Windows 98/4.10.1546/msdosdrv.txt

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Microsoft Windows 95 README for MS-DOS Device Drivers August 1996


(c) Copyright Microsoft Corporation, 1996


This document provides complementary or late-breaking information to supplement the Microsoft Windows 95 documentation.

How to Use This Document

To view Msdosdrv.txt on screen in Notepad, maximize the Notepad window.

To print Msdosdrv.txt, open it in Notepad or another word processor, then use the Print command on the File menu.

In syntax lines, except where noted, lowercase text signifies replaceable parameters and uppercase text must be typed as it appears.

NOTE: The Config.txt file contains more Help for MS-DOS commands. Also you can type the name of the command at the command prompt, followed by a slash and question mark (/?). For example: CHKDSK /?

CONTENTS

  • ANSI.SYS
  • DBLBUFF.SYS
  • DISPLAY.SYS
  • DRVSPACE.SYS, DBLSPACE.SYS
  • EGA.SYS
  • EMM386.EXE
  • HIMEM.SYS
  • RAMDRIVE.SYS
  • SETVER.EXE

ANSI.SYS

Note: In this section, uppercase letters in syntax and ANSI escape sequences indicate text you must type exactly as it appears.

Defines functions that change display graphics, control cursor movement, and reassign keys. The ANSI.SYS device driver supports ANSI terminal emulation of escape sequences to control your system's screen and keyboard. An ANSI escape sequence is a sequence of ASCII characters, the first two of which are the escape character (1Bh) and the left-bracket character (5Bh). The character or characters following the escape and left-bracket characters specify an alphanumeric code that controls a keyboard or display function. ANSI escape sequences distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters; for example,"A" and "a" have completely different meanings.

This device driver must be loaded by a DEVICE or DEVICEHIGH command in your CONFIG.SYS file.

Syntax

   DEVICE=[drive:][path]ANSI.SYS [/X] [/K] [/R]

Parameter

[drive:][path]

  Specifies the location of the ANSI.SYS file.

Switches

/X

   Remaps extended keys independently on 101-key keyboards.

/K

   Causes ANSI.SYS to treat a 101-key keyboard like an 84-key
   keyboard. This is equivalent to the command SWITCHES=/K.
   If you usually use the SWITCHES=/K command, you will need
   to use the /K switch with ANSI.SYS.

/R

    Adjusts line scrolling to improve readability when ANSI.SYS
    is used with screen-reading programs (which make computers
    more accessible to people with disabilities).

Parameters used in ANSI escape sequences:

Pn

   Numeric parameter. Specifies a decimal number.

Ps

   Selective parameter. Specifies a decimal number that you use to select
   a function. You can specify more than one function by separating the
   parameters with semicolons (;).

PL

   Line parameter. Specifies a decimal number that represents one of the
   lines on your display or on another device.

Pc

   Column parameter. Specifies a decimal number that represents one of the
   columns on your screen or on another device.

ANSI escape sequences for cursor movement, graphics, and keyboard settings:

In the following list of ANSI escape sequences, the abbreviation ESC represents the ASCII escape character 27 (1Bh), which appears at the beginning of each escape sequence.

ESC[PL;PcH

   Cursor Position: Moves the cursor to the specified position
   (coordinates). If you do not specify a position, the cursor moves to the
   home position--the upper-left corner of the screen (line 0, column
   0). This escape sequence works the same way as the following Cursor
   Position escape sequence.

ESC[PL;Pcf

   Cursor Position: Works the same way as the preceding Cursor Position
   escape sequence.

ESC[PnA

   Cursor Up: Moves the cursor up by the specified number of lines without
   changing columns. If the cursor is already on the top line, ANSI.SYS
   ignores this sequence.

ESC[PnB

   Cursor Down: Moves the cursor down by the specified number of lines
   without changing columns. If the cursor is already on the bottom line,
   ANSI.SYS ignores this sequence.

ESC[PnC

   Cursor Forward: Moves the cursor forward by the specified number of
   columns without changing lines. If the cursor is already in the
   rightmost column, ANSI.SYS ignores this sequence.

ESC[PnD

   Cursor Backward: Moves the cursor back by the specified number of
   columns without changing lines. If the cursor is already in the leftmost
   column, ANSI.SYS ignores this sequence.

ESC[s

   Save Cursor Position: Saves the current cursor position. You can move
   the cursor to the saved cursor position by using the Restore Cursor
   Position sequence.

ESC[u

   Restore Cursor Position: Returns the cursor to the position stored
   by the Save Cursor Position sequence.

ESC[2J

   Erase Display: Clears the screen and moves the cursor to the home
   position (line 0, column 0).

