Harry Potter wrote on 2026-01-19, 15:11:

If you want, you can type "mem/c>c:\out.txt" at the command prompt, and DOS will divert mem's output to the indicated file.

Oh, nice. Thanks. Though I've just closed the blind and taken some pics. 🤣 But that's good to know for in the future. 😀

I've also noticed, that if I sometimes do something in DOS, and then type Win to load up Windows, I get hit with a BSOD. A fatal exception 0E has occured at 0028:C2A29008. 🙁

Anyway, this is how it's looking when UMB is disabled:

And when it's enabled/set to High:

Cool! I ask you to try loading SHSUCDX and DBLBUFF high. I think DOS automatically loads DBLBUFF at startup, but manually loading it in CONFIG.SYS would allow you to load it high. Other than that, I like your memory layout: lots of UMBs. 😀

Harry Potter wrote on 2026-01-19, 15:30:

Cool! I ask you to try loading SHSUCDX and DBLBUFF high. I think DOS automatically loads DBLBUFF at startup, but manually loading it in CONFIG.SYS would allow you to load it high. Other than that, I like your memory layout: lots of UMBs. 😀

Thanks. And okay, thanks for the suggestion. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure if things were optimal enough or not. ^^; Though I don't see what could be the cause of that DMA error. Unless the game just doesn't like the excess free memory...?

Well...I had a similar issue with a Win98SE tower at my mother's house. Using UMBPCI instead of EMM386 helped. There's a link to it at https://dosprograms.info.tt/indexall.htm under utilities.

Harry Potter wrote on 2026-01-19, 15:30:

Cool! I ask you to try loading SHSUCDX and DBLBUFF high. I think DOS automatically loads DBLBUFF at startup, but manually loading it in CONFIG.SYS would allow you to load it high. Other than that, I like your memory layout: lots of UMBs. 😀

I have SHSUCD set to LH in the autoexec file. Or is that not the right way of doing it? Also, how would I set DBLBUFF to load high in the config? LH and DEVICEHIGH don't work; it's not recognised.

Harry Potter wrote on 2026-01-19, 15:50:

Well...I had a similar issue with a Win98SE tower at my mother's house. Using UMBPCI instead of EMM386 helped. There's a link to it at https://dosprograms.info.tt/indexall.htm under utilities.

Oh, nice. Thanks. I think I may have downloaded it at some point, but never got round to using it. 😀

Yeah, a bit confused what's going on with SHSUCDX. CuteMouse has LH next to it and that loads in Upper Memory, but despite SHSUCDX having LH, it isn't. I have it set like:

LH C:\DOSPRO\SHSUSCD\SHSUCDX /D:MSCD001 /D1

EDIT: Ahh, wait. Is it because an environment variable needs to be set first?

EDIT 2: Nope. That doesn't work either. Maybe it's not designed to be loaded in Upper Memory...?

UMB's are difficult sometimes on real hardware because it needs to be contiguous for each driver and depending on your hardware there may be bits inside a large block the splits it down the middle. This is why stuff like QEMM OPTIMIZE and MEMMAKER exist to automate it.

For your case, try loading SHSUCDX before CTMOUSE. The general rule of thumb is large to small.

For your EMM386.EXE line, try this:

DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS /I=B000-B7FF HIGHSCAN

This will add the monochrome display memory block as a single UMB which could possibly fit your driver.

chronoreverse wrote on 2026-01-19, 18:38:

UMB's are difficult sometimes on real hardware because it needs to be contiguous for each driver and depending on your hardware […]
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UMB's are difficult sometimes on real hardware because it needs to be contiguous for each driver and depending on your hardware there may be bits inside a large block the splits it down the middle. This is why stuff like QEMM OPTIMIZE and MEMMAKER exist to automate it.

For your case, try loading SHSUCDX before CTMOUSE. The general rule of thumb is large to small.

For your EMM386.EXE line, try this:

DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS /I=B000-B7FF HIGHSCAN

This will add the monochrome display memory block as a single UMB which could possibly fit your driver.

