and some GOG games not actually working on XP (Arx Fatalis for instance). If this isn't a case of GOG making the current offline game/installer somehow incompatible with XP, I remember having to use Win98 compatibility mode with XP with retail copy of Arx or the game would constantly CTD. I could …

So, and I just found this out, you should just be able to use DEVICEHIGH over DEVICE in DOSINIT since it will load into conventional memory should there not be enough UMB or it just doesn't exist. It isn't going to change things functionally if that's true, but it will reduce a bit of clutter :p …

Edit: Oh, and I also just noticed your example Config.sys currently has DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\SETVER.EXE and DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOSPACK\DRIVERS\videcdd.sys /D:MSCD001 for DOS3 even though it doesn't load HIMEM.SYS. Fixed I think? Current Config.sys: [MENU] menuitem=WINDOWS, Microsoft Windows 98 Second …

DOS=UMB does nothing unless you installed a real mode UMB driver such as UMBPCI as mentioned on a previous post or EMM386 is added after HIMEM.SYS, but the latter one forces the CPU into v86 mode which reduces compatibility with some DOS games. Alrighty then. I bet figuring this stuff out back in …

Yes, but for DOS1 there's still stuff that will be put on conventional memory due to lack of UMB (no issues adding FILESHIGH, etc on [HIMEMDOS] though). I also suggest adding adding STACKS=9,256 to [COMMON] in addition for better stability, not STACKSHIGH due to compatibility issues. Added! But …

Also, it might be worth using FILESHIGH, BUFFERSHIGH, LASTDRIVEHIGH over the non-high entries to free up a bit more conventional memory for anything including HIMEM. I think it takes me from ~600k to ~620k when booting with DOS1. I moved the non-high versions from [COMMON] to [DOS3] since it's the …

Thanks again 😀 This stuff seem like an art form and witchcraft at the same time, don't know should I marvel at the code or go find a crucifix.

Preetty glad I asked about this in advance :D I took that DOS=NOAUTO from one of PhilsComputerLab templates I found, apparently without it coventional memory boot option still ended up with XMS memory. It didn't have IFSHLP.SYS or DBLBUFF.SYS anywhere in there, but Phil was using .PIFs in his guide …

On a DOS configuration with a menu one can group multiple lines to avoid repetition. For example on CONFIG.SYS: [MENU] menuitem=WINDOWS, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition menuitem=DOS1, MS-DOS 7.10 - Expanded Memory menuitem=DOS2, MS-DOS 7.10 - Extended memory menuitem=DOS3, MS-DOS 7.10 - …

Seem like stuff to mess with later down the line, I better learn the basics and get the thing running first :) But thanks for mentioning those, I didn't even know they were a thing and I'm sure I'm going to tinker with them at some point just for the heck of it! Keep in mind that Windows 9x was …

I'd be tempted to add a UDMA driver to the set, either Triones or XHDD / XDVD2 for optical, as you can get improved DOS disk performance. Might also be worth looking at non-EMM386 UMB like UMBPCI if you need to max conventional memory while remaining in real mode. FASTVID may also be worth a go …

What is really confusing me here is that if I've understood correctly, with BootGUI=0 I get the boot menu then starting the PC. But if I set it to 1 and add BootConfig=WINDOWS, would I still get the boot menu where I would be able to pick and choose between windows and DOS? This stuff really is …

That's good enough for Windows. The rest such as the sound initialization and throttle are just for the other configuration menus with the exception of the BLASTER environment. Did you add BootConfig on MSDOS.SYS? Anyway BootGUI=0 with WIN.COM on AUTOEXEC.BAT works. Don't want to complicate the …

Awesome, thanks! But how does the boot menu then know how to load windows if I remove WIN.COM? See my edit above. :) BootConfig is for which config menu will be used for BootGUI. I'll be honest, I don't really understand what exactly makes the PC load Windows with that MSDOS.sys edit, but I guess …

Gmlb256 wrote on 2021-09-21, 16:12: And remove WIN.COM from AUTOEXEC.BAT. You don't actually need EMM386 to be loaded either on the "WINDOWS" option as Windows has its own expanded memory manager. Awesome, thanks! But how does the boot menu then know how to load windows if I remove WIN.COM?

I never use setver or doskey. DOS=HIGH,UMB is usually before any of the lines to load anything as well. Not sure if it matters, that is just how I do it. I have no idea would I ever need setver for any game I would play, but is there still a reason to take it off? Would that free up memory to make …

Hello! So I'm putting together a P3 Win98SE / DOS machine for the first time and I'm trying to wrap my head around config.sys and autoexec.bat before the parts arrive. I did have a 486 MSDOS 6.22 machine and a Win 98 rig back in the 90's but I wasn't exactly a wizard with them, I wasn't yet …