ESC[K

   Erase Line: Clears all characters from the cursor position to the
   end of the line (including the character at the cursor position).

ESC[Ps;...;Psm

   Set Graphics Mode: Calls the graphics functions specified by the
   following values. These specified functions remain active until the next
   occurrence of this escape sequence. Graphics mode changes the colors and
   attributes of text (such as bold and underline) displayed on the
   screen.
   Text attributes
      0    All attributes off
      1    Bold on
      4    Underscore (on monochrome display adapter only)
      5    Blink on
      7    Reverse video on
      8    Concealed on
   Foreground colors
      30    Black
      31    Red
      32    Green
      33    Yellow
      34    Blue
      35    Magenta
      36    Cyan
      37    White
   Background colors
      40    Black
      41    Red
      42    Green
      43    Yellow
      44    Blue
      45    Magenta
      46    Cyan
      47    White
   Parameters 30 through 47 meet the ISO 6429 standard.

ESC[=psh

   Set Mode: Changes the screen width or type to the mode specified
   by one of the following values:
      0      40 x 148 x 25 monochrome (text)
      1      40 x 148 x 25 color (text)
      2      80 x 148 x 25 monochrome (text)
      3      80 x 148 x 25 color (text)
      4      320 x 148 x 200 4-color (graphics)
      5      320 x 148 x 200 monochrome (graphics)
      6      640 x 148 x 200 monochrome (graphics)
      7      Enables line wrapping
     13      320 x 148 x 200 color (graphics)
     14      640 x 148 x 200 color (16-color graphics)
     15      640 x 148 x 350 monochrome (2-color graphics)
     16      640 x 148 x 350 color (16-color graphics)
     17      640 x 148 x 480 monochrome (2-color graphics)
     18      640 x 148 x 480 color (16-color graphics)
     19      320 x 148 x 200 color (256-color graphics)

ESC[=Psl

   Reset Mode: Resets the mode by using the same values that Set Mode
   uses, except for 7, which disables line wrapping. The last character
   in this escape sequence is a lowercase L.

ESC[code;string;...p

   Set Keyboard Strings: Redefines a keyboard key to a specified string.
   The parameters for this escape sequence are defined as follows:
   o  Code is one or more of the values listed in the following table.
      These values represent keyboard keys and key combinations. When using
      these values in a command, you must type the semicolons (;) shown in 
      this table in addition to the semicolons required by the escape 
      sequence. The codes in parentheses are not available on some 
      keyboards. ANSI.SYS will not interpret the codes in parentheses for 
      those keyboards unless you specify the /X switch in the DEVICE 
      command for ANSI.SYS.
   o  String is either the ASCII code for a single character or a string
      contained in quotation marks ("). For example, both 65 and "A" can be
      used to represent an uppercase A.

IMPORTANT: Some of the values in the following table are not valid for all computers. Check your computer's documentation for values that are different.