Thanks for the suggestions. Sadly, it didn't work. SHSUCD refuses to budge from Conventional Memory. ^^; The EMM386 command has increased my Upper Memory from 150K to 180K though.

Try loading MSCDEX high instead. You seem to have plenty of UMB space.

Alternatively, it looks like SHSUCDX is able to move it from low to high and vice versa according to the TXT so maybe play around with moving it in runtime.

chronoreverse wrote on 2026-01-19, 19:30:

Try loading MSCDEX high instead. You seem to have plenty of UMB space.

Alternatively, it looks like SHSUCDX is able to move it from low to high and vice versa according to the TXT so maybe play around with moving it in runtime.

I believe that's already set to high. I have it as DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOSDRV\CD-ROM\VIDECDD.SYS /D:MSCD001.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-01-19, 20:10:

chronoreverse wrote on 2026-01-19, 19:30:

Try loading MSCDEX high instead. You seem to have plenty of UMB space.

Alternatively, it looks like SHSUCDX is able to move it from low to high and vice versa according to the TXT so maybe play around with moving it in runtime.

I believe that's already set to high. I have it as DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOSDRV\CD-ROM\VIDECDD.SYS /D:MSCD001.

There are two parts to the CD-ROM drivers. Traditionally it's OAKCDROM.SYS in CONFIG.SYS and MSCDEX.EXE in AUTOEXEC.BAT

VIDECDD.SYS replaces OAKCDROM.SYS while SHSUCDX replaces MSCDEX

chronoreverse wrote on 2026-01-19, 20:59:

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-01-19, 20:10:

chronoreverse wrote on 2026-01-19, 19:30:

Try loading MSCDEX high instead. You seem to have plenty of UMB space.

Alternatively, it looks like SHSUCDX is able to move it from low to high and vice versa according to the TXT so maybe play around with moving it in runtime.

I believe that's already set to high. I have it as DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOSDRV\CD-ROM\VIDECDD.SYS /D:MSCD001.

There are two parts to the CD-ROM drivers. Traditionally it's OAKCDROM.SYS in CONFIG.SYS and MSCDEX.EXE in AUTOEXEC.BAT

VIDECDD.SYS replaces OAKCDROM.SYS while SHSUCDX replaces MSCDEX

They're set up correctly though, right? This is how they're set up:

Autoexec.bat

@ECHO OFF SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D3 H7 P330 T6 SET CTSYN=C:\WINDOWS C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\SBLIVE\DOSDRV\SBEINIT.COM SET CUTE=C:\DOS […]
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@ECHO OFF
SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D3 H7 P330 T6
SET CTSYN=C:\WINDOWS
C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\SBLIVE\DOSDRV\SBEINIT.COM
SET CUTE=C:\DOSDRV\MOUSE\CUTE
REM C:\DOSDRV\HCDP\PATCHATA.EXE -V
REM LH C:\DOSPRO\UNISOUND\UNISOUND /V50 /VW50 /VL75 /VC50

goto %config%

:windows
C:\WINDOWS\WIN.COM
goto end

:DOS1

REM CD C:\DOSPRO\FASTVID
REM FASTVID 111 4 d6000000
REM CD\
LH %CUTE%\2.1\CTMOUSE.EXE
LH C:\DOSPRO\SHSUCD\SHSUCDX /D:MSCD001 /D1
REM C:\DOSPRO\CDBQ\CDBQ.EXE /P2 /DM /S1200
REM C:\DOSPRO\MPXPLAY\MPXPLAY.EXE -scs SBA -f0 C:\DOSPRO\MPXPLAY\INIT.WAV -xel
REM C:\DOSPRO\EK1M\EK1M.EXE -f C:\DOSPRO\EK1M\EK1M.INI
goto end

