Before you begin !Before you begin !Some of the following is very basic, while some of it is addressed to the experienced PC user.
Before you begin to change the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files, you should do the following:
| Format a floppy diskette with the
command: FORMAT A: /U /S Save copies of the original CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files in a separate directory AND on the floppy diskette mentioned above. |
This will always give you the possibility of starting the computer by inserting the floppy diskette in drive A:, then rebooting the computer.
If there are problems starting the computer, then as from DOS version 6.00 you can press the F5 key, when the screen displays: Starting "Windows 9x..." ("Starting MS-DOS..."). This skips the executing of the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. Thereafter you can edit the line in one of these two files where the problem occurred. If instead the F8 key (plus 4 in Windows 9x) is pressed, then the lines in CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT will be executed one line at a time. This helps determining where the problems occurs.
MS-DOS 7.00 / 7.10 (Windows 95 & 98)Under Windows 9x the following setup of CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT will be suitable. This setup also ensures access to CD-ROM drive and soundcard in MS-DOS mode.
Before you begin to make alterations of CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT, it will be suitable to change the setup, so that Windows 9x will not start automatically, but there instead is started directly in DOS mode.
This is done by making the following changes under [Options] in the file C:\MSDOS.SYS:
| to: | BootGUI=1 Logo=1 |
| BootGUI=0 Logo=0 |
MSDOS.SYS is a hidden read-only system file, why it is necessary to execute the command: ATTRIB -H -R -S C:\MSDOS.SYS before the file can be edited (some editors allows editing without doing this in advance).
| NOTE! | |
| It is important to use a texteditor (NOTEPAD.EXE or EDIT.COM) and
NOT a wordprocessor (Word or WordPerfect) to edit the file, because
a wordprocessor spoils the file with unwanted
code! |
After this change the computer will start in MS-DOS 7.x, and the Windows 9x Logo (the one with the running colours beneath the picture) will not be shown during startup, making it possible to see how CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT are executed.
Windows 9x can subsequently be started manually with the command: WIN
If for instance a DOS game will not run under a standard installation of Windows 9x, this can often be solved by disabling the automatic start of Windows 9x in this way, and then starting the program before loading Windows 9x.
Once CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT are optimized, the changes in MSDOS.SYS can be reversed, to reestablish the automatic start of Windows 9x and the Logo, if so wanted. Alternatively the command: WIN could just be inserted as the last line in AUTOEXEC.BAT.
The following example applies to a PC with:
| MS-DOS 7.00 / 7.10 Windows 4.00.x (95 / 98) Soundblaster soundcard CD-ROM drive Mouse |
(installed in C:\WINDOWS &
C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND) (installed in C:\WINDOWS) (installed in C:\CTSND) (installed in C:\CDROM) (installed in C:\MOUSE) |
The example are generally applicable, but line 13 and line 24 must be edited, as the drivers for CD-ROM drive and Mouse depends on the manufacturer.
The Lines with * can be omitted.
| CONFIG.SYS | |
| *
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 |
NUMLOCK=OFF BREAK=ON DOS=HIGH,UMB,NOAUTO FILESHIGH=40 FCBSHIGH=1,0 BUFFERSHIGH=30,0 LASTDRIVEHIGH=J STACKSHIGH=9,256 COUNTRY=045,865,C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\COUNTRY.SYS DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS /V DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE RAM /MIN=0 I=B000-B7FF /V DEVICEHIGH /L:2 =C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\DISPLAY.SYS CON=(EGA,,1) DEVICEHIGH /L:2 =C:\CDROM\CDROM.SYS /D:MSCD000 DEVICEHIGH /L:2 =C:\WINDOWS\SETVER.EXE DEVICEHIGH /L:1 =C:\WINDOWS\IFSHLP.SYS SHELL=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND.COM C:\WINDOWS\ /E:1024 /P |
| AUTOEXEC.BAT | |
| *
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 * 25 26 27 * 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 * 35 |
@ECHO OFF LH /L:2 C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX /D:MSCD000 /M:15 /E /S /L:D /V LH /L:0;2 /S C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\SMARTDRV 2048 16 /V C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MODE CON RATE=32 DELAY=2 C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MODE CON CP PREP=((865) C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\EGA.CPI) C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MODE CON CP SEL=865 LH /L:2 C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\KEYB DK,865,C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\KEYBOARD.SYS LH /L:2 C:\MOUSE\MOUSE LH /L:2 C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\DOSKEY /INSERT PROMPT $p$g PATH C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;C:\CTSND SET DIRCMD=/P /A SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP SET TMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP SET SOUND=C:\CTSND SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6 SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:G C:\CTSND\DIAGNOSE /S C:\CTSND\SB16SET /P |
/L: indicates in which UMB block the driver/program shall be loaded.