Key Code SHIFT+code CTRL+code ALT+code
F1 0;59 0;84 0;94 0;104
F2 0;60 0;85 0;95 0;105
F3 0;61 0;86 0;96 0;106
F4 0;62 0;87 0;97 0;107
F5 0;63 0;88 0;98 0;108
F6 0;64 0;89 0;99 0;109
F7 0;65 0;90 0;100 0;110
F8 0;66 0;91 0;101 0;111
F9 0;67 0;92 0;102 0;112
F10 0;68 0;93 0;103 0;113
F11 0;133 0;135 0;137 0;139
F12 0;134 0;136 0;138 0;140
HOME (num keypad) 0;71 55 0;119 --
UP ARROW (num keypad) 0;72 56 (0;141) --
PAGE UP (num keypad) 0;73 57 0;132 --
LEFT ARROW (num keypad) 0;75 52 0;115 --
RIGHT ARROW (num keypad) 0;77 54 0;116 --
END (num keypad) 0;79 49 0;117 --
DOWN ARROW (num keypad) 0;80 50 (0;145) --
PAGE DOWN (num keypad) 0;81 51 0;118 --
INSERT (num keypad) 0;82 48 (0;146) --
DELETE (num keypad) 0;83 46 (0;147) --
HOME (224;71) (224;71) (224;119) (224;151)
UP ARROW (224;72) (224;72) (224;141) (224;152)
PAGE UP (224;73) (224;73) (224;132) (224;153)
LEFT ARROW (224;75) (224;75) (224;115) (224;155)
RIGHT ARROW (224;77) (224;77) (224;116) (224;157)
END (224;79) (224;79) (224;117) (224;159)
DOWN ARROW (224;80) (224;80) (224;145) (224;154)
PAGE DOWN (224;81) (224;81) (224;118) (224;161)
INSERT (224;82) (224;82) (224;146) (224;162)
DELETE (224;83) (224;83) (224;147) (224;163)
PRINT SCREEN -- -- 0;114 --
PAUSE/BREAK -- -- 0;0 --
BACKSPACE 8 8 127 0
ENTER 13 -- 10 (0
TAB 9 0;15 (0;148) (0;165)
NULL 0;3 -- -- --
A 97 65 1 0;30
B 98 66 2 0;48
C 99 66 3 0;46
D 100 68 4 0;32
E 101 69 5 0;18
F 102 70 6 0;33
G 103 71 7 0;34
H 104 72 8 0;35
I 105 73 9 0;23
J 106 74 10 0;36
K 107 75 11 0;37
L 108 76 12 0;38
M 109 77 13 0;50
N 110 78 14 0;49
O 111 79 15 0;24
P 112 80 16 0;25
Q 113 81 17 0;16
R 114 82 18 0;19
S 115 83 19 0;31
T 116 84 20 0;20
U 117 85 21 0;22
V 118 86 22 0;47
W 119 87 23 0;17
X 120 88 24 0;45
Y 121 89 25 0;21
Z 122 90 26 0;44
1 49 33 -- 0;120
2 50 64 0 0;121
3 51 35 -- 0;122
4 52 36 -- 0;123
5 53 37 -- 0;124
6 54 94 30 0;125
7 55 38 -- 0;126
8 56 42 -- 0;126
9 57 40 -- 0;127
0 48 41 -- 0;129
- 45 95 31 0;130
= 61 43 --- 0;131
[ 91 123 27 0;26
] 93 125 29 0;27
92 124 28 0;43
; 59 58 -- 0;39
' 39 34 -- 0;40
, 44 60 -- 0;51
. 46 62 -- 0;52
/ 47 63 -- 0;53
` 96 126 -- (0;41)
ENTER (keypad) 13 -- 10 (0;166)
/ (keypad) 47 47 (0;142) (0;74)
* (keypad) 42 (0;144) (0;78) --
#NAME? 45 45 (0;149) (0;164)
#NAME? 43 43 (0;150) (0;55)
5 (keypad) (0;76) 53 (0;143) --

DBLBUFF.SYS -- Double Buffering

Loads the Dblbuff.sys device driver to perform double buffering. Double buffering provides compatibility for certain hard-disk controllers that cannot work with memory provided by EMM386 or Windows running in 386 Enhanced mode.

If Windows Setup determined that your system may need double-buffering, it will add a DoubleBuffer=1 entry to the [Options] section of Msdos.sys, which will automatically load Dblbuff.sys. To manually enable double- buffering, you can either add the above entry to Msdos.sys, or add a DEVICE command in your CONFIG.SYS file.

Syntax

   DEVICE=[drive:][path]DBLBUFF.SYS [/D+]

Parameters

[drive:][path]

   Specifies the location of the Dblbuff.sys file.

/D+

   Instructs Dblbuff.sys to double-buffer all disk I/O all the time.
   By default, it will only double-buffer I/O to UMBs, and it will
   automatically stop double-buffering if it appears to be unnecessary.


DISPLAY.SYS

Enables you to display international character sets on EGA, VGA, and LCD monitors. This device driver must be loaded by a DEVICE or DEVICEHIGH command in your CONFIG.SYS file.

Syntax

   DEVICE=[drive:][path]DISPLAY.SYS CON[:]=(type[,[hwcp][,n]])
   DEVICE=[drive:][path]DISPLAY.SYS CON[:]=(type[,[hwcp][,(n,m)]])

Parameters

[drive:][path]

   Specifies the location of the DISPLAY.SYS file.

type

   Specifies the display adapter in use. Valid values include EGA and LCD.
   The EGA value supports both EGA and VGA display adapters. If you omit
   the type parameter, DISPLAY.SYS checks the hardware to determine which
   display adapter is in use. You can also specify CGA and MONO as values
   for type, but they have no effect because character-set switching is not
   enabled for these devices.

hwcp

   Specifies the number of the character set that your hardware supports.
   The following list shows the character sets that MS-DOS supports and the
   country or language for each:
       437    United States
       850    Multilingual (Latin I)
       852    Slavic (Latin II)
       860    Portuguese
       863    Canadian-French
       865    Nordic
   Additional character sets are supported by the EGA2.CPI and EGA3.CPI
   files. 

n

   Specifies the number of character sets the hardware can support in
   addition to the primary character set specified for the hwcp parameter.
   Valid values for n are in the range 0 through 6. This value depends on
   your hardware. For EGA display adapters, the maximum value for n is 6;
   for LCD display adapters, the maximum value for n is 1.

m

   Specifies the number of subfonts the hardware supports for each code
   page. The default value is 2 if type is EGA, and 1 if type is LCD.


