View Full Version : Need more conventional mem freed
Neovalis
09-04-2000, 01:18 AM
I followed the instructions on this site for freeing up more conventional memory for dos programs in windows, but I still need 8192 more bytes freed up to run a really old game (Might and Magic III). Can anyone help me out?
This is always a bear. Obviously if you have tried the various tricks usually recommended, you might still be stuck. I have found that if you try running from Windows it might still work. Go to the icon for that program in Windows Explorer and right click. A menu pops up and click on properties. Then click on "Advanced" and you will see various options for tuning the DOS environment. Once of those is "Memory". You will see "Auto" listed for the memory options. Go through and manually set them to vaules you think you will need. I have found that Auto doesn't always do what I expect. In this case you can set the conventional memory to whatever you need.
dale
Neovalis
09-04-2000, 04:12 PM
No matter what value I set for conventional memory, it goes back to auto. Help!!!!
You are right. I tried it as well and it does seem to not stick. I tried a few things and none of them seemed to work for me. What happens when you try to run it with AUTO set for conventional memory?
dale
Neovalis
09-04-2000, 09:46 PM
I get this message:
Alert! Might and Magic III requires 564224 bytes free to run properly. Please free up 8192 more bytes before executing MM3. Press a Key!
Open a DOS box, and at the prompt type "mem /c /p". It will pause after each screen full. Capture the whole thing and post it here.
------------------
Charles M. Kozierok ( ixlubb@PCGuide.com )
Webslave, The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
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Neovalis
09-05-2000, 08:19 PM
Modules using memory below 1 MB:
Name Total Conventional Upper Memory
-------- ---------------- ---------------- ----------------
SYSTEM 42,848 (42K) 9,584 (9K) 33,264 (32K)
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)
TAISATAP 10,768 (11K) 10,768 (11K) 0 (0K)
WIN 3,792 (4K) 3,792 (4K) 0 (0K)
SBEINIT 4,480 (4K) 4,480 (4K) 0 (0K)
vmm32 72,752 (71K) 3,936 (4K) 68,816 (67K)
COMMAND 7,520 (7K) 7,520 (7K) 0 (0K)
IFSHLP 2,864 (3K) 0 (0K) 2,864 (3K)
Free 549,152 (536K) 549,152 (536K) 0 (0K)
Memory Summary:
Type of Memory Total Used Free
---------------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Conventional 598,016 48,864 549,152
Upper 104,944 104,944 0
Reserved 0 0 0
Press any key to continue . . .
Extended (XMS) 66,934,288 ? 400,900,096
---------------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total memory 67,637,248 ? 401,449,248
Total under 1 MB 702,960 153,808 549,152
Largest executable program size 549,136 (536K)
Largest free upper memory block 0 (0K)
MS-DOS is resident in the high memory area.
Neovalis
09-05-2000, 08:23 PM
Sorry if that looks a little (or maybe totally) messed up, it got screwed up after I submitted it.
It seems that the problem here is probably vmm32. On one of my systems it is 12k; on the other 3k. On yours it is 73k.
I did some digging on this obscurity. Seems there is a problem where in some cases it will "grow", especially if you are using a lot of real-mode drivers. Anyone else know anything about this? How big is your vmm32 in mem /c /p?
Perhaps posting up your autoexec.bat and config.sys files will help...
------------------
Charles M. Kozierok ( ixlubb@PCGuide.com )
Webslave, The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
Comprehensive PC Reference, Troubleshooting, Optimization and Buyer's Guides...
Neovalis
09-06-2000, 09:29 PM
Here's my autoexec.bat:
@C:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~1\NAVDX.EXE /Startup
@C:\PROGRA~1\WILDFI~1\GOBACK\GB_PROG.EXE /i C:2000
SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 H5 P330 T6
SET CTSYN=C:\WINDOWS
C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\SBLIVE\DOSDRV\SBEINIT.COM
REM [Header]
@ECHO OFF
LOADHIGH C:\WINDOWS\MOUSE.COM
REM [CD-ROM Drive]
REM [Miscellaneous]
REM [Display]
SET QTJava=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\QTJava.zip
SET CLASSPATH=%QTJava%;
rem - By Windows Setup - \BIN\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD000
...and my config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS I=B000-B7FF
DEVICEHIGH=D
DOS=HIGH,UMB
FILES=100
BUFFERS=40
BREAK=ON
LASTDRIVE=Z
Stacks=9,256
REM [Header]
REM == PISETUP Begin Delete ==
REM == PISETUP End Delete ==
REM [CD-ROM Drive]
REM [Miscellaneous]
REM [Display]
DEVICE=\DEV\TAISATAP.SYS /D:MSCD000 /N:1
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\DRVSPACE.SYS /MOVE
Hopefully these won't look messed up after I post them, because they look fine at the moment I am posting this.
Wow. Well, I just got myself a real education on vmm32.vxd trying to figure this out. It seems that vmm32.vxd is a collection of device drivers and is unique to every PC.
There are situations where it can contain drivers that aren't needed, and you may be able to reduce its size. But this is expert-level Windows work and I don't feel qualified to instruct. There's not a lot on the web either.
Leaving this aside, there's another issue: your base conventional memory is too low! Total conventional memory should be about 640K. Mine is 651,264, yours is over 50 K less. That's part of the problem.
So... what's the OS? Have you scanned for viruses lately? And do you have any other ideas (BIOS settings?) why the conventional memory setting is so low?
------------------
Charles M. Kozierok ( ixlubb@PCGuide.com )
Webslave, The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
Comprehensive PC Reference, Troubleshooting, Optimization and Buyer's Guides...
Neovalis
09-06-2000, 11:04 PM
My OS is Windows 98. I am almost positive that no virus is present on my system, though I haven't checked lately. And no, I have no clue why my conventional memory is so low. Before this problem came up, I hadn't even heard of conventional memory.
DANQU
09-07-2000, 09:16 AM
Before changing anything print out both Autoexec.bat and the Config.sys
Just for the heck of it REM these two lines in the Autoexec.bat
@C:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~1\NAVDX.EXE /Startup
@C:\PROGRA~1\WILDFI~1\GOBACK\GB_PROG.EXE /i C:2000
In the config.sys what is?
DEVICEHIGH=D
Try deleting this line
Then check the conventional memory
Neovalis
09-07-2000, 08:26 PM
DANQU, I tried your advice, but there was no difference in my conventional memory. Thanks anyways. Seems like this situation is starting to look grim...
Let's try a different tack. If you only need another 8192, then maybe we can squeeze that out rather than trying to solve the overall problem.
The "TAISATAP" sounds like a DOS mode CD driver. Is that what it is? You shouldn't need it since MSCDEX isn't even running. Try putting a "REM" in front of it and see what happens...
------------------
Charles M. Kozierok ( ixlubb@PCGuide.com )
Webslave, The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
Comprehensive PC Reference, Troubleshooting, Optimization and Buyer's Guides...
Neovalis
09-07-2000, 10:44 PM
It worked! Thanks for all your help!
You're welcome. Come back soon, and tell 100 of your closest friends to join us. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif
(I assume you mean the "REM" I just told you to try? Be sure it isn't for something that you will need in some other context...)
------------------
Charles M. Kozierok ( ixlubb@PCGuide.com )
Webslave, The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
Comprehensive PC Reference, Troubleshooting, Optimization and Buyer's Guides...
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