DriveSpace memory issue with Win98 DOS

[Harry Potter]

I have special Win98 setups with two DOS programs and find that the DriveSpace driver eats about 80k of conventional RAM. Now, I'm pretty sure I can move parts of the driver to High RAM. My setups load the driver with just the /move switch. Is there a way to load it high? How?

[JJ]

Post by Harry Potter
I have special Win98 setups with two DOS programs and find that the DriveSpace driver eats about 80k of conventional RAM. Now, I'm pretty sure I can move parts of the driver to High RAM. My setups load the driver with just the /move switch. Is there a way to load it high? How?

Load the DRVSPACE.SYS using DEVICEHIGH after the EMM386 (or other memory
manager) has been loaded.

If it's still won't load into high memory, it means that you don't have
enough of free high memory space which are continuous. i.e. you can't load
it into high memory and split it as two 40KB memory blocks.

[Harry Potter]

Post by JJ
Load the DRVSPACE.SYS using DEVICEHIGH after the EMM386 (or other memory
manager) has been loaded.
If it's still won't load into high memory, it means that you don't have
enough of free high memory space which are continuous. i.e. you can't load
it into high memory and split it as two 40KB memory blocks.

I have virtually no upper memory left. I thought it was possible to load parts of the DriveSpace driver into the HMA.

[NimbUs]

Harry Potter dit dans news:c566c117-1183-452f-9e98-
***@googlegroups.com:
(...)

Post by Harry Potter
I have virtually no upper memory left. I thought it was

possible to load parts of the DriveSpace driver into the HMA.


Difficult to diagnose without access to your computer. Some
/national/ non-US versions of DOS 7 IO.SYS/DriveSpace have
known bugs which, precisely, prevent Drivespace from loading
itself in the HMA and cause the growing of low/upper memory.
If this is the bug you are having you must look for and find
the fix from Microsoft, which unfortunately won't be easy if
at all possible from Microsoft's sites in 2017 ! You may alos
try to "debug" and fix the bug yourself - like I did back then
before MS published a fix (and at a time when I myself had no
online network access anyway...).

P.S : IMHO you shouldn't be struggling with old unsupported
systems /unless/ you are capable and able to deal with
unavoidable problems such as this. Expecting we old usenet
aficionados to provide "push button" kind of solutions is at
best naive... IOW if you can't do systems debugging and ASM
programming, AND if it doesn't "just work" for what you want
to do, then DOS is not for you.

[Harry Potter]

NimbUs: I am familiar with DOS, but I don't know why DriveSpace won't load into the HMA. I *could* search for the fix online, but I don't know which key words to use. :(

Post by NimbUs
Difficult to diagnose without access to your computer. Some
/national/ non-US versions of DOS 7 IO.SYS/DriveSpace have
known bugs which, precisely, prevent Drivespace from loading
itself in the HMA and cause the growing of low/upper memory.
If this is the bug you are having you must look for and find
the fix from Microsoft, which unfortunately won't be easy if
at all possible from Microsoft's sites in 2017 ! You may alos
try to "debug" and fix the bug yourself - like I did back then
before MS published a fix (and at a time when I myself had no
online network access anyway...).
P.S : IMHO you shouldn't be struggling with old unsupported
systems /unless/ you are capable and able to deal with
unavoidable problems such as this. Expecting we old usenet
aficionados to provide "push button" kind of solutions is at
best naive... IOW if you can't do systems debugging and ASM
programming, AND if it doesn't "just work" for what you want
to do, then DOS is not for you.
--
Nim'

[JJ]

Post by NimbUs
P.S : IMHO you shouldn't be struggling with old unsupported
systems /unless/ you are capable and able to deal with
unavoidable problems such as this. Expecting we old usenet
aficionados to provide "push button" kind of solutions is at
best naive... IOW if you can't do systems debugging and ASM
programming, AND if it doesn't "just work" for what you want
to do, then DOS is not for you.

Actually, it applies to other things. Not just old unsupported systems.

Nowaday people tend to, and suggest others to dump a software altogether
simply because it has a problem. i.e. they avoid the problem rather than try
to fix it.

On programming part, they've got lazier and depend heavily on libraries.
Where most won't be able to achieve anything when those libraries aren't
available to them. Moreover, the efficiency of nowaday softwares have
declined so much even since hardwares became faster and its resources become
abundant.