DRVSPACE.SYS, DBLSPACE.SYS

Determines the final memory location of DRVSPACE.BIN or DBLSPACE.BIN, the part of MS-DOS that provides access to your compressed drives.

DxxSPACE.SYS loads the real-mode driver into upper memory blocks. This can save 60K of conventional memory when you run Windows 95 in real mode, and can save 100K or more if you use Microsoft Plus! for Windows.

When you start your computer, Windows loads DRVSPACE.BIN or DBLSPACE.BIN along with other operating-system functions, before carrying out the commands in your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. DxxSPACE.BIN initially loads in conventional memory because it loads before device drivers that provide access to upper memory.

When you use DriveSpace or DoubleSpace to create a compressed drive on your computer, the program adds a command for DxxSPACE.SYS to your CONFIG.SYS file.

In the following syntax, for DxxSPACE type the filename for the program you are using.

Syntax

   DEVICE=[drive:][path]DxxSPACE.SYS /MOVE [/NOHMA] [/LOW]
   DEVICEHIGH=[drive:][path]DxxSPACE.SYS /MOVE [/NOHMA] [/LOW]

Switches

/MOVE

   Moves DxxSPACE.BIN to its final location in memory.
   Initially, DxxSPACE.BIN loads at the top of conventional memory. After
   Windows finishes carrying out the commands in the CONFIG.SYS file, it
   moves DxxSPACE.BIN to the bottom of conventional memory. When
   DxxSPACE.SYS is loaded by using the DEVICE command, it moves
   DxxSPACE.BIN from the top of conventional memory to the bottom. This can
   be useful for avoiding conflicts with programs that are loaded from the
   CONFIG.SYS file and require access to the top of conventional memory.
   When DxxSPACE.SYS is loaded by using the DEVICEHIGH command, 
   DxxSPACE.BIN moves to upper memory, if available. Moving DxxSPACE.BIN 
   to upper memory makes more conventional memory available.

/NOHMA

   Prevents DxxSPACE.SYS from moving a portion of DxxSPACE.BIN to the high
   memory area (HMA).
   If MS-DOS is loaded into the HMA, DxxSPACE.SYS moves a  portion of
   DxxSPACE.BIN to the HMA (if there is enough room in the HMA). Use this
   switch if you do not want DxxSPACE.BIN to use the HMA. 

/LOW

   Prevents DxxSPACE.SYS from loading at the top of conventional memory.
   Use this switch if you have an MS-DOS-based program that does not support
   DriveSpace or DoubleSpace at the top of conventional memory. Note that
   use of this switch will prevent Windows from reusing the memory
   occupied by DxxSPACE.sys.

Parameter

[drive:][path]

   Specifies the location of the DxxSPACE.SYS file.


EGA.SYS

Saves and restores the display when the MS-DOS Shell Task Swapper is used with EGA monitors. If you have an EGA monitor, you must install the EGA.SYS device driver before using Task Swapper. This device driver must be loaded by a DEVICE or DEVICEHIGH command in your CONFIG.SYS file.

Syntax

   DEVICE=[drive:][path]EGA.SYS

Parameters

[drive:][path]

   Specifies the location of the EGA.SYS file.


EMM386.EXE

Provides access to the upper memory area and uses extended memory to simulate expanded memory. This device driver must be loaded by a DEVICE command in your CONFIG.SYS file and can be used only on computers with an 80386 or higher processor.

EMM386 uses extended memory to simulate expanded memory for programs that can use expanded memory. EMM386 also makes it possible to load programs and device drivers into upper memory blocks (UMBs).

Syntax

   DEVICE=[drive:][path]EMM386.EXE [ON|OFF|AUTO] [memory] [MIN=size]
   [W=ON|W=OFF] [Mx|FRAME=address|/Pmmmm] [Pn=address] [X=mmmm-nnnn]
   [I=mmmm-nnnn] [B=address] [L=minXMS] [A=altregs] [H=handles] [D=nnn]
   [RAM=mmmm-nnnn] [NOEMS] [NOVCPI] [HIGHSCAN] [VERBOSE] [WIN=mmmm-nnnn]
   [NOHI] [ROM=mmmm-nnnn] [NOMOVEXBDA] [ALTBOOT] [NOBACKFILL]

Parameters

[drive:][path]

   Specifies the location of the EMM386.EXE file.

