Microsoft KB Archive/105073

= Microsoft Knowledge Base =

FastTips: MS-DOS 6.2 MemMaker Questions and Answers
Last reviewed: November 23, 1994

Article ID: Q105073

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft MS-DOS operating system versions 6.2, 6.22

1. Q. How can I free conventional memory on my computer?

A. You can automatically optimize memory use in your computer by     running the MS-DOS 6.2 MemMaker program. MemMaker works on 80386 or higher computer systems only; it does not work on 80286 or     8088 systems. It works with the MS-DOS HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE memory-management utilities only; it does not work with third- party utilities, such as Qemm and 386MAX.

MemMaker reviews your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files and then optimizes them by loading terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) programs and installable device drivers into the memory area between 640 kilobytes (K) and 1 megabyte (MB)-which is called the upper memory area (UMA).

To run MemMaker, type "memmaker" (without the quotation marks) at the MS-DOS command prompt, and press ENTER.

For more information about MemMaker, refer to your MS-DOS 6.2 printed documentation.

2. Q. After MemMaker rebooted my computer, the computer stopped responding (hung). How can I correct this problem?

A. MemMaker tries to use UMA locations that it determines are free. If your machine hangs, note any error messages that are displayed, then restart your computer. MemMaker detects that your computer is being restarted before the optimization is     complete and displays a screen listing possible reasons for the interruption and instructions for resuming or quitting the optimization. Accept the default options to continue.

For more information regarding MemMaker, refer to your printed MS-DOS 6.2 documentation.

3. Q. I am using the Multi-Config commands and I want to optimize my     system. Are there any special precautions I should take?

A. MemMaker views the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files as a single unit. When you run MemMaker, it removes all references to memory managers and the FILES, BUFFERS, and DOS commands. It then adds its own set of memory managers and configuration settings depending on your system configuration. Because of this design, MemMaker cannot optimize CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files that use Multi-Config commands.

To optimize multiple configurations using MemMaker, you must have separate configuration files for each item on your multiple- configuration menu, and run MemMaker on each set of files. This process is explained in the "Making More Memory Available" chapter in the MS-DOS 6.0 "User's Guide."

4. Q. MemMaker does not complete its process. What could be causing this problem?

A. Your system may be calling a batch file or menu program from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file that is preventing MemMaker from finishing.

To work around this problem, use the following steps:

1. Open your AUTOEXEC.BAT file in MS-DOS Editor and use the REM command to remark out any batch files or menu programs.

2. Save your modified AUTOEXEC.BAT file and then quit MS-DOS Editor.

3. Run MemMaker again.

NOTE: If you receive the MemMaker error message "Invalid Session     ID," delete all MEMMAKER.STS files from drive C, remove any MemMaker commands from the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files, and then run MemMaker again. You can search for all MEMMAKER.STS files by typing "dir c:\memmaker.sts /s" (without the quotation marks) at the MS-DOS command prompt and pressing ENTER.