/V indicates that the driver/program shall display extended information on the screen when loading.
If the Upper Memory in the address interval C800 to EFFF is unbroken, it should now, depending on the memory requirements for the CD-ROM and Mouse drivers, be possible to load all drivers and resident programs in Upper Memory, giving approximately 625 Kb free memory (can be checked with the command: MEM /C).
An unbroken Upper Memory area is among other depending on the computers BIOS, the installed videocard and other plug-in cards installed in the computer.
| NOTE! | |
| The order of the lines should not be altered. The order above
provides the best utilization of the Upper Memory. When DOS is finished loading the drivers stated in CONFIG.SYS, it loads the FILES, FCBS, BUFFERS, LASTDRIVE and STACKS. DOS continues to load these into the same UMB as the last device was loaded into. This gives a way of controlling where the FILES etc. are loaded. In the example above, the last device: IFSHLP.SYS is loaded into UMB 1, and therefore FILES etc. are also loaded into UMB 1. If the values for FILES etc. are set as in the example above, then the available memory in UMB 1 will just barely be used (at least with the Danish versions of Windows 9x). Thereafter COMMAND.COM will be loaded where there is free memory - in this instance into UMB 2. |
If there is not 625 Kb of free memory, the MEMMAKER program can be tried, but this program cannot always improve the memory utilization, and some times it becomes worse.
Also look at the chapter: More Upper Memory with EMM386.
More commands for use in CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT can be seen in the chapter: MS-DOS 6.22 (Windows 3.11).
Windows 95 OSR2 and HIMEM.SYSIf you are using one of the FIRST German or Danish (and probably some other non-US versions) of the OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2) version of Windows 95, there is an ERROR in the IO.SYS system file, which prevents HIMEM.SYS from loading in the HMA area, leading HIMEM.SYS to use 45 Kb of conventional memory instead of 1 Kb.
You can download the IO2PATCH.EXE program here. This program fixes the problem. Just put the IO2PATCH.EXE file in the root of your bootup drive (usually C:\), where the IO.SYS system file is placed, execute the IO2PATCH program, and then the problem should be fixed.
DOSSTART.BAT (Windows 95 & 98)Whenever it is chosen to "Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode" when closing Windows 9x, the file C:\WINDOWS\DOSSTART.BAT is searched for, and the lines herein are executed, if this file exists.
During installation of Windows 9x some lines are often moved from AUTOEXEC.BAT to DOSSTART.BAT, so it is essential to check that none of the drivers and TSR programs loaded from AUTOEXEC.BAT are loaded by DOSSTART.BAT as well.
The CD-ROM extension MSCDEX is one of the programs that Windows 9x often moves to DOSSTART.BAT. This is done in order for Windows 9x to use its 32-bit driver for the CD-ROM drive, but if access to the CD-ROM drive is wanted before starting Windows 9x (e.g. if automatic start of Windows 9x is disabled, as earlier described), then MSCDEX HAS to be loaded from AUTOEXEC.BAT and therefore should be deleted from the DOSSTART.BAT file. Windows 9x's 32-bit CD-ROM driver should be a little faster than a 16-bit DOS driver, but some programs cannot run with the 32-bit driver.