[ON|OFF|AUTO]

   Activates the EMM386 device driver (if set to ON), or suspends the
   EMM386 device driver (if set to OFF), or places the EMM386 device driver
   in auto mode (if set to AUTO). Auto mode enables expanded-memory support
   and upper memory block support only when a program calls for it. The
   default value is ON. Use the EMM386 command to change this value after
   EMM386 has started.

memory

   Specifies the maximum amount of extended memory (in kilobytes) that you
   want EMM386 to provide as expanded/Virtual Control Program Interface
   (EMS/VCPI) memory. This amount is in addition to the memory used for
   UMBs and EMM386 itself. Values for memory are in the range 64 through
   the lesser of either 32768 or the amount of extended memory available
   when EMM386 is loaded. The default value is the amount of free extended
   memory. If you specify the NOEMS switch, the default value is 0. EMM386
   rounds the value down to the nearest multiple of 16.

Switches

MIN=size

   Specifies the minimum amount of EMS/VCPI memory (in kilobytes) that
   EMM386 will provide, if that amount of memory is available. EMM386
   reserves this amount of extended memory for use as EMS/VCPI memory when
   EMM386 is loaded by the DEVICE=EMM386.EXE command in your CONFIG.SYS
   file. EMM386 may be able to provide additional EMS/VCPI memory (up to
   the amount specified by the MEMORY parameter) if sufficient XMS memory
   is available when a program requests EMS/VCPI memory. Values are in the
   range 0 through the value specified by the MEMORY parameter. The default
   value is 256. If you specify the NOEMS switch, the default value is 0.
   If the value of MIN is greater than the value of MEMORY, EMM386 uses the
   value specified by MIN.

W=ON|W=OFF

   Enables or disables support for the Weitek co-processor. The default
   setting is W=OFF.

Mx

   Specifies the address of the page frame. Valid values for x are in the
   range 1 through 14. The following list shows each value and its
   associated base address in hexadecimal format:
1 => C000h     8 => DC00h 2 => C400h     9 => E000h 3 => C800h    10 => 8000h 4 => CC00h    11 => 8400h 5 => D000h    12 => 8800h 6 => D400h    13 => 8C00h 7 => D800h    14 => 9000h
   Values in the range 10 through 14 should be used only on computers that
   have 512K of memory.

FRAME=address

   Specifies the page-frame segment base directly. To specify a specific
   segment-base address for the page frame, use the FRAME switch, and
   specify the address you want. Valid values for address are in the ranges
   8000h through 9000h and C000h through E000h, in increments of 400h. To
   provide expanded memory and disable the page frame, you can specify
   FRAME=NONE; however, this may cause some programs that require expanded
   memory to work improperly.

/Pmmmm

   Specifies the address of the page frame. Valid values for mmmm are in
   the ranges 8000h through 9000h and C000h through E000h, in increments of
   400h.

Pn=address

   Specifies the segment address of a specific page, where n is the number
   of the page you are specifying and address is the segment address you
   want. Valid values for n are in the range 0 through 255. Valid values
   for address are in the ranges 8000h through 9C00h and C000h through
   EC00h, in increments of 400h. The addresses for pages 0 through 3 must
   be contiguous in order to maintain compatibility with version 3.2 of the
   Lotus/Intel/Microsoft Expanded Memory Specification (LIM EMS). If you
   use the Mx switch, the FRAME switch, or the /Pmmmm switch, you cannot
   specify the addresses for pages 0 through 3 for the /Pmmmm switch.

X=mmmm-nnnn

   Prevents EMM386 from using a particular range of segment addresses for
   an EMS page or for UMBs. Valid values for mmmm and nnnn are in the range
   A000h through FFFFh and are rounded down to the nearest 4-kilobyte
   boundary. The X switch takes precedence over the I switch if the two
   ranges overlap.

I=mmmm-nnnn

   Specifies a range of segment addresses to be used (included) for an EMS
   page or for UMBs. Valid values for mmmm and nnnn are in the range A000h
   through FFFFh and are rounded down to the nearest 4-kilobyte boundary.
   The X switch takes precedence over the I switch if the two ranges
   overlap.

B=address

   Specifies the lowest segment address available for EMS "banking"
   (swapping of 16KB pages). Valid values are in the range 1000h
   through 4000h. The default value is 4000h.

l=minXMS

   Ensures that the specified amount (in kilobytes) of extended memory will
   still be available after EMM386 is loaded. The default value is 0.

A=altregs

   Specifies how many fast alternate register sets (used for multitasking)
   you want to allocate to EMM386. Valid values are in the range 0 through
   254. The default value is 7. Every alternate register set adds about 200
   bytes to the size in memory of EMM386.

