dr_st wrote:
Why do you need DOS=SINGLE?
Not sure what it does -- it was just part of the .pif by default.
it is typically enough to press F5 on boot and skip Config/Autoexec entirely. There is also the option of selectively picking config/autoexec lines by pressing F8 on startup.
F8 (despite saying SHIFT+F8) just makes it so that I have to press the a number then press ENTER to select one of the config loadouts rather than just pressing the number. F5 sometimes brings me into Safe Mode Windows 98, and sometimes to a unloaded command prompt.
You can read here what each of them does.
Thanks -- this is much clearer than the /? readouts for SMARTDRV. The number one thing I was doing wrong was not loading MSCDEX BEFORE SMARTDRV so my disc wasn't being cached. Also it seems that not adding any /B: or /E: values gives more to SMARTDRV as opposed to putting the highest values I can in there. Either way SMARTDRV doesn't seem to hold more than 20-21K of memory and still doesn't make much of a difference in the loading times. When I type SMARTDRV to view how it's loaded it shows that D: Read caching is enabled but the Buffers line just has a "--" ... could that be why? The funny thing is before I started tinkering at all Arena loaded significantly faster from the CD.. but it would have crashes because of conventional memory. I did try as a test to go back to the original autoexec/config but it remains slower -- maybe it's the disc drive.
Precisely - that's all that needed. Instead, Windows decided to add those lines to do it in a convoluted manner - it loads another copy of command.com and waits for it to exit, then continues to run itself from the end of Autoexec.bat. Pretty stupid and wastes memory on the extra command.com, and all so that you can type EXIT instead of WIN to run it.
I freely admit I have no knowledge -- but it seems important not to tamper with these lines. I have another thread in here where I was posting about how I could not return to Windows from DOS. Each time I would type WIN it would give me the prompt but inputting Y would just have it reboot to DOS again, and again. EXIT didn't work either. I eventually reformatted and reinstalled as none of the solutions were working. I had this happen again after messing with these lines but was fortunately able to get back into Windows 98 except my desktop and drivers were not loaded. When I ran the .pif file to go back to DOS and then returned to Windows again all was returned.
It seems like those lines keep the DOS config and windows config separate somehow? In any case, as I said it automatically adds those lines again no matter what so removing them seems futile.
There's not much to it. You already found that other thread.
Using ISO images in DOS
I downloaded SHSUCDX V3.05 from here http://adoxa.altervista.org/shsucdx/ and that wasn't what I was supposed to download, I believe. No SHSUCDHD was included in there. There are 5 download links there. I had downloaded the wrong one which was only the CDX.COM files. I've since downloaded the r 3-3 one which seems to have everything.
As far as the installation and use goes... it really isn't so clear cut to a novice like myself but I appreciate everyone's assistance and I am making an effort to figure it out. I will share the resources I have and my thought process at the risk of embarrassing myself. Apologies in advance -- it is scattered.
The thread I linked gives an example .bat file.
A typical batch file would be: […]
Show full quote
A typical batch file would be:
SHSUCDHD /D:F:\ISO\ALBION.ISO
SHSUCDX /D:SHSU-CDH
CD F:\GAMES\RPG\ALBION
ALBION
SHSUCDX /U
SHSUCDHD /U
Ok.. it's a batch file for an individual game that loads CDHD and CDX, goes to the game directory, loads the game and then uninstalls (or unloads) CDX and CDHD. I come to the conclusion about the /U since there was this bit in that post.
The *really* interesting thing about both bits of software is that they can be dynamically loaded and unloaded from memory at will.
Side thought--perhaps this extra bit (unloading it) is why he wasn't able to get CD Audio and gdjacobs confirms he has had CD audio working. At a second look -- gdjacobs said 'CDX' both times, not 'CDHD' so maybe he just means using the CDX as a replacement for MSCDEX but still with a real drive.
That leads into another confusion..
SHSUCDHD /D:F:\ISO\ALBION.ISO
SHSUCDX /D:SHSU-CDH
Ok, so F: is this guy's main drive (my C: drive) (CD F:\GAMES...etc confirms this for me) and D: is the virtual drive he's creating... but D: is the drive letter of my physical drive so won't that cause a conflict? Or /D is just a switch. I look in the included image.txt file and find...
/D specify drive letter (SHSUCDRI)
Is this a switch he is using... ? But then the drive letter he is specifying is his hard drive and not a virtual drive. Or /D:F:\ISO\ALBION.ISO is just a switch that means .. MOUNT .ISO AT THIS LOCATION.
/D:SHSU-CDH .... well in the image.txt I found...
..a
device driver called SHSU-CDH (SHSUCDHD), SHSU-CDR (SHSUCDRD & SHSUCDRI)
... a device driver.
Now this hints to me at the installation itself of SHSUCDX...
I know that the following in my autoexec/config are for my optical drive.
LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:OPTICAL [In autoexec]
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRIVERS\VIDECDD.SYS /D:OPTICAL [in config]
There's no mention of VIDECDD.SYS anywhere... and since none of the files included in the download are a .SYS file I assume I need that to stay as is.
So maybe I just replace the first one with something like..
LH C:\SHSU\SHSUCDX.COM /D:OPTICAL ...? Some thought to replacing an .EXE with a .COM...
...but then what of SHSUCDHD ..? Does this not need to be a part of the autoexec or config and it just runs from an individual batch file for the game like the above example?
When he just puts ..
SHSUCDHD /D:F:\ISO\ALBION.ISO
SHSUCDX /D:SHSU-CDH
in his batch file does he really mean..
C:\directoryforSHSU\SHSUDCHD.EXE
C:\directoryforSHSU\SHSUCDX.COM
?
Then I'm thinking -- since it was mentioned there could possible compatibility issues without MSCDEX -- can I just use SHSUCDHD with MSCDEX? Looks like I can..
from the image.txt file..
SHSUCDX (or MSCDEX) can then be used to
access the images as normal drive letters. Note: SHSUDVHD will NOT work
with MSCDEX.
as long as I'm not using DVD images.
Judging from jacob's config file I don't need to do anything in there with SHSU... just in the autoexec and only if I'm going to use the CDX in place of MSCDEX... which seems like it may not even be necessary?