VOGONS

Win 3.1 in DOSBox/game-related Virtual Memory question

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First post, by Marian

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I'm running an old Windows 3.1 game in DOSBox 0.72 called James Burke's Connections (which is wonderful to be able to revisit after all these years!). Occasionally the game is freezing up on me. A look at the readme file for the game suggests that if you are playing in Windows 3.1 to go to 386 Enhanced and set up a permanent 4-mb swap file for virtual memory. It also said that I don't need a swap file if I have more than 8 mg of RAM. However, upon experimenting and trying to change my virtual memory from temporary to permanent, Windows 3.1 won't allow me to do so.

I'm wondering if my occasional freezes could be related to the above.

So, my questions are as follows:

Is there a way to change my virtual memory to permanent using Windows 3.1 in DOSBox? And, is this question demonstrating my ignorance of DOSBox, Windows 3.1, or both? I'm here to learn. 😀

Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated.

Reply 2 of 7, by Marian

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Yes, I did try that; I tried a memsize of 32, as well (which may have been utterly pointless, but at least it sounds like I was on the right track in terms of my thought processes).

It's great to hear from you, by the way, as your instructions are the ones I followed to install Windows 3.1. I won't hold you responsible to sort out this predicament, though. 😀

The manual recommends that the game be played in Windows 95 but says that it fully supports Windows 3.1 as well. Apart from this occasional freeze the game runs perfectly, so I thought it would be worth asking here if anyone has any other ideas or suggestions.

Reply 4 of 7, by Marian

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Good to know. 😀 I appreciate your time! I will keep it at memsize 16 and experiment with it some more.

Reply 5 of 7, by wd

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dosbox supports memory up to 63mb, so anything above that will stick
to 63, but usually you're best off with 16mb or, in special cases, with 31
(just don't forget to set the default back to 16mb as that's the most
compatible setting due to wrapping).

Reply 7 of 7, by Marian

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wd, I have made a note of everything that you said; it is much appreciated.

I have learned so much from reading what you and the other experts have posted on this forum. Because of you, and some other special individuals, I am now able to play over two hundred DOS games that I had purchased long ago but that I could no longer get to run; "thank you" seems inadequate, but.....THANK YOU!!! 😁

If I manage to fix these occasional freezes, I will post again.

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