Dos command to allocate memory \ VOGONS

Dos command to allocate memory

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First post, by Riikcakirds

Posted on 2023-03-17, 15:24

Riikcakirds Offline

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Is there a dos program that can reduce the amount of conventional memory/ upper memory available.
Like loadfix in dosbox, you can type loadfix 40 and it will use up 40KB memory and reduce your conventional memory by that amount. Then you have the option to remove it later.
I need to load an old recovery program (Allmicro) in real dos and loadfix (which just allocates and uses up the first 64KB) doesn't help.
The program won't run with memory above 500KB.

Reply 1 of 8, by wbahnassi

Posted on 2023-03-17, 15:39

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Load SMARTDRV, MSCDEX, GMOUSE, DOSKEY.. should get you pretty low 🙂

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Reply 2 of 8, by Riikcakirds

Posted on 2023-03-17, 17:34

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wbahnassi wrote on 2023-03-17, 15:39:

Load SMARTDRV, MSCDEX, GMOUSE, DOSKEY.. should get you pretty low 🙂

The program is a bit like a bios update. Strict in what can be loaded, it will not even work with himem.sys loaded. The manual says it uses int/15 to access extended memory if available. It was made in 1989 for specialist data recovery. Looking over the internet I can't find anything about it.
I can load it in dosbox, it has the tools to eat conventional memory and reduce it below 500kb, but I need it to run on a real pc.

Last edited by Riikcakirds on 2023-03-17, 20:30. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 3 of 8, by weedeewee

Posted on 2023-03-17, 17:52

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maybe EATMEM from this package will do.
https://vetusware.com/download/TSR%20Utilitie … 202.9/?id=16287

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Reply 4 of 8, by Jo22

Posted on 2023-03-17, 18:21

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Riikcakirds wrote on 2023-03-17, 17:34:

wbahnassi wrote on 2023-03-17, 15:39:

Load SMARTDRV, MSCDEX, GMOUSE, DOSKEY.. should get you pretty low 🙂

The program is a bit like a bios update. Strict in what can be loaded, it will not even work with himem.sys loaded. The manual says it uses int/15 to access extended memory if available. It was made in 1989 for specialist data recovery. Looking over the internet I can't find anything about it.
I can load it in dosbox, it has the tools to eat conventional memory and reduce it below 500kb, bit I need it to run on a real pc.

Himem.sys of MS-DOS 6.2x has an option for such old programs, not sure if works with this one in particular, though.

HIMEM.SYS /INT15=

The value is assuming Kilobytes.

If Himem.sys is installed that way, all Extended Memory is used as XMS (up to 64MB on old Himem.sys), with the exception of the INT15 value.
Programs using INT15 will merely see what Himem.sys has set aside.

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Reply 5 of 8, by wbahnassi

Posted on 2023-03-17, 18:32

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Why do you need Himem anyways? Most TSRs should work without Himem, and will load low and eat from conv mem. You can try a few and see if your tool likes them or not.

Reply 6 of 8, by jakethompson1

Posted on 2023-03-17, 20:17

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Can you run a few nested instances of command.com until you get under 512k?

Reply 7 of 8, by Jo22

Posted on 2023-03-17, 23:02

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jakethompson1 wrote on 2023-03-17, 20:17:

Can you run a few nested instances of command.com until you get under 512k?

Good idea! 🙂👍 How about using 4DOS, as well? 4DOS was a big command.com replacement.

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Reply 8 of 8, by doshea

Posted on 2023-03-18, 02:57

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weedeewee wrote on 2023-03-17, 17:52:

maybe EATMEM from this package will do.
https://vetusware.com/download/TSR%20Utilitie … 202.9/?id=16287

EATMEM is also available from some shovelware CDs (without requiring you to register to download it), just to make it clearer that it doesn't seem to be problematic "abandonware" but rather just shareware/freeware:

http://cd.textfiles.com/cream/cream03/diag/eatmem10.zip
http://cd.textfiles.com/garbo/PC/MEMUTIL/EATMEM11.ZIP

I think I used that tool many years ago because I already knew the name before seeing it mentioned above.

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