VOGONS

Search

Common searches

MS-DOS 6.22 Memory Optimizations (Conventional free: 643.600 (629K))

Topic actions

First post, by firehand

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Hello everyone,

since i reactivated my old computer a couple of days ago and spent some time fiddling around to maximize the conventional memory i'd like to share what i've got so far:

Brief Hardware Specs:
BASE: AMD K6-2/300, 256MB RAM, VIA MVP3 Chipset
GFX: STB Velocity 128 AGP (RIVA 128 Chip, 8MB RAM)
SCSI: Adaptec AHA-2940UW
HDD: IBM DDRS-34560
CD: PLEXTOR PX-40TS
CDRW: PLEXTOR PX-W1210S
SOUND: Creative SB AWE64 Gold
NET: 3Com 3C905-TX

mem /a/c output: (yes, the DOS is a German one 😀)

Module, die den Speicher unterhalb 1 MB verwenden:

    Name       Insgesamt     = Konventioneller  +  Hoher Speicher
  --------  ----------------   ----------------    ---------------
  MSDOS        9.645    (9K)      9.645    (9K)          0    (0K)
  LOWDMA         688    (1K)        688    (1K)          0    (0K)
  DOSMAX         400    (0K)        400    (0K)          0    (0K)
  4DOS         6.320    (6K)        272    (0K)      6.048    (6K)
  LBACACHE    13.584   (13K)        336    (0K)     13.248   (13K)
  HIMEM        1.168    (1K)          0    (0K)      1.168    (1K)
  ASPI8DOS    22.000   (21K)          0    (0K)     22.000   (21K)
  ASPICD      12.784   (12K)          0    (0K)     12.784   (12K)
  CTSB16      21.776   (21K)          0    (0K)     21.776   (21K)
  CTMMSYS      8.080    (8K)          0    (0K)      8.080    (8K)
  IFSHLP       3.872    (4K)          0    (0K)      3.872    (4K)
  NANSI        3.024    (3K)          0    (0K)      3.024    (3K)
  ZENO174      1.120    (1K)          0    (0K)      1.120    (1K)
  SETVER         576    (1K)          0    (0K)        576    (1K)
  FILES        3.280    (3K)          0    (0K)      3.280    (3K)
  FCBS            96    (0K)          0    (0K)         96    (0K)
  WKBUFFER       528    (1K)          0    (0K)        528    (1K)
  LASTDRIV       896    (1K)          0    (0K)        896    (1K)
  STACKS       3.040    (3K)          0    (0K)      3.040    (3K)
  INSTALL        160    (0K)          0    (0K)        160    (0K)
  NOVAFONT     5.184    (5K)          0    (0K)      5.184    (5K)
  KEYB2          992    (1K)          0    (0K)        992    (1K)
  CTMOUSE      3.104    (3K)          0    (0K)      3.104    (3K)
  KSTACK       1.520    (1K)          0    (0K)      1.520    (1K)
  VBEHZ          672    (1K)          0    (0K)        672    (1K)
  DOSIDLE      2.864    (3K)          0    (0K)      2.864    (3K)
  XMSDSK         688    (1K)          0    (0K)        688    (1K)
  SHSUCDX      8.592    (8K)          0    (0K)      8.592    (8K)
  4DOS24H2     2.464    (2K)          0    (0K)      2.464    (2K)
  Frei       647.040  (632K)    643.616  (629K)      3.424    (3K)

Speicher-Zusammenfassung:

  Speichertyp         Insgesamt =  Verwendet +     Frei
  -----------------   ---------    ---------    ---------
  Konventioneller       655.360       11.744      643.616
  Hoher                 131.200      127.776        3.424
  Reserviert            393.216      393.216            0
  Erweiterung (XMS)  267.255.68   201.542.52   65.713.152
  -----------------   ---------    ---------    ---------
  Insg. Speicher     268.435.45   202.075.26   66.360.192

  Insg. unter 1 MB      786.560      139.520      647.040

  Maximale Größe für ausführbares Programm            643.600   (629K)
  Größter freier Block im hohen Speicherblock           2.416     (2K)
  Freier Speicher im oberen Speicherbereich            17.408    (17k)
  MS-DOS ist resident im oberen Speicherbereich (High Memory Area).

