Richy33 wrote:

I'm sure you don't want to here my reasoning it's a 2 month old problem and I've traced it to this ( and of course I could be wrong )

Well, your question doesn't make the least bit of sense (technically the upper memory area is typically limited to 384k by definition) and there's no way of knowing if you could be wrong if you don't provide more information, so yes, if you want help, you'd better provide your reasoning.

I think DOSBox-X supports more than 64 MB of XMS, but there is nothing in DOS that needs more RAM than that, so again, your question still doesn't make sense.
https://github.com/joncampbell123/dosbox-x/releases

Also, for goodness' sake, write a proper subject line. Do you think anything would get done if everyone wrote a subject line like "I know I shouldn't ask but I'm desperate" ?

You've edited your post and I still have no idea what you're trying to do.

Have you tried vDosPlus? DOSBox is not really intended to run "Office type of program". (vDosPlus is also considerably more up to date than Megabuild 6.)

Had no Idea about vDosPlus i've tried serveral this is an entirely new venture / I'm trying to get PFS not to error out of memory and the only common error is UMB so the more I work on that the more I get out of the program so it's simple PFS seems to only work with the biggest block of UMB which I need to somehow get to 256 or at least over 200 🙁

Your posts are very hard to read. Please make an effort to use punctuation.

Richy33 wrote:

I'm trying to get PFS not to error out of memory and the only common error is UMB

Are you actually getting an error message that refers to "UMB" ? All you've described so far is a "not enough memory error".

DOSBox-X also has "alternative" UMB allocation support (as described in DOSBox-X branch ), so that is still your best option if vDosPlus does not work.

EMS doubles my UMB that allows PFS to open files bigger then 63kb but not bigger then 127kb. My question is ( and by the way thank you for the help I really didn't expect any replies ) is there a way that when I launch any version of dosbox, when I do a mem check that my UMB = more then 200kb. I have recently tried x, it only goes to 127kb as well. I'm focused on one thing, for whatever reason UMB is the only problem PFS software fails with certain files based on there size only, not type or location. Also I only get the error when the file exceeds the 127kb threshold.

Richy33 wrote:

when I do a mem check that my UMB = more then 200kb

When you say "do a mem check", do you mean try to open a file larger than a particular size? Or are you using some other tool to "do a mem check" ? Do you have any reason to believe that real hardware should behave differently?

So far your posts only indicate that using "ems=false" allows you to open a larger file, but that does not necessarily mean that the handling of UMB in DOSBox is at fault. Did you read about UMB anywhere in regards to this program?

That post I linked to talks about using the alternative DOS kernel "when selected", but it's not clear how that "selection" is made. Perhaps someone else will chime in.

It may be worth trying to boot MS-DOS in DOSBox, but this will require setting up bootable disk images containing PFS. But once you set them up, you can also try using the same disk images in PCem.

EDIT: You may also want to try setting ems=false and umb=false in your dosbox.conf and then loading JEMM386 in DOSBox. (I think running JEMM386 LOAD NOEMS will work, even from the DOSBox command line. JEMM386 has been known to improve compatibility in certain obscure cases.)
http://help.fdos.org/en/hhstndrd/base/jemm386.htm

Perhaps he means using the "mem" command to display available memory.

I see.

Well, in the case, I took a look at the dosbox.conf from the SVN Daum 20140127 version (which should have equivalent functionality to DOSBox-X). Changing "umb=false", "private area in umb=false", "mainline compatible mapping=false", and "private area size=8192" resulted in 180k according to "mem", but I don't have time right now to test which combination of options is superior. Changing the "umb start=0" and "umb end=0" lines ought to do something, but I'm not sure how you would change those either.

Thank You yes I meant MEM command trying some of these tips now

I took a look at the dosbox.conf from the SVN Daum 20140127 version, I have a question of the values to be put in the UMB Start and End the current values are zero. Could I get an example of start and end ? Thank You

Richy33 wrote:

Could I get an example of start and end ?

I don't think I've ever seen anyone mention those here before. Technically special builds like DOSBox-X aren't even supported on these forums. This is uncharted territory and you will have to experiment. Pages like http://www.mdgx.com/umb.htm suggest you could try using C800 for start and EFFF for end. Or you can try using UMBCHK from that page.

If you want more help than that, then you will have to answer the questions I asked before. Do you have any reason to expect this to work on real hardware? Did you read about UMB anywhere in regards to this program?

I have it working on 7pro and 10pro and yes he's going to use it. I modify only the UMB settings while disabling EMS and the program (first choice 3.5) now went from only able to open a 64kb file to a 187kb file the biggest file he has is 204kb. I have no idea why I zeroed in on UMB but when I change it I'm able to open bigger files in the directory. The program has no documentation that I can find so I tweak the .conf and test. The daum file is the best one yet I'm able to LOADHIGH and with out allot of modifying I'm able to open the bigger files but the 0 start and 0 end any mod's I make don't help. Just tried the C800 to EFFF and no improvement I'll goto mdgx next. Thank You

Richy33 wrote:

I have it working on 7pro and 10pro and yes he's going to use it.