That being said, he still got potential because he still value DOS. Most
other people nowadays would even loather old systems and low level
programming.

[JJ]

Post by Harry Potter
I have virtually no upper memory left. I thought it was possible to load parts of the DriveSpace driver into the HMA.

Depending on your DOS configuration, the HMA might not have free space left.
There's a minimum on how much DriveSpace code/data can be placed into HMA.

That, assuming that you've already enabled the HMA.

[Harry Potter]

Post by JJ
Depending on your DOS configuration, the HMA might not have free space left.
There's a minimum on how much DriveSpace code/data can be placed into HMA.

I use the default HIMEM.SYS/EMM386.EXE: QEMM doesn't work with my version of DriveSpace. :(

[Harry Potter]

Post by Harry Potter
I use the default HIMEM.SYS/EMM386.EXE: QEMM doesn't work with my version of DriveSpace. :(

What switch do I use in EMM386.EXE do I use to enable the HMA?

[JJ]

Post by Harry Potter

Post by Harry Potter
I use the default HIMEM.SYS/EMM386.EXE: QEMM doesn't work with my version of DriveSpace. :(

What switch do I use in EMM386.EXE do I use to enable the HMA?

HMA is provided by HIMEM.SYS. It's enabled by default. IIRC, you'll need the
CONFIG.SYS's DOS setting to include the HIGH parameter. e.g.

DOS=HIGH

Or...

DOS=HIGH,UMB

If you need UMB (requires UMB provider; e.g. EMM386).

[Harry Potter]

Post by JJ
HMA is provided by HIMEM.SYS. It's enabled by default. IIRC, you'll need the
CONFIG.SYS's DOS setting to include the HIGH parameter. e.g.
DOS=HIGH
Or...
DOS=HIGH,UMB
If you need UMB (requires UMB provider; e.g. EMM386).

I believe I have DOS=HIGH,UMB as I have UMB areas displayed in MEM. :)

[Harry Potter]

Post by Harry Potter
I believe I have DOS=HIGH,UMB as I have UMB areas displayed in MEM. :)

Okay. Here's my current configuration:
-------------------
config.sys:
-------------------
DOS=HIGH,UMB
Device=C:\WINDOWS\Himem.Sys
device=C:\WINDOWS\emm386.exe RAM
devicehigh=C:\WINDOWS\command\ebd\oakcdrom.sys /D:mscd001
DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\DRVSPACE.SYS /MOVE
-------------------
autoexec.bat:
-------------------
@echo off
SET TMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
SET PROMPT=C64$g $p$g
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;c:\c:\64hdd;c:\emulat~1\c64\sc083

lh MSCDEX.EXE /D:mscd001 /l:f

lh doskey /insert
-------------------
Does this help?

[Harry Potter]

I found the problem: I am having both DBLSPACE and DRVSPACE loaded. Do I need them both? Will disabling DBLSPACE compatibility help?

[JJ]

Post by Harry Potter
I found the problem: I am having both DBLSPACE and DRVSPACE loaded. Do I
need them both? Will disabling DBLSPACE compatibility help?

AFAIK, DBLSPACE is not needed unless a third party program needs it.

[Harry Potter]

Post by JJ
AFAIK, DBLSPACE is not needed unless a third party program needs it.

Thank you. I wil do that next chance I get. :)

[Harry Potter]

I can fill the mono graphics buffer with UMBs, but HIGHSCAN on the EMM386 line doesn't work. :(

[JJ]

Post by Harry Potter
I can fill the mono graphics buffer with UMBs, but HIGHSCAN on the EMM386
line doesn't work. :(

Some programs utilize the monochrome display buffer for temporary memory.
So, use with caution.

EMM386's HIGHSCAN parameter is not a perfect memory map scanner. It may
still think some memory ranges are unused, where in fact they're used by
ROM(s). So, it may freeze the system when used.

[Harry Potter]

Post by JJ
Some programs utilize the monochrome display buffer for temporary memory.
So, use with caution.
EMM386's HIGHSCAN parameter is not a perfect memory map scanner. It may
still think some memory ranges are unused, where in fact they're used by
ROM(s). So, it may freeze the system when used.

Thank you for your advice. :)

[Harry Potter]

Are there any other ways to make more DOS memory available? I tried QEMM, but it's incompatible with my version of DriveSpace. :(

[Sjouke Burry]

Post by Harry Potter
Are there any other ways to make more DOS memory available? I tried QEMM, but it's incompatible with my version of DriveSpace. :(

My dos machine has 629 KB free.