H=handles

   Specifies how many handles EMM386 can use. Valid values are in the range
   2 through 255. The default value is 64.

D=nnn

   Specifies how many kilobytes of memory should be reserved for buffered
   direct memory access (DMA). Discounting floppy disk DMA, this value
   should reflect the largest DMA transfer that will occur while EMM386 is
   active. Valid values for nnn are in the range 16 through 256. The
   default value is 32.

RAM=mmmm-nnnn

   Specifies a range of segment addresses to be used for UMBs and also
   enables EMS support. If you do not specify a range, EMM386 uses all
   available adapter space to create UMBs and a page frame for EMS.

NOEMS

   Provides access to the upper memory area but prevents access to expanded
   memory.

NOVCPI

   Disables support for VCPI programs. This switch must be used with
   the NOEMS switch. If you specify the NOVCPI switch without specifying
   the NOEMS switch, EMM386 does not disable VCPI support. If you specify
   both switches, EMM386 disregards the MEMORY parameter and the MIN
   switch. Disabling support for VCPI programs reduces the amount of
   extended memory allocated.

HIGHSCAN

   Specifies that EMM386 use an additional check to determine the
   availablity of upper memory for use as UMBs or EMS windows. On some
   computers, specifying this switch may have no effect or cause EMM386 to
   identify upper memory areas as available when they are not. As a
   result, your computer might stop responding.

VERBOSE

   Directs EMM386 to display status and error messages while loading. By
   default, EMM386 displays messages only if it encounters an error
   condition. You can abbreviate VERBOSE as V. (To display status messages
   without adding the VERBOSE switch, press and hold down the ALT key 
   while EMM386 starts and loads.)

WIN=mmmm-nnnn

   Reserves a specified range of segment addresses for Windows instead of
   for EMM386. Valid values for mmmm and nnnn are in the range A000h
   through FFFFh and are rounded down to the nearest 4-kilobyte boundary.
   The X switch takes precedence over the WIN switch if the two ranges
   overlap. The WIN switch takes precedence over the RAM, ROM, and I
   switches if their ranges overlap.

[NOHI]

   Prevents EMM386 from loading into the upper memory area. Normally, a
   portion of EMM386 is loaded into upper memory. Specifying this switch
   decreases available conventional memory and increases the upper memory
   area available for UMBs.

[ROM=mmmm-nnnn]

   Specifies a range of segment addresses that EMM386 uses for shadow
   RAM--random-access memory used for read-only memory (ROM). Valid values
   for mmmm and nnnn are in the range A000h through FFFFh and are rounded
   down to the nearest 4-kilobyte boundary. Specifying this switch may
   speed up your system if it does not already have shadow RAM.

[NOMOVEXBDA]

   Prevents EMM386 from moving the extended BIOS data from conventional
   memory to upper memory.

[ALTBOOT]

   Specifies that EMM386 use an alternate handler to restart your computer
   when you press CTRL+ALT+DEL. Use this switch only if your computer stops
   responding or exhibits other unusual behavior when EMM386 is loaded and
   you press CTRL+ALT+DEL.

[NOBACKFILL]

   When EMM386 is configured to provide upper memory blocks (by using the
   NOEMS or RAM switches), EMM386 will also automatically backfill
   conventional memory if there is less than 640k, in order to bring total
   conventional memory up to 640k.  However, because Windows does not
   support backfilled conventional memory, use the NOBACKFILL switch if
   your computer has less than 640K of conventional memory.


HIMEM.SYS

HIMEM is an extended-memory manager--a program that coordinates the use of your computer's extended memory, including the high memory area (HMA), so that no two programs or device drivers use the same memory at the same time.

You install HIMEM by adding a DEVICE command for HIMEM.SYS to your CONFIG.SYS file. The HIMEM.SYS command line must come before any commands that start programs or device drivers that use extended memory; for example, the HIMEM.SYS command line must come before the EMM386.EXE command line.

Syntax

   DEVICE=[drive:][path]HIMEM.SYS [/A20CONTROL:ON|OFF] [/CPUCLOCK:ON|OFF]
   [/EISA] [/HMAMIN=m] [/INT15=xxxx] [/MACHINE:xxxx] [/NOABOVE16] [/NOEISA]
   [/NUMHANDLES=n] [/SHADOWRAM:ON|OFF] [/TESTMEM:ON|OFF] [/VERBOSE] [/X]

In most cases, you won't need to specify command-line options. The default values for HIMEM.SYS are designed to work with most hardware.

Parameter

[drive:][path]

   Specifies the location of the HIMEM.SYS file. HIMEM.SYS should always be
   located on the same drive that contains your MS-DOS files. If the
   HIMEM.SYS file is in the root directory of your startup drive, you don't
   need to include a path. However, you must always include the complete
   filename (HIMEM.SYS).