However, if it is chosen to load MSCDEX from DOSSTART.BAT, then SMARTDRV should be moved hereto as well, in order to obtain caching of the CD-ROM drive. Otherwise SMARTDRV would be loaded before MSCDEX, causing the CD-ROM drive not to be cached. The DOSSTART.BAT file should then look like this:
| DOSSTART.BAT | |
|
1 2 3 |
@ECHO OFF LH /L:2 C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX /D:MSCD000 /M:15 /E /S /L:D /V LH /L:0;2 /S C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\SMARTDRV 2048 16 /V |
and line 18 and line 19 should be deleted from AUTOEXEC.BAT.
WINSTART.BAT (Windows 95 & 98 and Windows 3.11)Windows looks for the file C:\WINDOWS\WINSTART.BAT before starting. So, if you for any reason want to run any programs or commands before starting Windows, you can put them into this file. Unlike DOSSTART.BAT, WINSTART.BAT is also executed by Windows 3.11.
MS-DOS 6.22 (Windows 3.11)The following example applies to a PC with:
| MS-DOS 6.22 Windows 3.11 Soundblaster soundcard CD-ROM drive Mouse |
(installed in C:\DOS) (installed in C:\WINDOWS) (installed in C:\SB16) (installed in C:\CDROM) (installed in C:\MOUSE) |
but will also work with MS-DOS 6.00 / 6.20 or PC DOS 6.30 / 7.00.
The example are generally applicable, but line 15 and line 26 must be edited, as the drivers for CD-ROM drive and Mouse depends on the manufacturer.
The Lines with * can be omitted.
| CONFIG.SYS | |
| *
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 * 12 13 14 15 16 |
NUMLOCK=OFF BREAK=ON DOS=HIGH,UMB FILES=40 FCBS=1,0 BUFFERS=10,0 LASTDRIVE=J STACKS=9,256 COUNTRY=045,865,C:\DOS\COUNTRY.SYS DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS /V DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM /MIN=0 I=B000-B7FF /V DEVICEHIGH /L:1 =C:\DOS\ANSI.SYS DEVICEHIGH /L:1 =C:\DOS\DISPLAY.SYS CON=(EGA,,2) DEVICEHIGH /L:1 =C:\WINDOWS\IFSHLP.SYS DEVICEHIGH /L:2 =C:\CDROM\CDROM.SYS /D:MSCD000 SHELL=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM C:\DOS\ /E:1024 /P |
| AUTOEXEC.BAT | |
| * 17 18 * 19 20 21 22 23 24 * 25 26 * 27 * 28 * 29 30 31 * 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 * 40 |
@ECHO
OFF LH /L:2 C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD000 /M:15 /E /S /L:D /V ECHO. LH /L:0;2 /S C:\DOS\SMARTDRV 2048 128 /V C:\DOS\MODE CON RATE=32 DELAY=2 C:\DOS\MODE CON CP PREP=((865 850) C:\DOS\EGA.CPI) C:\DOS\MODE CON CP SEL=865 LH /L:2 C:\DOS\KEYB DK,865,C:\DOS\KEYBOARD.SYS ECHO. LH /L:2 C:\MOUSE\MOUSE LH /L:1 C:\DOS\DOSKEY /INSERT ECHO. LH /L:2 C:\DOS\NLSFUNC C:\DOS\COUNTRY.SYS PROMPT $_ $e[1;37;41m-|--$e[33;40m $p$g PATH C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS;C:\SB16 SET DIRCMD=/P /A SET TEMP=C:\TEMP SET TMP=C:\TEMP SET TZ=CET-1CDT,3,-1,0,7200,10,-1,0,10800,3600 SET SOUND=C:\SB16 SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6 SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:G C:\SB16\DIAGNOSE /S C:\SB16\SB16SET /P |
/L: indicates in which UMB block the driver/program shall be loaded.
/V indicates that the driver/program shall display extended information on the screen when loading.
If the Upper Memory in the address interval C800 to EFFF is unbroken, it should now, depending on the memory requirements for the CD-ROM and Mouse drivers, be possible to load all drivers and resident programs in Upper Memory, giving approximately 611 Kb free memory (can be checked with the command: MEM /C).