:DOS2

CD C:\DOSPRO\FASTVID
FASTVID 111 4 d6000000
CD\
%CUTE%\2.1\CTMOUSE.EXE
C:\DOSPRO\SHSUCD\SHSUCDX /D:MSCD001 /D1
REM C:\DOSPRO\CDBQ\CDBQ.EXE /P2 /DM /S1200
REM C:\DOSPRO\MPXPLAY\MPXPLAY.EXE -scs SBA -f0 C:\DOSPRO\MPXPLAY\INIT.WAV -xel
REM C:\DOSPRO\EK1M\EK1M.EXE -f C:\DOSPRO\EK1M\EK1M.INI
goto end

:DOS3

%CUTE%\2.1\CTMOUSE.EXE
C:\DOSPRO\SHSUCD\SHSUCDX /D:MSCD001 /D1

:end

Config

[menu] menuitem=windows, Microsoft Windows 98 SE menuitem=DOS1, MS-DOS 7.10 - Boot with EMS (Expanded Memory) menuitem=DOS2, MS- […]
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[menu]
menuitem=windows, Microsoft Windows 98 SE
menuitem=DOS1, MS-DOS 7.10 - Boot with EMS (Expanded Memory)
menuitem=DOS2, MS-DOS 7.10 - Boot with XMS (Extended Memory)
menuitem=DOS3, MS-DOS 7.10
menudefault=windows, 5

[common]
FILES=45
BUFFERS=30,0
LASTDRIVE=Z

[windows]
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\SETVER.EXE
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOSDRV\CD-ROM\VIDECDD.SYS

[DOS1]
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS HIGHSCAN
DOS=HIGH,UMB
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\SETVER.EXE
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOSDRV\CD-ROM\VIDECDD.SYS /D:MSCD001
SHELL=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND.COM /E:512 /P

[DOS2]
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\SETVER.EXE
DEVICE=C:\DOSDRV\CD-ROM\VIDECDD.SYS /D:MSCD001
SHELL=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND.COM /E:512 /P

[DOS3]
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\SETVER.EXE
DEVICE=C:\DOSDRV\CD-ROM\VIDECDD.SYS /D:MSCD001
SHELL=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND.COM /E:512 /P

It looks okay with some oddities that aren't important yet but it's often easy to miss things just by looking at it in menu form.

Test it cleanly first. Here it is clean XMS-only. According to the documentation, both CuteMouse and SHSUCDX are supposed to load high on their own so we don't need LH:

config.sys

1dos=high
2dos=umb
3device=c:\windows\himem.sys
4device=c:\windows\emm386.exe noems /i=b000-b7ff highscan
5devicehigh=C:\DOSDRV\CD-ROM\VIDECDD.SYS /D:MSCD001
6BUFFERS=13,0
7FCBS=1,0
8FILES=50
9LASTDRIVE=G
10STACKS=9,256

autoexec.bat

1C:\DOSPRO\SHSUCD\SHSUCDX.COM /D:MSCD001 /D1
2C:\DOSDRV\MOUSE\CUTE\2.1\CTMOUSE.EXE /R1
3SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D3 H7 P330 T6
4C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\SBLIVE\DOSDRV\SBEINIT.COM
5PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND

One more thing you could try, as suggested earlier by Harry Potter, is UMBPCI: https://www.uwe-sieber.de/umbpci_e.html
I like to use it because of games that want to be in real mode instead of v86 which means EMM386 can't be loaded. Then I can load jemm386.exe for EMS during runtime without needing a reboot and unload it after I'm done.

chronoreverse wrote on 2026-01-19, 22:35:

It looks okay with some oddities that aren't important yet but it's often easy to miss things just by looking at it in menu form […]
Show full quote

It looks okay with some oddities that aren't important yet but it's often easy to miss things just by looking at it in menu form.