And this is how i've done it:

config.sys:

; Skip 2 seconds boot delay
SWITCHES=/F
; Load DOS + UMA
DOS=HIGH,UMB

; Hardware UMB Driver
DEVICE=C:\DRIVERS\UMBPCI\UMBPCI.SYS I=B000-B7FF I=D000-EFFF
; Driver for floppy-sector access, not sure if i really need it
DEVICE=C:\DRIVERS\UMBPCI\LOWDMA.SYS
DEVICE=C:\DRIVERS\HIRAM\HIRAM.EXE
; HIGH + Extended Memory Manager (loaded into upper memory, thanks to HIRAM.EXE
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRIVERS\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF /NUMHANDLES=128 /Q

; Optimal Files and Buffers, disabled FCBS support
FILES=60
BUFFERS=11,0
FCBS=1,0
STACKS=9,256
LASTDRIVE=J
; We are in germany :)
COUNTRY=049,850,C:\DOS\COUNTRY.SYS
; Move files, buffers, fcbs, stacks, lastdirve high
DEVICE=C:\DRIVERS\DOSMAX\DOSMAX.EXE N+ P- R- U02 U08 U09 U0A U0B U0C U0D U0E U70 U72 U73 U74 U76 U77 
; Use 4DOS as shell
SHELL=C:\TOOLS\4DOS\4DOS.COM C:\TOOLS\4DOS\ @C:\TOOLS\4DOS\4DOS.INI /P /E:1024 

; Creative Plug and Play Config Manager
DEVICE=C:\DRIVERS\SB\CTCM\CTCM.EXE
; Driver for the Adaptec AHA-2940UW Controller
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRIVERS\SCSI\ASPI8DOS.SYS /D
; SCSI CD-ROM Driver
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRIVERS\SCSI\ASPICD.SYS /D:ASPICD0
; Sound Blaster Drivers
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRIVERS\SB\SB16\DRV\CTSB16.SYS /UNIT=0 /BLASTER=A:220 I:5 D:1 H:5
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRIVERS\SB\SB16\DRV\CTMMSYS.SYS
; Enable Windows 32Bit Fast Disk Access
DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\IFSHLP.SYS
; ANSI.SYS replacement
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRIVERS\NANSI.SYS /S /X
; VGA Bios Accelerator
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRIVERS\ZENO174\ZENO174.EXE /Q
; Unsure if i really need setver
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\SETVER.EXE

autoexec.bat:

@ECHO OFF

REM Better readable console font
LH C:\TOOLS\MISC\NOVAFONT.COM
REM Smartdrive Replacement, 8MB Cache, support for SCSI Harddisks enabled
LH C:\DRIVERS\LBACACHE.COM 8192 tuns

SET IEPPP=C:\APPS\MSIE50
SET PCTCP=C:\APPS\MSIE50\pctcp.shv
SET SOUND=C:\DRIVERS\SB\SB16
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 E620 T6
SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E MODE:0
SET CTCM=C:\DRIVERS\SB\CTCM
SET COPYCMD=/Y
SET DIRCMD=/A/O:GEN/P

REM WfW 3.11 networking
C:\WINDOWS\net start
REM SB AWE64 Stuff
C:\DRIVERS\SB\SB16\DIAGNOSE /S /W=C:\WINDOWS
C:\DRIVERS\SB\SB16\AWEUTIL /S
C:\DRIVERS\SB\SB16\MIXERSET /P /Q
C:\DRIVERS\SB\CTCM\CTCU /S /W=C:\WINDOWS

REM Default Prompt
PROMPT $p$g
REM Path Variable
PATH C:\APPS\MSIE50;C:\WINDOWS;C:\DOS;C:\TOOLS\NC;C:\TCWIN45\BIN;C:\TOOLS\PKZIP;C:\TOOLS\MISC;

REM We are in germany :)
MODE CON CODEPAGE PREPARE=((850) C:\DOS\EGA.CPI)
MODE CON CODEPAGE SELECT=850

REM CuteMouse v2.1 beta4 [FreeDOS]
LH C:\DRIVERS\CTMOUSE\CTMOUSE.EXE
REM Keyboard driver replacement with support for german keyboard layouts
LH C:\DRIVERS\KEYB2.COM
REM 4DOS Doskey replacement
LH C:\TOOLS\4DOS\KSTACK.COM
REM Increase DOS Refresh rates
LH C:\TOOLS\VBEHZ\VBEHZ.COM
REM CPU Powermanagement
LH C:\TOOLS\DOSIDLE\DOSIDLE.EXE -Cpu -Apm -Fm2
REM XMS Ramdrive, 184MB Storage
LH C:\DRIVERS\XMSDSK.EXE H: 188416 /y /t
REM MSCDEX Replacement
C:\DRIVERS\SHSUCDX.COM /D:ASPICD0 /M:12 /L:F
REM Better Critical Error Handler for 4DOS
LH C:\TOOLS\MISC\4DOS24H2.COM

MODE.COM CON: RATE=32 DELAY=1

REM Change Temp Directory to the ramdrive
SET TEMP=H:\
SET TMP=H:\

Why the odd value of the ramdrive?
Since DOS 6.22 only uses 64MB XMS RAM, i did the following math:
256MB - 64MB (XMS Maximum) - 8MB Cache = 184MB = 188416 (184 * 1024)

Hope this helps some folks, after all those years it took some time for me to figure it out again.