An unbroken Upper Memory area is among other depending on the computers BIOS, the installed videocard and other plug-in cards installed in the computer.
| NOTE! | |
| The order of the lines should not be altered. The order above
provides the best utilization of the Upper
Memory. |
If there is not 611 Kb of free memory, the MEMMAKER program can be tried, but this program cannot always improve the memory utilization, and some times it becomes worse. Especially KEYB.COM can cause problems.
Also look at the chapter: More Upper Memory with EMM386.
PC DOS 7.00 (IBM)The setup above will work with IBM's DOS as well. The resident programs in version 7.00 typically uses a little lesser memory than the ones of MS-DOS 6.22, and IBM's DOS versions are translated to Danish. The translation is awful in places and even more difficult to understand than the original English, but that goes for the Danish Microsoft MS-DOS version 7.x (Windows 9x) too.
Under PC DOS, the program RAMBOOST can be used for memory optimization, but this program isn't flawless either, and it is furthermore a resident program consuming memory itself.
Note that PC DOS's Smartdrive 5.00 not as standard uses write cache as MS-DOS's Smartdrive does. To obtain write caching, the drives to be cached has to be stated succeeded by a + (SMARTDRV C+ D+ E+ etc.).
PC DOS's Smartdrive 5.00 indicates that CD-ROM drives are cached. Tests with CD-Bench 1.07 states that this is not the fact when using PC DOS's MSCDEX.EXE 2.25, whereas CD-ROM drives are cached under PC DOS if MS-DOS's MSCDEX.EXE is used.
Windows 3.11If a DOS version above DOS 5.00 is used, then the versions of HIMEM.SYS, EMM386.EXE and SMARTDRV.EXE installed by Windows in C:\ should NOT be used. Use the corresponding files in the DOS directory instead.
It can be suitable or necessary to add the following lines to the SYSTEM.INI file in the Windows directory:
| SYSTEM.INI | |
| 1 2 3 |
[386Enh] device=monoumb.386 SystemROMBreakPoint=FALSE MaxBPs=768 |
More Upper Memory with EMM386If there is not enough Upper Memory for all drivers and TSR programs, then line 11 can be extended to:
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM I=B000-B7FF HIGHSCAN FRAME=C800 /MIN=0 /V
HIGHSCAN tells the Memory Manger to search the system area (F000-FFFF) for unused memory, and FRAME=C800 places the page frame in the start of Upper Upper Memory Block number 2 (UMB 2), and thereby increases the probability for an unbroken UMB 2 from D000 and up.
Depending on the BIOS this might cause the computer to hang during bootup! First try removing the FRAME=C800 statement. This might lead to a third UMB block placed after the page frame. If this is the case, some of the drivers and/or TSR programs must be loaded into UMB 3 using a DEVICEHIGH /L:3 = or a LH /L:3 statement. If removing the FRAME=C800 statement still causes the computer to hang, then the HIGHSCAN statement must be removed as well. Then it is not likely that any more Upper Memory can be gained using EMM386
It is possible that the computer works alright in DOS, but that Windows 9x cannot start when HIGHSCAN is used.
If HIGHSCAN cannot be used, then perhaps an alternative Memory Manager can be used instead to obtain more Upper Memory.
Alternative Memory Managers (QEMM386)If there is a demand for more Upper Memory, an investment can be made in an alternative Memory Manager, as for instance Quarterdecks QEMM386. This manager can typically give 32 Kb or more extra Upper Memory, an DOS will typically run 20% faster than with the Memory Manager provided by MS-DOS or PC DOS!!!
