Microsoft KB Archive/77182

= Using MS-DOS 5.0 or later EMM386.EXE on Altima NSX =

Article ID: 77182

Article Last Modified on 11/16/2006

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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
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.2 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.21 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.22 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q77182



SYMPTOMS
If you are trying to use the MS-DOS 5.0, 6.0, or 6.2 EMM386.EXE device driver on an Altima NSX 80386SX computer, the following message may be displayed:

EMM386 not installed - insufficient memory

This message appears regardless of the amount of extended memory you have on your machine.



CAUSE
The Altima NSX computer is only available as an 80386SX system. The Altima NSX also has an 8-bit ROM that significantly reduces the system's floppy disk access time. As a result, Altima made some changes to the BIOS to compensate. The Altima NSX has an Award BIOS version 3.1.

The changes to the BIOS include dedicating 64K of extended memory for shadow ROM and 320K of extended memory for EMS (expanded memory specification). Neither of these options can be disabled or turned off. Because of the nonstandard BIOS on the Altima NSX, EMM386.EXE cannot be used on these machines regardless of the amount of extended memory.



WORKAROUND
The only alternative is to use a third-party memory manager. According to Altima, Quarterdeck's QEMM can be used to successfully manage the upper memory area.

MS-DOS can be loaded into the high memory area (HMA) on an Altima NSX 386SX by including the following lines in the CONFIG.SYS file: device=[drive:][path]himem.sys dos=high The products included here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

Additional query words: 6.22 3.10 5.00 5.00a 6.00 6.20 3rdparty

Keywords: KB77182

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