What this does is it loads the 64 bit kernel. Why do this? Well the first time you run either Lightroom or Photoshop CS4 in 64 bit kernel mode you will be a believer! Sure both of the above do indeed run faster on boiler plate Snow Leopard but in 64 bit kernel mode they run faster still!!!
Do test all your applications in 64 bit kernel mode! Not all work yet! Like Vmware Fusion! grrrr. The good news is Vmware Fusion does run nice n fast in 32 bit kernel mode on Snow leopard.
If all your applications do work in 64 bit kernel mode then you can follow the directions in the link above to force 64 bit kernel mode during boot up instead of doing the two finger trick.
Enjoy fellow macophiles!
Posted by Bill Brennan on September 6, 2009 at 11:50 AM
Thanks Rick.
Bill Brennan
Posted by Steve Tee on September 6, 2009 at 1:01 PM
Before assuming you can benefit greatly by booting into the 64-bit kernel on Mac OS X Snow Leopard, I'd suggest reading some more articles on how this technology really works. The speed benefits will not be major, and even booting into the 32-bit kernel will allow applications to run in native 64-bit mode to take advantage of more memory (this fact alone has caused lots of misconceptions). And remember, Photoshop on Mac is currently not a 64-bit application!
There's a reason this is not the default mode on Snow Leopard, so check these and numerous articles on the web before tweaking your knuckles with the 64 finger salute:
Discussion
2 repliesThe 6 and 4 key trick
What this does is it loads the 64 bit kernel. Why do this? Well the first time you run either Lightroom or Photoshop CS4 in 64 bit kernel mode you will be a believer! Sure both of the above do indeed run faster on boiler plate Snow Leopard but in 64 bit kernel mode they run faster still!!!
Do test all your applications in 64 bit kernel mode! Not all work yet! Like Vmware Fusion! grrrr. The good news is Vmware Fusion does run nice n fast in 32 bit kernel mode on Snow leopard.
If all your applications do work in 64 bit kernel mode then you can follow the directions in the link above to force 64 bit kernel mode during boot up instead of doing the two finger trick.
Enjoy fellow macophiles!
Bill Brennan
There's a reason this is not the default mode on Snow Leopard, so check these and numerous articles on the web before tweaking your knuckles with the 64 finger salute:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10330498-263.html
http://macperformanceguide.com/SnowLeopard-Performance.html
Steve