I use QEMM386 v. 8.03 with MS-DOS 6.22 myself, and my CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT and DOS-UP.DAT files looks like the following. Here might be something to obtain for other QEMM386 users. The setup also shows how to make a startup menu with two configurations - one for running with QEMM386, which starts by default after 2 seconds, and one for running with EMM386:
| CONFIG.SYS |
| [menu] MENUITEM=qemm,Start med Quarterdeck Memory Manager MENUITEM=emm,Start med Microsoft Memory Manager MENUDEFAULT=qemm,2 MENUCOLOR=7,0 [common] NUMLOCK=OFF BREAK=ON DOS=HIGH,UMB FILES=90 FCBS=1,0 BUFFERS=10,0 LASTDRIVE=J STACKS=9,256 COUNTRY=045,865,C:\DOS\COUNTRY.SYS [qemm] DEVICE=C:\QEMM\DOSDATA.SYS DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS R:1 RAM DEVICE=C:\QEMM\DOS-UP.SYS @C:\DOS-UP.DAT DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:2 C:\QEMM\QDPMI.SYS SWAPFILE=DPMI.SWP SWAPSIZE=1024 DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:1 C:\VIDEO\EANSI.SYS DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:1 C:\DOS\DISPLAY.SYS CON=(EGA,,2) DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:1 C:\WINDOWS\IFSHLP.SYS DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:2 C:\CDROM\TEAC_CDI.SYS /D:MSCD000 DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:2 C:\SB16\DRV\CTSB16.SYS /UNIT=0 /BLASTER=A:220 I:5 D:1 H:5 DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:2 C:\SB16\DRV\CTMMSYS.SYS DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:2 C:\DOS\INTERLNK.EXE /AUTO /LPT1 /NOPRINTER rem DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:2 C:\DOS\RAMDRIVE.SYS 32767 /E SHELL=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.COM /R:2 C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM C:\DOS\ /E:2048 /P [emm] DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF /V DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM I=B000-B7FF I=C800-EFFF HIGHSCAN FRAME=C800 /MIN=0 /V DEVICEHIGH /L:1 =C:\VIDEO\EANSI.SYS DEVICEHIGH /L:1 =C:\DOS\DISPLAY.SYS CON=(EGA,,2) DEVICEHIGH /L:1 =C:\WINDOWS\IFSHLP.SYS DEVICEHIGH /L:1 =C:\CDROM\TEAC_CDI.SYS /D:MSCD000 DEVICEHIGH /L:2 =C:\SB16\DRV\CTSB16.SYS /UNIT=0 /BLASTER=A:220 I:5 D:1 H:5 DEVICEHIGH /L:2 =C:\SB16\DRV\CTMMSYS.SYS DEVICEHIGH /L:2 =C:\DOS\INTERLNK.EXE /AUTO /LPT1 /NOPRINTER SHELL=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM C:\DOS\ /E:2048 /P |
| AUTOEXEC.BAT |
| @ECHO OFF ECHO. C:\DOS\MODE CON RATE=32 DELAY=2 C:\DOS\MODE CON CP PREP=((865 850) C:\DOS\DK.CPI) C:\DOS\MODE CON CP SEL=865 ECHO. GOTO %CONFIG% :qemm C:\QEMM\LOADHI /R:2 C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD000 /M:18 /E /S /L:G /V ECHO. C:\QEMM\LOADHI /R:2 /LO C:\DOS\SMARTDRV 2048 128 /V C:\QEMM\LOADHI /R:2 C:\DOS\KEYB DK,865,C:\DOS\KEYBOARD.SYS ECHO. C:\QEMM\LOADHI /R:2 C:\MOUSE\MSCMOUSE /1 /A3 C:\QEMM\LOADHI /R:2 C:\DOS\DOSKEY /INSERT C:\QEMM\LOADHI /R:2 C:\DOS\NLSFUNC C:\DOS\COUNTRY.SYS ECHO. GOTO common :emm LH /L:2 C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD000 /M:18 /E /S /L:G /V ECHO. LH /L:0;2 /S C:\DOS\SMARTDRV 2048 128 /V ECHO. LH /L:2 C:\MOUSE\MSCMOUSE /1 /A3 LH /L:2 C:\DOS\KEYB DK,865,C:\DOS\KEYBOARD.SYS LH /L:2 C:\DOS\DOSKEY /INSERT LH /L:2 C:\DOS\NLSFUNC C:\DOS\COUNTRY.SYS ECHO. :common PROMPT $_ $e[1;37;41m-|--$e[33;40m $p$g PATH C:\DOS;C:\QEMM;D:\WINDOWS;C:\BAT;C:\NORTON;C:\TOOLS;C:\PCTOOLS SET DIRCMD=/P /A SET TEMP=E:\TEMP SET TMP=E:\TEMP SET SVGA=/g SET AUTOBASE=/LYD18 /COM2 SET SOUND=C:\SB16 SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6 SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:G SET PCTOOLS=C:\PCTOOLS\DATA SET TZ=CET-1CDT,3,-1,0,7200,10,-1,0,10800,3600 SET IEPPP=C:\IEXPLORE SET PCTCP=C:\IEXPLORE\PCTCP.SHV SET PATH=%PATH%;C:\IEXPLORE C:\VIDEO\VMODE 640-72 C:\VIDEO\VMODE 800-72 C:\VIDEO\VMODE 1024-70 C:\VIDEO\VMODE 1280-60 C:\SB16\SB16SET /P C:\NORTON\TM START /N C:\TOOLS\AUTOTIME /EU C:\TOOLS\PRINTCP /Q C:\AUTOBASE\AUTOBASE /HUSK+ CALL C:\BAT\BOOTLOG CALL C:\BAT\START CALL C:\BAT\MENU |