Reply 2 of 6, by konc

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

Thanks for this, great info! I have some points for discussion/clarification, not necessarily for your post but for this thread in general:
1) In hiram's documentation and site, for example http://www.mdgx.com/umb.htm#HIR it is stated in bold that HIMEM.SYS must be loaded BEFORE the UMBPCI.SYS line.
2) Why is your MSDOS only occupying 9KBs? Mine is double! (version 6.22) I guess it has something to do with using hiram and/or UMBPCI, but just wanted to make sure.
3) What's with 386/486 machines? I mean from what I understand UMBPCI cannot be used, does this just restrict to the use of emm386+hiram or has additional effects?

As you've probably guessed, I'm going to turn on that 386 beast and try to free up some conventional memory 😀

Reply 3 of 6, by firehand

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Hi,

to answer 1) i quote http://www.mdgx.com/umb.htm#HIR:

To make this work, you need these CONFIG.SYS commands in this EXACT ORDER (example): [all lines preceded by a semicolon (;) are […]
Show full quote

To make this work, you need these CONFIG.SYS commands in this EXACT ORDER (example):
[all lines preceded by a semicolon (;) are comments]
; To load DOS high and to enable the Upper Memory Blocks:
DOS=HIGH,UMB
; To enable the Upper Memory Area:
DEVICE=C:\UMBPCI\UMBPCI.SYS
; To make the UMA visible to DOS through a small XMS 2.0 handler:
DEVICE=C:\UMBPCI\HIRAM.EXE
; Yes, now you can load HIMEM.SYS "high":
DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF /Q

If you don't do it that way, it won't work.

To answer 2):
You MSDOS occupies more space, because files, buffers, fcbs, lastdrive, stacks are not loaded high. If i wouldn't use DOSMAX to load that stuff into the upper memory, my MSDOS would use more RAM too.

As for 3):
i believe a 486 Machine should work, if it has an Intel Saturn chipset. That was chipset was designed for 5V i486-class CPUs. All the other chipsets on the UMBPCI Website are Pentium Class Chipsets or higher.
Unfortunately i can't test my theory with the Saturn Chipset and i486, as i don't have the hardware. On a 386, i don't think there is a chance UMBPCI will work.

If you don't use Win/WfW 3.x, then you can try using Jemmx, instead of the combination of UMBPCI + Himem. At any rate, it's memory footprint should be smaller than HIMEM + EMM386. Alternatively you can use QEMM.
I tried QEMM too, but found out that UMBPCI + HIRAM + HIMEM takes less memory.

On another note, re-ordering your device drivers and TSR's might free up some RAM as well, i know it did for me. I would've loaded the necessary packet driver TSR for my NIC as well, but that one takes 30kb and since i have to load those stupidly large SCSI drivers...

Cheers

Reply 4 of 6, by konc

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

1) Weird, there seems to be some inconsistency between documentation and comments. Obviously what you did and quoted is the correct one since it's working 😀
2) Ah OK, so this is DOSMAX's job.. I didn't know that files-stacks-etc size affects and can be seen in the size of MSDOS. That's really useful.
3) I was afraid that this would be the case... Anyway, using emm386 only costs 3KBs so it's not really a big deal. DOSMAX is going to save 3 times that

For what concerns my case, currently everything I need except from MSDOS, EMM386 & the shell are loaded high resulting to 618KBs without any third party software, just himem+emm386. But this discussion has been enlightening offering the knowledge and "advanced" tricks/drivers for anyone interested in spending some time tweaking his configuration to the maximum. I didn't even know most of the software you're using.

Thanks for your detailed post + comments!

Reply 5 of 6, by Mau1wurf1977

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Very impressive!

I do zero optimisation and still all games run 😀

I use batch files for the things I need to load on the spot. E.g. MSCDEX, MOUSE, Sound Blaster...

My website with reviews, demos, drivers, tutorials and more...
My YouTube channel

Reply 6 of 6, by firehand

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

konc, you can give Jemmx a try instead of using HIMEM + EMM386. If you don't wanna use that, use the HIMEM and EMM386 provided with Windows 98 SE. Those are the ones i use with my DOS 6.22. They should be smaller.
And then add some includes in the EMM386. I=B000-B7FF I=D000-EFFF should work for your case as well i believe.

Mau1wurf1977, to each their own. I do more than just playing games on that machine 😀

BTW, i can highly recommend NOVAFONT, available here: http://ftp.icm.edu.pl/pub/simtelnet/msdos/gra … cs/novafo01.zip DOS Console is so much more readable after loading that one.

Go to top of page Go to top of page
Back to DOS
Close window
Close window