[JJ]

Post by Harry Potter
Are there any other ways to make more DOS memory available? I tried QEMM,
but it's incompatible with my version of DriveSpace. :(

Back then, I have around the same free conventional memory space as Sjouke
Burry mentioned. First of all, I no longer use disk compression softwares
such as Stacker, DriveSpace, or 2M/3M. And I only load hardware drivers only
when I need them (e.g. mouse, LAN card). However, that's only when I still
use old PC where it has no additional ROMs. Thus, it has more free space for
the reserved memory area (segment A000-FFFF) in the first place. The last
old computer I used when I still use DOS as the main OS, is an Intel
motherboard with Pentium II CPU.

As for DOS configuration (which I still keep for emergency purposes; Windows
98SE's DOS), I use these.

### DOS Itself ###

Sometime I use FreeDOS rather than MS-DOS or PC-DOS because it's more memory
efficient. The downside is that there's compatibility problem with some
programs. I use it as an alternative whenever MS/PC DOS fail.

### CONFIG.SYS ###

- BUFFERSHIGH=18,0. My PC is fast enough for DOS, so I don't need large
(base) disk buffer. I don't need any secondary buffer (i.e. base disk cache)
since I use SmartDrive or other alternative (which is much better). The
smallest value I have in one of my configuration profile is 8 (4KB).

- DEVICEHIGH's and LH's /L and optionally the /S switches when I need to
manually arrange where a driver/TSR should be placed. I also sometime
postpone loading drivers from the CONFIG.SYS and manually load them using a
driver loader tool with or without LH.

- DOS=HIGH,UMB,NOAUTO. I use the NOAUTO setting for pure DOS configuration
profile (I use the DOS boot menu for multiple configuration profile) since I
don't want irrelevant IFSHLP.SYS and DBLBUFF.SYS to be automatically loaded.
If any program requires it, I'll load it manually using a driver loader
program.

- FCBSHIGH=1,0. FCB is for old DOS programs, so I don't need it most of the
time. However, since it can't be none, I have to use one. I forgot what the
second number is for, but I keep to zero since it doesn't seem to be
harmful. Again, I use different configuration profile in case of a program
needs more than one FCB (e.g. SHARE.EXE).

- FILESHIGH=30. I don't use any program which requires many open file
handles (e.g. database), so I trimmed it for most of my program collection.
Yours can be different. Some times I use 24 under certain case.

- INSTALLHIGH. I sometime load TSR(s) early for the sake of optimizing free
UMB space.

- LASTDRIVEHIGH=G. This is similar like FILESHIGH. I use the minimum
possible, and use higher values only when a program needs it.

- STACKSHIGH=0,0. Same as FILESHIGH and LASTDRIVEHIGH. Hardware device
drivers may require higher values.

### Drivers & TSRs ###

Aside from EMM386 to provide UMB, I use UMBPCI which I found from FreeDOS. I
use UMBPCI when I want UMB but doesn't need EMS. I used to use QEMM, but
later found out that it's causing more harm than good. I still keep QEMM,
tho.

I use other programs for alternatives for mouse driver, CD driver, USB
driver, CD API (i.e. MSCDEX), and disk cache, whenever they're usable and
are more memory efficient (sometime even if they perform slower or have
lesser features). I found that FreeDOS' programs has many good alternatives.
A view and for hardware drivers, came from other DOS (e.g. PC-DOS, Novell
Netware) and the net.

As I already mentioned, I use multiple configuration profiles. I don't use a
profile where everything is loaded. The profile that I use most often only
has memory managers preloaded and a few others which consume small memory
(no more than 25KB). Everything else I load manually when needed.

[Harry Potter]

JJ, I thank you for all your information. I remember seeing the special driver loader you mentioned but don't remember where. I also remember seeing the MSCDEX substitute from the same place. I can use F8 at start-up to only load the drivers I need. However, I *still* want more memory available in the first place.

[Harry Potter]

Post by Harry Potter
JJ, I thank you for all your information. I remember seeing the special driver loader you mentioned but don't remember where. I also remember seeing the MSCDEX substitute from the same place. I can use F8 at start-up to only load the drivers I need. However, I *still* want more memory available in the first place.