| DOS-UP.DAT | |
| DOSDATA=1 FILES=1 FCBS=1 LASTDRIV=1 INSTALL=1 STACKS=1 WKBUFFER=1 IFS=1 |
In this file it is stated in which UMB, FILES, BUFFERS etc. shall be loaded. This gives an opportunity of manually filling up small unused UMB areas IFS= only works with MS-DOS 7.x |
This results in 632 Kb free memory with QEMM386 and 607 Kb free memory with EMM386.
Furthermore there is now room in Upper Memory for the two drivers C:\SB16\DRV\CTSB16.SYS and C:\SB16\DRV\CTMMSYS.SYS, which makes it possible to playback WAV, MID, CMF and VOC soundfiles under DOS, using the program C:\SB16\PLAY.EXE. These drivers are provided with the Sound Blaster 16 soundcard.
If there is not enough Upper Memory for all drivers and resident programs, the line: DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS R:1 RAM can be expanded with the parameter: ST:F (safest) or ST:M (this should be tested with the Quarterdeck OPTIMIZE program).
If DoubleSpace, DriveSpace or Stacker disk compression is used, then the parameter: DBF=2 HAS to be added to the line mentioned above.
If there is not 632 Kb of free memory with QEMM386, the OPTIMIZE program can be tried, but this program cannot always improve the memory utilization, and some times it becomes worse. Especially KEYB.COM can cause problems.
If the computer hangs under startup after an apparently successful OPTIMIZE, it might be because OPTIMIZE has added squeezing to the LOADHI procedure for some of the programs. Boot again and press F5. Then run the following command: C:\QEMM\OPTIMIZE /NOSQT /NOSQF. This starts OPTIMIZE with Temporary- and Frame squeezing turned off.
If version 7.x of Quarterdeck is used, it can not be recommended to use DEVICE=C:\QEMM\DOSDATA.SYS, because there will be SO MUCH free memory, that some programs (Windows, among others) refuses to start. In most instances you can circumvent this by starting the programs with the MS-DOS LOADFIX program. Version 8.x of Quartedeck seems to take hand of the problem by itself.
Stacker disk compressionIf Stacker version 3.x or 4.x is used, the following can be entered into CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT and STACKER.INI. Stacker is presumed installed in C:\STACKER, and there is two physical harddisks (C: and D:).
| CONFIG.SYS | |
| . . DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS R:1 RAM DBF=2 ST:F DEVICE=C:\QEMM\DOS-UP.SYS @C:\QEMM\DOS-UP.DAT DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:2 C:\STACKER\STACHIGH.SYS . . |
ST:F for more
UMB. Loads Stacker in UMB. |
| AUTOEXEC.BAT | |
| . . C:\QEMM\LOADHI /R:2 /LO C:\DOS\SMARTDRV 2048 128 /V C:\STACKER\CHECK /WP . . |
Checks the Stacker drives. |
| STACKER.INI | |
| /DIR=C:\STACKER\ /P=1 /EMS /-AUTO /Q- C:\STACVOL.DSK,SW D:\STACVOL.DSK,SW |
States in which directory Stacker
is installed. Sets the compression to minimum (fastest). Loads the Stacker buffers in EMS (64 Kb). Turns off automatic stacking of floppy-drives. Turns on displaying the loading of the Stacker drives. States the name of the 1.st Stacker file and swaps drive C: and E: States the name of the 2.nd Stacker file and swaps drive D: and F: |
The Quarterdeck parameter: DBF=2 HAS to be used with Stacker.