I think you misunderstood my question. Do you mean you have this DOS program running in Windows 7 and Windows 10 without DOSBox?

You say that "the biggest file he has is 204kb". Where did this file come from? Was that file made when this program was running on a DOS computer? Do you know how that DOS computer was configured?

I modify only the UMB settings while disabling EMS

Did you disable EMS, or did you also make some other alteration to the "UMB settings" ?

and the program (first choice 3.5)

I thought this was "PFS" ?

I have no idea why I zeroed in on UMB but when I change it I'm able to open bigger files in the directory.

Except you didn't change UMB! According to what you have written so far, all you did was disable EMS.

The daum file is the best one yet I'm able to LOADHIGH

What are you loading high!? You haven't said anything about that either.

I'm running dosbox now the "SVM" version, the computer that made the larger file is an XP machine running dosbox as well.

EMS = false this takes the UMB file to 128kb

PFS:first choice

Right I did't change anything but EMS to get the 128kb

When I LH/LOADHIGH now I get more space out of the 128kb more like 187kb like you said earlier (I don't know why) so if I run it without load high I only get 128k

also I'm not a programmer just simply following the steps and tips. PFS:First Choice works fine but I can only open files to a maximum file size based on UMB then it doesn't allow me to open with a Not Enough Memory and to esc to cancel

Thank You again I'm sorry if I'm confusing I never get projects like this.

Richy33 wrote:

I'm running dosbox now the "SVM" version, the computer that made the larger file is an XP machine running dosbox as well.

So, does that mean you are able to open this file in PFS in DOSBox on this XP machine where the file was made? Because DOSBox will run exactly the same on any computer on which it is installed. If there were no changes made to the DOSBox configuration on that XP machine, then all of this has been a complete waste of time.

Also, it's "SVN", not "SVM".

ETA: Let me make this clear: When you type "mem" in DOSBox on this XP machine where you can open this file, doesn't it still say there is 128k of upper memory?

EMS = false this takes the UMB file to 128kb

Yes, but that is not the only thing disabling EMS does. If the program is trying to use EMS for some reason but can't, then the amount of UMB does not matter.

When I LH/LOADHIGH now

This is not clear. Are you typing "loadhigh" somewhere? Where exactly are you typing this?

yes it works in XP stock no mods / I thought xp was different it had a config.sys and autoexec.bat file you could tweak I will ask them to check the mem levels in the XP machine. while in dosbox however I'm going to take them in a different direction

SVN sorry. and your right but the program reacts better when I do these tweaks umb acts differently with the program, if I LOADHIGH the program giving me the extra boost to load 187kb 188kb files ( I read it in the help /all in dosbox ). I have messed with this long enough I convinced them to trim the bigger files down and give them a 188kb file limit They should be paying to upgrade instead of asking if there's anyway to get it to work on a new system I agree I'm wsting my time and yours Thanks for the tips

Richy33 wrote:

yes it works in XP stock no mods / I thought xp was different it had a config.sys and autoexec.bat file you could tweak I will ask them to check the mem levels in the XP machine. while in dosbox however I'm going to take them in a different direction

This is unclear. Are you using the Windows XP command prompt, or are you using DOSBox (as in the program you download from www.dosbox.com)? They are entirely different things. How did you install PFS on your XP machine? Did you install in the same way as you did in Windows 10?

if I LOADHIGH the program

Please say EXACTLY what you are typing when you start DOSBox.

I don't know how they installed it on the xp machine, I just goto the folder and Launch the executable from dosbox with xp and 7 pro

You know that's a good idea let me ask him if there's install disks

mount c c:\
cd choice
then I see
c:\choice
then
LH first

By far the best results so far

I've tried just mounting the folder and not the entire C drive it makes no difference

To be clear, it seems to me the issue here is not "how to get more upper memory in DOSBox", but "what are you doing differently under Windows 7 that is preventing the program from working like it does in XP".

Richy33 wrote:

I just goto the folder and Launch the executable from dosbox with xp and 7 pro

This is still not clear. Are you doing exactly the same thing in XP that you are doing in Windows 7? Are you running dosbox.exe and mounting the folders? How did you get the program onto your Windows 7 machine, anyway?

mount c c:\ cd choice then I see c:\choice then LH first […]
Show full quote

mount c c:\
cd choice
then I see
c:\choice
then
LH first

And have you confirmed that running "LH first" lets you open files that you cannot open if you just run "first" instead?