Microsoft KB Archive/99752

= Microsoft Knowledge Base =

FastTips: MS-DOS 6.0 MemMaker Questions and Answers
Last reviewed: May 1, 1997

Article ID: Q99752

6.00 MS-DOS kbtool kbfile kbappnote

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft MS-DOS operating system version 6.0

This article contains the complete text of the &quot;MemMaker Questions & Answers&quot; Application Note (PD0746) for MS-DOS 6.0.

You can obtain this Application Note from the following sources:

You can obtain this Application Note from the following sources:


 * Microsoft's World Wide Web Site on the Internet
 * The Internet (Microsoft anonymous ftp server)
 * Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)
 * Microsoft FastTips Technical Library
 * Microsoft Product Support Services

For complete information, see the &quot;To Obtain This Application Note&quot; section at the end of this article.

THE TEXT OF PD0746
Microsoft(R) Product Support Services Application Note (Text File) PD0746: MEMMAKER QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Revision Date: 4/94 No Disk Included The following information applies to Microsoft MS-DOS(R), version 6.0 Upgrade.

| INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT AND ANY SOFTWARE THAT MAY    | Q. How can I free conventional memory on my computer?
 * ACCOMPANY THIS DOCUMENT (collectively referred to as an Application |
 * Note) IS PROVIDED &quot;AS IS&quot; WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER     |
 * EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED     |
 * WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR      |
 * PURPOSE. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and   |
 * the use of this Application Note. This Application Note may be     |
 * copied and distributed subject to the following conditions: 1) All |
 * text must be copied without modification and all pages must be     |
 * included; 2) If software is included, all files on the disk(s)     |
 * must be copied without modification (the MS-DOS utility diskcopy   |
 * is appropriate for this purpose); 3) All components of this        |
 * Application Note must be distributed together; and  4) This        |
 * Application Note may not be distributed for profit.                |
 * Copyright (C) 1993-1994 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. |
 * Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft        |
 * Corporation.                                                       |
 * 386MAX is a registered trademark of Qualitas, Inc.                 |
 * Qemm is a trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems.                 |
 * Qemm is a trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems.                 |

A. You can automatically optimize memory use in your computer by      running the MS-DOS 6 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(TM) and 386MAX(R). 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 &quot;memmaker&quot; (without the quotation marks) at the MS-DOS command prompt, and press ENTER. For more information about MemMaker, please refer to the &quot;Managing Your System&quot; chapter of the &quot;Microsoft MS-DOS 6 User's Guide.&quot; 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, please refer to the &quot;Making More Memory Available&quot; chapter of the &quot;Microsoft MS-DOS 6 User's Guide.&quot; 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 based 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 &quot;Making More Memory Available&quot; chapter in the &quot;Microsoft MS-DOS 6 User's Guide.&quot; For more information on the multiple configuration commands, refer to the &quot;Configuring Your System&quot; chapter of the &quot;Microsoft MS-DOS 6 User's Guide.&quot; Q. I have a SCSI hard disk drive. When I try to run MemMaker,

the program hangs. How can I correct this problem? A. This problem may occur if a device driver loads into upper memory before the SMARTDrive double_buffer driver. To work around this problem, use the following steps: 1. Restart your computer (if you haven't already done so). 2. When MemMaker prompts you for input, choose Cancel And Undo Changes. 3. Open your CONFIG.SYS file in MS-DOS Editor and add the following line to the beginning of the file: device=c:\dos\smartdrv.exe /double_buffer NOTE: If this line already appears in your CONFIG.SYS file, make sure it is the first line. 4. Save your CONFIG.SYS file. 5. Try running MemMaker again. If the above procedure does not correct the problem, refer to the &quot;Making More Memory Available&quot; chapter of the &quot;Microsoft MS- DOS 6 User's Guide&quot; for information about troubleshooting problems with MemMaker.

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 &quot;Invalid Session ID,&quot; 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 &quot;DIR C:\MEMMAKER.STS /S&quot; (without the quotation marks) at the MS-DOS command prompt and pressing ENTER.

TO OBTAIN THIS APPLICATION NOTE

 * Application Notes are available by modem from the Microsoft Download Service (MSDL), which you can reach by calling (425) 936-6735. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The highest download speed available is 14,400 bits per second (bps). For more information about using the MSDL, call (800) 936-4200 and follow the prompts. To obtain PD0746, download PD0746.TXT.
 * On the Internet, Application Notes are located on the Microsoft anonymous ftp server, which you can reach by typing &quot;ftp ftp.microsoft.com&quot; (without the quotation marks) at the &quot;>&quot; command prompt.
 * You can have this Application Note mailed or faxed to you from the automated Microsoft FastTips Technical Library, which you can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at (800) 936-4200. NOTE: The FastTips Technical Library is available only to customers within the U.S. and Canada.
 * If you are unable to access the source(s) listed above, you can have this Application Note mailed or faxed to you by calling Microsoft Product Support Services Monday through Friday, 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Pacific time at (425) 646-5104. If you are outside the United States, contact the Microsoft subsidiary for your area.