It is best to use Stacker with minimum compression, and then at regular intervals run a full optimization with maximal compression by means of the command: C:\STACKER\SDEFRAG /R /SU. This may last up to 1 hour for a Stacker file of 512 Mb.
With Stacker 4.x the DEVICE=C:\STACKER\DPMS.EXE statement can be used in CONFIG.SYS to create DPMS memory, in which Stacker can be loaded, but this might cause problems with other programs as for instance PKZIP or QEMM386 with Stealth (ST:F / ST:M). DPMS can also NOT be used if 32-bit file access to the compressed drives is wanted under Windows. So if EMS memory is available, it is better to use this, than to use DPMS memory.
Harddisk partitioningIf you do not want to compress your harddisk, you can often obtain more space by partitioning the disk by means of the program FDISK.EXE. This reduces the amount of space wasted by each of the files on the disk.
The amount of wasted space is among other things dependent on the size of the disk, as the waste is bigger on large disks, because DOS has to use larger clusters (allocation units) on large disks than on small disks.
One file always takes up a whole number of clusters, and therefore a file of just 1 byte will use 16.384 bytes = 1 cluster on a harddisk of 1023 Mb and 32.768 bytes on a harddisk bigger than 1023 Mb! The average waste of space on a harddisk bigger than 1023 Mb will be 40% !!, while the waste on a harddisk between 512 and 1023 Mb will be 20%, and on a harddisk of 511 Mb it will only be about 10%. Smaller files typically results in more waste of space, as do large numbers of directories and subdirectories, because these also occupy 1 cluster each.
If you have 2 harddisks, both partitioned to 2 drives, then the first harddisk (harddisk 0) will contain the logical drives C: and E:, while the other harddisk (harddisk 1) will contain the logical drives D: and F: after the partitioning. During the partitioning it is important to remember to set the primary partition on disk 0 to be the active partition, otherwise drive C: will not be bootable
| NOTE! | |
| By using FDISK all data on the harddisk are lost, so before using
FDISK all data has to be BACKED UP, ready for reinstalling
afterwards. After running FDISK the drives has to be formatted again. Drive C: is formatted with the command: A:\FORMAT C: /U /S while the other drives are formatted with the command: A:\FORMAT drive: /U Don't forget to make a bootable diskette before the partitioning by means of the command: FORMAT A: /U /S and to copy the files FDISK.EXE and FORMAT.COM to this diskette. Other files that should be copied to the boot diskette are: SYS.COM, CHKDSK.EXE, KEYB.COM, KEYBOARD.SYS, ATTRIB.EXE and MEM.EXE. |
Commercial- and shareware-programs that can make disk partitioning without loss of data are available, for example PowerQuest's PartitionMagic.
Windows 95 OSR2 and FAT32The OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2) version of Windows 95 uses FAT32 instead of the previously used FAT16 file system. FAT32 uses smaller clusters (typically 4.096 bytes) and supports harddisk partitions of a size up to 2 Terrabytes (2048 Gb), whereas FAT16 only could handle harddisk partitions with sizes up to 2 Gb.
Because of the smaller clustersize used by FAT32, there is no longer the same need for harddisk partitioning in order of reducing the amount of wasted disk space. However, if you have a large harddisk (4 Gb or more), harddisk partitioning can still give you a better overview of your folders and files.
OEM stands for: "Original Equipment Manufacturer", which means that the OSR2 version of Windows 95 can only be purchased in conjunction with buying a new computer (or sometimes when buying a new harddisk).
| NOTE! | |
| You can NOT just update an existing Windows 95 with the OSR2
version. Because of FAT32 the harddisk has to be partitioned and
formatted again, and Windows 95 and all your applications has to be
reinstalled. |
With Windows 98 it is possible to convert a FAT16 partition to FAT32.
Have fun
 109421 |