify large directories
The Storage pane in About This Mac provides a breakdown of storage categories, and the Terminal 'du' command allows granular inspection of folder sizes.
On modern Apple Silicon Macs, RAM is referred to as 'Unified Memory.' What makes it different from traditional RAM?
Answer: It is integrated on the SoC die, shared between CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine with higher bandwidth
Unified Memory is physically integrated onto Apple's SoC alongside the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine, allowing all processors to access the same high-bandwidth memory pool without copying data.
What is the consequence of attempting to upgrade RAM in an Apple Silicon MacBook?
Answer: RAM is soldered onto the SoC and cannot be upgraded—it must be configured at purchase
Apple Silicon Macs have RAM that is part of the System on a Chip (SoC) and is physically impossible to replace or upgrade after purchase.
How should a technician verify the health of an NVMe SSD in a Mac before and after replacement?
Answer: Use AST 2 storage tests and check SMART data via 'diskutil info' or System Information
AST 2 performs storage performance and health tests, and SMART data accessible via 'diskutil info /dev/disk0' shows raw drive health metrics.
A customer reports extremely slow Mac performance. System Information shows 4GB of RAM and significant 'swap used.' What is the recommended solution?
Answer: Add more RAM (if the Mac supports it) to reduce reliance on swap space
High swap usage means macOS is using the SSD as overflow for RAM, which is far slower; adding more RAM (on upgradeable Macs) eliminates the need for swap.