I downloaded or have Cute Mouse, CD-ROM drivers, a UMB driver and a ZIP100 driver for DOS. I couldn't find the DOS device loader for command-line, though. :(

[JJ]

Post by Harry Potter
I downloaded or have Cute Mouse, CD-ROM drivers, a UMB driver and a
ZIP100 driver for DOS. I couldn't find the DOS device loader for
command-line, though. :(

Get these.

- DEVLOAD by Jim Kyle.
- DYNALOAD from PC-DOS.
- SETDRV from PTS-DOS.

Each tool has its own advantages and disadvantages. e.g. smaller footprint,
faster loader, able to load a specific driver while others don't, etc.

[Harry Potter]

I downloaded DEVLOAD. Let's see how it works. :)

Post by JJ

Post by Harry Potter
I downloaded or have Cute Mouse, CD-ROM drivers, a UMB driver and a
ZIP100 driver for DOS. I couldn't find the DOS device loader for
command-line, though. :(

Get these.
- DEVLOAD by Jim Kyle.
- DYNALOAD from PC-DOS.
- SETDRV from PTS-DOS.
Each tool has its own advantages and disadvantages. e.g. smaller footprint,
faster loader, able to load a specific driver while others don't, etc.

[Harry Potter]

I Googled config.sys dos tips and found http://www.mdgx.com/mem6.htm. It contained some useful links. I downloaded two files and am still looking.

[Harry Potter]

Post by Harry Potter
I Googled config.sys dos tips and found http://www.mdgx.com/mem6.htm. It contained some useful links. I downloaded two files and am still looking.

I thank all of you for your help! :)

[Harry Potter]

Post by Harry Potter
I thank all of you for your help! :)

Again, I thank all of you for your help! :) I tried UMBPCI. It didn't work. I tried UMBPCI's UMBCHK program and applied the recommended includes to EMM386.EXE. It helped, but the page frame couldn't be set. It's okay, because the programs that need the special setups don't need EMS. I have plenty of memory now but want more. I am looking for ways to make even more memory available to my device drivers and TSRs. Any other ideas?

[Harry Potter]

Here is the output from mem:
----------------------------
mem/c:
----------------------------

Modules using memory below 1 MB:

Name Total Conventional Upper Memory
-------- ---------------- ---------------- ----------------
SYSTEM 56,352 (55K) 13,312 (13K) 43,040 (42K)
HIMEM 1,168 (1K) 1,168 (1K) 0 (0K)
EMM386 4,320 (4K) 4,320 (4K) 0 (0K)
DBLBUFF 2,976 (3K) 2,976 (3K) 0 (0K)
DBLSPACE 83,168 (81K) 83,168 (81K) 0 (0K)
COMMAND 10,400 (10K) 8,880 (9K) 1,520 (1K)
DOSKEY 4,688 (5K) 4,688 (5K) 0 (0K)
COMMAND 7,344 (7K) 5,904 (6K) 1,440 (1K)
DOSNET 30,736 (30K) 30,736 (30K) 0 (0K)
SERIAL 1,280 (1K) 1,280 (1K) 0 (0K)
STACKER 51,408 (50K) 0 (0K) 51,408 (50K)
XMSDSK 608 (1K) 0 (0K) 608 (1K)
OAKCDROM 36,064 (35K) 0 (0K) 36,064 (35K)
IFSHLP 2,864 (3K) 0 (0K) 2,864 (3K)
Free 497,440 (486K) 496,624 (485K) 816 (1K)

Memory Summary:

Type of Memory Total Used Free
---------------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Conventional 653,312 156,688 496,624
Upper 137,760 136,944 816
Reserved 0 0 0
Extended (XMS) 133,031,392 113,022,432 20,008,960
---------------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total memory 133,822,464 113,316,064 20,506,400

Total under 1 MB 791,072 293,632 497,440

Largest executable program size 496,608 (485K)
Largest free upper memory block 528 (1K)
MS-DOS is resident in the high memory area.
---------------------
mem/d
---------------------

Conventional Memory Detail:

Segment Total Name Type
------- ---------------- ----------- --------
00000 1,024 (1K) Interrupt Vector
00040 256 (0K) ROM Communication Area
00050 512 (1K) DOS Communication Area
00070 1,424 (1K) IO System Data
CON System Device Driver
AUX System Device Driver
PRN System Device Driver
CLOCK$ System Device Driver
A: - C: System Device Driver
COM1 System Device Driver
LPT1 System Device Driver
LPT2 System Device Driver
LPT3 System Device Driver
CONFIG$ System Device Driver
COM2 System Device Driver
COM3 System Device Driver
COM4 System Device Driver
000C9 5,760 (6K) MSDOS System Data
00231 95,824 (94K) IO System Data
1,152 (1K) XMSXXXX0 Installed Device=HIMEM
4,304 (4K) EMMQXXX0 Installed Device=EMM386
2,960 (3K) DblBuff$ Installed Device=DBLBUFF
83,152 (81K) DBLSBIN$ Installed Device=DBLSPACE
544 (1K) Sector buffer
512 (1K) BUFFERS=20
3,072 (3K) STACKS=9,256
01996 80 (0K) MSDOS System Program
0199B 160 (0K) COMMAND Data
019A5 8,624 (8K) COMMAND Program
01BC0 4,688 (5K) DOSKEY Program
01CE5 96 (0K) COMMAND Data
01CEB 368 (0K) COMMAND Data
01D02 30,736 (30K) DOSNET Program
02483 1,280 (1K) SERIAL Program
024D3 5,536 (5K) COMMAND Program
0262D 304 (0K) MEM Environment
02640 90,464 (88K) MEM Program
03C56 406,160 (397K) MSDOS -- Free --

Upper Memory Detail:

Segment Region Total Name Type
------- ------ ---------------- ----------- --------
0B15C 1 26,880 (26K) IO System Data
0B7EC 1 80 (0K) COMMAND Data
0B7F1 1 208 (0K) MSDOS -- Free --

0C801 2 93,968 (92K) IO System Data
51,392 (50K) D: Installed Device=STACKER
592 (1K) E: Installed Device=XMSDSK
36,048 (35K) MSCD001 Installed Device=OAKCDROM
2,848 (3K) IFS$HLP$ Installed Device=IFSHLP
464 (0K) Block device tables
736 (1K) Drive map table
1,488 (1K) FILES=30
256 (0K) FCBS=4
0DEF2 2 2,320 (2K) IO System Data
2,288 (2K) LASTDRIVE=Z
0DF83 2 1,440 (1K) COMMAND Environment
0DFDD 2 528 (1K) MSDOS -- Free --

0E401 3 10,752 (11K) IO System Data
10,720 (10K) BUFFERS=20
0E6A1 3 1,440 (1K) COMMAND Environment
0E6FB 3 80 (0K) MSDOS -- Free --

Memory Summary:

Type of Memory Total Used Free
---------------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Conventional 653,312 156,688 496,624
Upper 137,760 136,944 816
Reserved 0 0 0
Extended (XMS) 133,031,392 113,022,432 20,008,960
---------------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total memory 133,822,464 113,316,064 20,506,400

Total under 1 MB 791,072 293,632 497,440

Memory accessible using Int 15h 0 (0K)
Largest executable program size 496,608 (485K)
Largest free upper memory block 528 (1K)
MS-DOS is resident in the high memory area.

XMS version 3.00; driver version 3.95
----------------------------------
and here are my config files:
----------------------------------
config.sys:
----------------------------------
DOS=HIGH,UMB
Device=C:\WINDOWS\Himem.Sys
device=C:\WINDOWS\emm386.exe RAM I=C800-DFFF I=B000-B7FF
rem device=c:\dos\umbpci_e\umbpci.sys i=c800-dfff
DEVICEHIGH=C:\STACKER4\STACKER.COM
devicehigh=c:\dos\furd19_i\xmsdsk.exe 110000
DEVICEHIGH=C:\STACKER4\Screate.sys e:
rem DEVICEHIGH=C:\STACKER4\redirect.com
devicehigh=C:\WINDOWS\command\ebd\oakcdrom.sys /D:mscd001
-----------------------------------
autoexec.bat:
-----------------------------------
@echo off
SET TMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
SET PROMPT=$p$g
SET winbootdir=C:\WINDOWS
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;c:\dosnet;c:\network;c:\stacker4;c:\network\rar

stacker e:

lh MSCDEX.EXE /D:mscd001 d:
lh doskey /insert
---------------------------

[JJ]

[snip]

Post by Harry Potter
DBLBUFF 2,976 (3K) 2,976 (3K) 0 (0K)

Do any of your HDD(s) actually need this?