Test it cleanly first. Here it is clean XMS-only. According to the documentation, both CuteMouse and SHSUCDX are supposed to load high on their own so we don't need LH:

config.sys

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1dos=high
2dos=umb
3device=c:\windows\himem.sys
4device=c:\windows\emm386.exe noems /i=b000-b7ff highscan
5devicehigh=C:\DOSDRV\CD-ROM\VIDECDD.SYS /D:MSCD001
6BUFFERS=13,0
7FCBS=1,0
8FILES=50
9LASTDRIVE=G
10STACKS=9,256

autoexec.bat

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1C:\DOSPRO\SHSUCD\SHSUCDX.COM /D:MSCD001 /D1
2C:\DOSDRV\MOUSE\CUTE\2.1\CTMOUSE.EXE /R1
3SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D3 H7 P330 T6
4C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\SBLIVE\DOSDRV\SBEINIT.COM
5PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND

One more thing you could try, as suggested earlier by Harry Potter, is UMBPCI: https://www.uwe-sieber.de/umbpci_e.html
I like to use it because of games that want to be in real mode instead of v86 which means EMM386 can't be loaded. Then I can load jemm386.exe for EMS during runtime without needing a reboot and unload it after I'm done.

Great. Thanks. I'll give that a try a bit later. 😀 Incidentally, what exactly do BUFFERS, FCBS, FILES and STACKS do? How does it help setting those? I'll have to leave LASTDRIVE as I had problems adjusting that. G is technically my last drive though I often use a USB pen drive. I just wouldn't want drive ordering to get messed up. ^^;

They're used by various DOS apps for accessing the disk and memory. Mostly for backwards compatibility but the set I provided should handle things fine unless you're running pre-DOS 3 stuff. You can have LASTDRIVE higher like H or I or even leave it out. It only saves a tiny bit of memory and I have it there out of habit.

The only two you should keep is FILES and STACKS as if you set those too low it's easy to run into problems.

chronoreverse wrote on 2026-01-19, 23:14:

They're used by various DOS apps for accessing the disk and memory. Mostly for backwards compatibility but the set I provided should handle things fine unless you're running pre-DOS 3 stuff. You can have LASTDRIVE higher like H or I or even leave it out. It only saves a tiny bit of memory and I have it there out of habit.

The only two you should keep is FILES and STACKS as if you set those too low it's easy to run into problems.

Gotcha. Thanks.

chronoreverse wrote on 2026-01-19, 22:35:

It looks okay with some oddities that aren't important yet but it's often easy to miss things just by looking at it in menu form […]
Show full quote

It looks okay with some oddities that aren't important yet but it's often easy to miss things just by looking at it in menu form.

Test it cleanly first. Here it is clean XMS-only. According to the documentation, both CuteMouse and SHSUCDX are supposed to load high on their own so we don't need LH:

config.sys

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1dos=high
2dos=umb
3device=c:\windows\himem.sys
4device=c:\windows\emm386.exe noems /i=b000-b7ff highscan
5devicehigh=C:\DOSDRV\CD-ROM\VIDECDD.SYS /D:MSCD001
6BUFFERS=13,0
7FCBS=1,0
8FILES=50
9LASTDRIVE=G
10STACKS=9,256

autoexec.bat

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1C:\DOSPRO\SHSUCD\SHSUCDX.COM /D:MSCD001 /D1
2C:\DOSDRV\MOUSE\CUTE\2.1\CTMOUSE.EXE /R1
3SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D3 H7 P330 T6
4C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\SBLIVE\DOSDRV\SBEINIT.COM
5PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND

One more thing you could try, as suggested earlier by Harry Potter, is UMBPCI: https://www.uwe-sieber.de/umbpci_e.html
I like to use it because of games that want to be in real mode instead of v86 which means EMM386 can't be loaded. Then I can load jemm386.exe for EMS during runtime without needing a reboot and unload it after I'm done.

Alrighty. I've set all of that up and now SHSUCDX has gone into Upper Memory. 😀

Try looking for DBLBUFF on your hard drive and including it in your CONFIG.SYS with a DEVICEHIGH= statement. It should buy you a couple k more Conventional memory.

Harry Potter wrote on Yesterday, 12:34:

Try looking for DBLBUFF on your hard drive and including it in your CONFIG.SYS with a DEVICEHIGH= statement. It should buy you a couple k more Conventional memory.

Oh. I thought that came under something else in my config file. I'll look at adding that a bit later. 😀