Switches

/A20CONTROL:ON|OFF

   Specifies whether HIMEM is to take control of the A20 line even if A20
   was on when HIMEM was loaded. The A20 handler gives your computer access
   to the HMA. If you specify /A20CONTROL:OFF, HIMEM takes control of the
   A20 line only if A20 was off when HIMEM was loaded. The default setting
   is /A20CONTROL:ON.

/CPUCLOCK:ON|OFF

   Specifies whether HIMEM is to affect the clock speed of your computer.
   If your computer's clock speed changes when you install HIMEM,
   specifying /CPUCLOCK:ON may correct the problem; however, enabling this
   option slows down HIMEM. The default setting is /CPUCLOCK:OFF.

/EISA

   Specifies that HIMEM should allocate all available extended memory. This
   switch is necessary only on an EISA (Extended Industry Standard
   Architecture) computer with more than 16 MB of memory; on other
   computers, HIMEM automatically allocates all available extended memory.

/HMAMIN=m

   Specifies how many kilobytes of memory a program must require for
   HIMEM to give that program use of the HMA. Only one program can
   use the HMA at a time; HIMEM allocates the HMA to the first program
   that meets the memory-use requirements set by this option. You can
   specify a value from 0 to 63.
   Set /HMAMIN to the amount of memory required by the program that
   uses the most HMA memory.
   The /HMAMIN option is not required; the default value is zero. Omitting
   this option (or setting it to zero) specifies that HIMEM allocate the
   HMA to the first program that requests it, regardless of how much of
   the HMA the program is going to use.
   The /HMAMIN option has no effect when Windows is running in 386 Enhanced
   mode.


/INT15=xxxx

   Allocates the amount of extended memory (in kilobytes) to be reserved
   for the Interrupt 15h interface. Some older programs use the
   Interrupt 15h interface to allocate extended memory rather than using
   the XMS (eXtended-Memory Specification) method provided by HIMEM. If you
   use these programs, you can ensure enough memory is available to
   them by setting xxxx to 64 KB larger than the amount required by the
   program.
   You can specify a value from 64 to 65535; however, you cannot specify
   more memory than your system has available. If you specify a value less
   than 64, the value becomes 0. The default value is 0.

/MACHINE:xxxx

   Specifies what type of computer you are using. Usually, HIMEM can detect
   your computer type successfully; however, there are a few computers that
   HIMEM cannot detect. On such systems, HIMEM uses the default system type
   (IBM AT or compatible). You might need to include the /MACHINE option if
   your computer is a type that HIMEM cannot detect and if HIMEM does not
   work properly on your system by using the default system type.
   Currently, systems that require this option include Acer 1100, Wyse, and
   IBM 7552.

The value for xxxx can be any of the codes or their equivalent numberslisted in the following table.

Code Number Computer type
at 1 IBM AT or 100% compatible
ps2 2 IBM PS/2
ptlcascade 3 Phoenix C ascade BIOS
hpvectra 4 HP Vectra (A & A+)
att6300plus 5 AT&T 6300 Plus
acer1100 6 Acer 1100
toshiba 7 Toshiba 1 600 & 1200XE
wyse 8 Wyse 12.5 Mhz 286
tulip 9 Tulip SX
zenith 10 Zenith ZB IOS
at1 11 IBM PC/AT (alternative delay)
at2 12 IBM PC/AT (alternative delay)
css 12 CSS Labs
at3 13 IBM PC/AT (alternative delay)
philips 13 Philips
fasthp 14 HP Vectra
ibm7552 15 IBM 7552 Industrial Computer
bullmicral 16 Bull Micr al 60
dell 17 Dell XBIO S

/NOABOVE16

   Specifies not to use INT 15h (ax==E801h) Compaq Bigmem support to scan 
   for extended memory.

/NOEISA

   Specifies that HIMEM should not do EISA scanning for extended memory.

/NUMHANDLES=n

   Specifies the maximum number of extended-memory block (EMB) handles that
   can be used simultaneously. You can specify a value from 1 to 128; the
   default value is 32. Each additional handle requires an additional 6
   bytes of memory.
   The /NUMHANDLES option has no effect when Windows is running in 386 
   Enhanced mode.