Post by Harry Potter
DBLSPACE 83,168 (81K) 83,168 (81K) 0 (0K)
STACKER 51,408 (50K) 0 (0K) 51,408 (50K)

Both? Are you serious? If you really tight in storage space, I'd suggest
using Stacker since it provides higher compression ratio than DriveSpace.

Post by Harry Potter
DOSNET 30,736 (30K) 30,736 (30K) 0 (0K)

I don't see this specified in your AUTOEXEC.BAT.

Post by Harry Potter
SERIAL 1,280 (1K) 1,280 (1K) 0 (0K)

What's this for? LapLink/InterLink variant? I don't see this specified in
AUTOEXEC.BAT either.

Post by Harry Potter
3,072 (3K) STACKS=9,256

In most cases, lower values are still usable. If the memory block for this
or any other DOS settings are small enough to fit the free HMA space, you'll
have more free memory below HMA.

Post by Harry Potter
51,392 (50K) D: Installed Device=STACKER

[snip]
I was wondering why the MSCDEX didn't show up in MEM.

Post by Harry Potter
256 (0K) FCBS=4

One should suffice in most cases.

Post by Harry Potter
2,288 (2K) LASTDRIVE=Z

What your computer is for with that many drive letters?

Post by Harry Potter
SET winbootdir=C:\WINDOWS

FYI, this is automatically set by IO.SYS.

Post by Harry Potter
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;c:\dosnet;c:\network;c:\stacker4;c:\network\rar

Same as above for the first two paths. Add more paths like below instead.

SET PATH=%PATH%;c:\path1;c:\path2 ...

[Harry Potter]

Post by JJ
[snip]

Post by Harry Potter
DBLBUFF 2,976 (3K) 2,976 (3K) 0 (0K)

Do any of your HDD(s) actually need this?

Uhh...no. How do I disable it?

Post by JJ

Post by Harry Potter
DBLSPACE 83,168 (81K) 83,168 (81K) 0 (0K)
STACKER 51,408 (50K) 0 (0K) 51,408 (50K)

Both? Are you serious? If you really tight in storage space, I'd suggest
using Stacker since it provides higher compression ratio than DriveSpace.

My default setup is with DriveSpace. I use Stacker for this particular configuration as it has DOS-mode utilities. If possible, I want to remove DriveSpace from this configuration.

Post by JJ

Post by Harry Potter
DOSNET 30,736 (30K) 30,736 (30K) 0 (0K)

I don't see this specified in your AUTOEXEC.BAT.

It's not. This configuration is for a network to a DOS computer.

Post by JJ

Post by Harry Potter
SERIAL 1,280 (1K) 1,280 (1K) 0 (0K)

What's this for? LapLink/InterLink variant? I don't see this specified in
AUTOEXEC.BAT either.

Same.

Post by JJ

Post by Harry Potter
3,072 (3K) STACKS=9,256

In most cases, lower values are still usable. If the memory block for this
or any other DOS settings are small enough to fit the free HMA space, you'll
have more free memory below HMA.

Post by Harry Potter
51,392 (50K) D: Installed Device=STACKER

[snip]
I was wondering why the MSCDEX didn't show up in MEM.

Post by Harry Potter
256 (0K) FCBS=4

You're right. I don't know how I missed that one. It is one of my favorite tweaks. :(

Post by JJ
One should suffice in most cases.

Post by Harry Potter
2,288 (2K) LASTDRIVE=Z

Same.

Post by JJ
What your computer is for with that many drive letters?

Post by Harry Potter
SET winbootdir=C:\WINDOWS

FYI, this is automatically set by IO.SYS.

Post by Harry Potter
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;c:\dosnet;c:\network;c:\stacker4;c:\network\rar

Same as above for the first two paths. Add more paths like below instead.
SET PATH=%PATH%;c:\path1;c:\path2 ...

[JJ]

Post by Harry Potter

Post by JJ
[snip]

Post by Harry Potter
DBLBUFF 2,976 (3K) 2,976 (3K) 0 (0K)

Do any of your HDD(s) actually need this?

Uhh...no. How do I disable it?

MSDOS.SYS.

Post by Harry Potter
My default setup is with DriveSpace. I use Stacker for this particular
configuration as it has DOS-mode utilities. If possible, I want to
remove DriveSpace from this configuration.

