Microsoft KB Archive/73829

= Windows/386 2.1x Compatibility with MS-DOS 5.0 or Later =

Article ID: 73829

Article Last Modified on 10/16/2003

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0a
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q73829



SUMMARY
Windows 386 versions 2.1 and 2.11 cannot run when EMM386.EXE from MS-DOS 5.0 or later is loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file. Attempting to use this configuration results in the following error message:

Error: Protected mode software already installed

This problem occurs regardless of which switches are used with EMM386.EXE. To run Windows/386 2.1x, you cannot use EMM386.EXE to emulate expanded memory or load drivers high.



MORE INFORMATION
Other device drivers from the Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0 Upgrade to be aware of are listed in the README.TXT file section 4.5.

The following is an excerpt from the README.TXT file:

4.5 &quot;High Memory Area in Use&quot; Message (Windows/386 2.1)
You cannot run Windows/386 2.1 when MS-DOS 5.0 is loaded into the high memory area. Also, the MS-DOS 5.0 versions of SMARTDRV.SYS and RAMDRIVE.SYS are not compatible with Windows/386 2.1. To run Windows/386 2.1 with MS-DOS 5.0, use the versions of SMARTDRV.SYS and RAMDRIVE.SYS that came with Windows and remove the DOS=HIGH command, if any, from your CONFIG.SYS file.

Additional query words: 5.00 5.00a 6.00 noupd

Keywords: KB73829

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