/SHADOWRAM:ON|OFF

   Specifies whether to disable shadow RAM (SHADOWRAM:OFF) or to leave the
   ROM code running from RAM (SHADOWRAM:ON).
   Some computers make ROM code run faster by "shadowing" it in RAM--that
   is, by copying the ROM code into faster RAM memory at startup, which
   uses some extended memory. On computers that use shadow RAM and have
   less than 2 MB of RAM, HIMEM usually attempts to disable shadow RAM to
   recover additional extended memory for Windows to use. (HIMEM can
   disable shadow RAM only on certain types of systems.) When HIMEM
   disables shadow RAM, the ROM code runs in the slower ROM instead of RAM;
   therefore, your computer might run slightly slower than it did before.

/TESTMEM:ON|OFF

   Determines whether HIMEM performs a memory test when your computer
   starts. By default, HIMEM tests the reliability of your computer's
   extended memory each time your computer starts. This test can identify
   memory that is no longer reliable; unreliable memory can cause system
   instability or loss of data. HIMEM's memory test is more thorough than
   the standard power-up memory test performed by most computers. To
   prevent HIMEM from performing the memory test, specify /TESTMEM:OFF.
   Disabling the memory test will shorten the startup process. (The default
   setting is /TESTMEM:ON.)

/VERBOSE

   Directs HIMEM to display status and error messages while loading. By
   default, HIMEM does not display any messages unless it encounters an
   error. You can abbreviate /VERBOSE as /V. (To display status messages
   without adding the /VERBOSE switch, press and hold the ALT key while
   HIMEM starts and loads.)

/X

   Specifies not to use INT 15h (ax==E820h), the latest extended memory 
   support API.


RAMDRIVE.SYS

Uses part of your computer's random-access memory (RAM) to simulate a hard disk drive. This device driver must be loaded by a DEVICE or DEVICEHIGH command in your CONFIG.SYS file.

RAM drives are much faster than hard disk drives because your computer can read information faster from memory than from a hard disk. A RAM drive appears to be a normal hard disk drive; you can use it just as you would any hard disk drive. The most important difference between a real disk drive and a RAM drive is that because it exists only in memory, information on a RAM drive is lost when you turn off or restart your computer. You can set up as many RAM drives as you want, up to the amount of memory your computer has. To do this, add one RAMDRIVE.SYS line to your CONFIG.SYS file for each additional RAM drive you want.

Syntax

   DEVICE=[drive:][path]RAMDRIVE.SYS [DiskSize SectorSize [NumEntries]]]
   [/E | /A]

Parameters

[drive:][path]

   Specifies the location of the RAMDRIVE.SYS file.

DiskSize

   Specifies how many kilobytes of memory you want to use for the RAM
   drive. For example, to create a 640K RAM drive, specify 640. If you
   don't specify an amount, RAMDrive will create a 64K RAM drive. You can
   specify a value from 4 to 32767. However, you cannot specify more memory
   than your system has available.

SectorSize

   Specifies the disk sector size in bytes. The size can be 128, 256, or
   512 bytes. (If you include a SectorSize value, you must also include a
   value for DiskSize.)
   Generally, you should use the default sector size of 512 bytes.

NumEntries

   Limits the number of files and directories you can create in the RAM
   drive's root directory. The limit can be from 2 to 1024 entries; the
   limit you specify is rounded up to the nearest sector size boundary. If
   you do not specify a limit, you can create up to 64 entries in the RAM
   drive's root directory. (If you include a value for NumEntries, you must
   also include values for DiskSize and SectorSize.)
   If there is not enough memory to create the RAM drive as specified,
   RAMDrive will try to create it with a limit of 16 directory entries.
   This may result in a RAM drive with a different limit from the one you
   specified.

Switches

/E

   Creates the RAM drive in extended memory.
   For RAMDrive to use extended memory, your system must be configured so
   that it provides extended memory, and a DEVICE command for the
   extended-memory manager (such as HIMEM.SYS) must appear in your
   CONFIG.SYS file before the DEVICE command for RAMDRIVE.SYS. In general,
   it is best to create a RAM drive in extended memory if your system has
   extended memory.

/A

   Creates the RAM drive in expanded memory.
   For RAMDrive to use expanded memory, your system must be configured so
   that it provides expanded memory, and the DEVICE command for the
   expanded-memory manager (such as EMM386, 386MAX, CEMM, or QEMM) must
   appear in your CONFIG.SYS file before DEVICE command for RAMDRIVE.SYS.


SETVER.EXE

Loads the MS-DOS version table into memory. This device driver must be loaded by a DEVICE or DEVICEHIGH command in your CONFIG.SYS file.

SETVER.EXE loads into memory the MS-DOS version table, which lists names of programs and the number of the MS-DOS version with which each program is designed to run.

Syntax

   DEVICE=[drive:][path]SETVER.EXE

Parameters

[drive:][path]

   Specifies the location of the SETVER.EXE file.