Same as above.

[Harry Potter]

I Googled msdos.sys and found the info I needed. Thanks! :)

[Harry Potter]

Okay. My system layout is as follows:
---------------------------
config.sys:
---------------------------
DOS=SINGLE
DOS=HIGH,UMB
Device=C:\WINDOWS\Himem.Sys
devicehigh=C:\WINDOWS\emm386.exe RAM I=C800-DFFF I=B000-B7FF
rem device=c:\dos\umbpci_e\umbpci.sys i=c800-dfff
DEVICEHIGH=C:\STACKER4\STACKER.COM
rem DEVICEHIGH=C:\STACKER4\redirect.com
devicehigh=c:\dos\furd19_i\xmsdsk.exe 116000
DEVICEHIGH=C:\STACKER4\Screate.sys e:
rem devicehigh=C:\WINDOWS\command\ebd\oakcdrom.sys /D:mscd001
devicehigh=C:\DOS\apicd\vide-cdd.sys /D:MSCD001
devicehigh/l:1=C:\windows\ifshlp.sys
rem devicehigh=C:\windows\dblbuff.sys
lastdrivehigh /l:1=l:
stackshigh/l:1=5,192
buffershigh /l:1=16
fcbshigh/l:1=1,0
fileshigh/l:1=30
-----------------------
autoexec.bat:
-----------------------
@ECHO OFF
@echo off
SET TMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
SET PROMPT=$p$g
SET winbootdir=C:\WINDOWS
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;c:\dosnet;c:\network;c:\stacker4;c:\network\rar

stacker e:

rem lh MSCDEX.EXE /D:mscd001 d:
lh C:\DOS\shcd3-3\shsucdx /D:MSCD001,d /i
lh c:\guest95\guest
stacker g:

lh doskey /insert
REM
REM The following lines have been created by Windows. Do not modify them.
REM
C:
CD C:\NETWORK
CALL C:\NETWORK\NET.BAT
C:\WINDOWS\WIN.COM /W
---------------------
mem/c:
---------------------

Modules using memory below 1 MB:

Name Total Conventional Upper Memory
-------- ---------------- ---------------- ----------------
SYSTEM 27,968 (27K) 9,552 (9K) 18,416 (18K)
HIMEM 1,168 (1K) 1,168 (1K) 0 (0K)
EMM386 4,320 (4K) 4,320 (4K) 0 (0K)
SHSUCDX 6,160 (6K) 6,160 (6K) 0 (0K)
ASPIPPM1 7,152 (7K) 7,152 (7K) 0 (0K)
COMMAND 10,240 (10K) 96 (0K) 10,144 (10K)
DOSNET 30,736 (30K) 30,736 (30K) 0 (0K)
IFSHLP 2,864 (3K) 0 (0K) 2,864 (3K)
GUEST 19,568 (19K) 0 (0K) 19,568 (19K)
COMMAND 6,976 (7K) 0 (0K) 6,976 (7K)
STACKER 51,408 (50K) 0 (0K) 51,408 (50K)
XMSDSK 608 (1K) 0 (0K) 608 (1K)
VIDE-CDD 5,088 (5K) 0 (0K) 5,088 (5K)
DOSKEY 4,688 (5K) 0 (0K) 4,688 (5K)
SERIAL 1,280 (1K) 0 (0K) 1,280 (1K)
Free 610,560 (596K) 593,840 (580K) 16,720 (16K)

Memory Summary:

Type of Memory Total Used Free
---------------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Conventional 653,312 59,472 593,840
Upper 137,760 121,040 16,720
Reserved 0 0 0
Extended (XMS) 133,031,392 119,166,432 13,864,960
---------------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total memory 133,822,464 119,346,944 14,475,520

Total under 1 MB 791,072 180,512 610,560

Largest executable program size 593,760 (580K)
Largest free upper memory block 15,952 (16K)
MS-DOS is resident in the high memory area.
------------------------------
mem/d:
------------------------------

Conventional Memory Detail:

Segment Total Name Type
------- ---------------- ----------- --------
00000 1,024 (1K) Interrupt Vector
00040 256 (0K) ROM Communication Area
00050 512 (1K) DOS Communication Area
00070 1,424 (1K) IO System Data
CON System Device Driver
AUX System Device Driver
PRN System Device Driver
CLOCK$ System Device Driver
A: - C: System Device Driver
COM1 System Device Driver
LPT1 System Device Driver
LPT2 System Device Driver
LPT3 System Device Driver
CONFIG$ System Device Driver
COM2 System Device Driver
COM3 System Device Driver
COM4 System Device Driver
000C9 5,120 (5K) MSDOS System Data
00209 6,592 (6K) IO System Data
1,152 (1K) XMSXXXX0 Installed Device=HIMEM
4,304 (4K) EMMQXXX0 Installed Device=EMM386
544 (1K) Sector buffer
512 (1K) BUFFERS=20
003A5 80 (0K) MSDOS System Program
003AA 6,160 (6K) SHSUCDX Program
0052B 7,152 (7K) ASPIPPM1 Program
006EA 96 (0K) COMMAND Data
006F0 304 (0K) MEM Environment
00703 64 (0K) MSDOS -- Free --
00707 30,736 (30K) DOSNET Program
00E88 90,464 (88K) MEM Program
0249E 503,312 (492K) MSDOS -- Free --

Upper Memory Detail:

Segment Region Total Name Type
------- ------ ---------------- ----------- --------
0B15C 1 21,264 (21K) IO System Data
2,848 (3K) IFS$HLP$ Installed Device=IFSHLP
464 (0K) Block device tables
1,488 (1K) FILES=30
256 (0K) FCBS=4
10,720 (10K) BUFFERS=20
2,288 (2K) LASTDRIVE=Z
3,072 (3K) STACKS=9,256
0B68D 1 288 (0K) GUEST Environment
0B69F 1 5,536 (5K) COMMAND Program
0B7F9 1 80 (0K) MSDOS -- Free --

0C801 2 57,056 (56K) IO System Data
51,392 (50K) D: Installed Device=STACKER
592 (1K) E: Installed Device=XMSDSK
5,008 (5K) MSCD001 Installed Device=VIDE-CDD
0D5EF 2 19,280 (19K) GUEST Program
0DAA4 2 4,688 (5K) DOSKEY Program
0DBC9 2 1,280 (1K) SERIAL Program
0DC19 2 15,952 (16K) MSDOS -- Free --

0E401 3 8,624 (8K) COMMAND Program
0E61C 3 80 (0K) COMMAND Data
0E621 3 1,440 (1K) COMMAND Environment
0E67B 3 1,440 (1K) COMMAND Environment
0E6D5 3 688 (1K) MSDOS -- Free --

Memory Summary:

Type of Memory Total Used Free
---------------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Conventional 653,312 59,472 593,840
Upper 137,760 121,040 16,720
Reserved 0 0 0
Extended (XMS) 133,031,392 119,166,432 13,864,960
---------------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total memory 133,822,464 119,346,944 14,475,520

Total under 1 MB 791,072 180,512 610,560

Memory accessible using Int 15h 0 (0K)
Largest executable program size 593,760 (580K)
Largest free upper memory block 15,952 (16K)
MS-DOS is resident in the high memory area.

XMS version 3.00; driver version 3.95
------------------------------
Does anybody have any more ideas to optimize this configuration?

[Harry Potter]

Post by JJ

Post by Harry Potter
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;c:\dosnet;c:\network;c:\stacker4;c:\network\rar

Same as above for the first two paths. Add more paths like below instead.
SET PATH=%PATH%;c:\path1;c:\path2 ...

I don't know why I should do this, as the extra %path% expands itself to the full path anyway, i.e. it costs as much expanded and doesn't add to the maximum size.

Again, thank you for your help.

[JJ]

Post by Harry Potter

Post by Harry Potter
I believe I have DOS=HIGH,UMB as I have UMB areas displayed in MEM. :)

-------------------
-------------------
DOS=HIGH,UMB
Device=C:\WINDOWS\Himem.Sys
device=C:\WINDOWS\emm386.exe RAM
devicehigh=C:\WINDOWS\command\ebd\oakcdrom.sys /D:mscd001
DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\DRVSPACE.SYS /MOVE
-------------------
-------------------
@echo off
SET TMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
SET PROMPT=C64$g $p$g
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;c:\c:\64hdd;c:\emulat~1\c64\sc083
lh MSCDEX.EXE /D:mscd001 /l:f
lh doskey /insert
-------------------
Does this help?

Try decreasing BUFFERS, STACKS, and FCBS; cause IIRC, some of them are
placed into HMA.