[comp.sys.ibm.pc] Uses for Lotus/Intel Extended Memory

singhal@houxa.UUCP (11/20/87)

Dear net-folks,

A friend of mine gave  me  a  bargain  on two  Lotus/Intel  extended  memory
boards,  and  I  could  not resist buying them. Now that I  have  4  meg  of
extended memory available, I find myself hard pressed to find uses for it. I
now realize that very few programs even know about its existence.

Currently I am using my extended memory for :

a) RAM disk (1.5 meg)
b) Disk cache (1 meg)
c) Print spooler (.5 meg)

Rest of the 1 meg is sitting around  idling  just in case some program wants
to use it as data space. Except of Lotus 1-2-3 Release 2 (which I don't use)
I know of no other program which uses extended memory for data space.

My   question   to   the   net   is   this  :   Can  anyone   suggest   more
useful/efficient/fun  ways  of  using my ocean of extended  memory  ?  Which
programs are out there  which  can  help me  get  the  most out of it ? I am
especially  interested  in  RAM  resident programs which  use  only  a  tiny
fraction of main memory and perform most of their lurking around in extended
memory. I understand that vaporware Sidekick+ will use it but who knows  how
and when !

Thanks a lot.

---Sharad Singhal

fhm@cblpf.UUCP (11/25/87)

> 
> A friend of mine gave  me  a  bargain  on two  Lotus/Intel  extended  memory
> boards,  and  I  could  not resist buying them. Now that I  have  4  meg  of
> extended memory available, I find myself hard pressed to find uses for it. I
> now realize that very few programs even know about its existence.
.
.
> My   question   to   the   net   is   this  :   Can  anyone   suggest   more
> useful/efficient/fun  ways  of  using my ocean of extended  memory  ?  Which
> ---Sharad Singhal

Look at "DESQview" by Quarterdeck Office Systems.  It lets you have
several programs running at the same time-and lets you switch
between them instantly.

It is multitasking - The programs can run in the background.

It uses expanded memory to swap programs.

Frank H. Myers

psc@lznv.UUCP (11/25/87)

<In Syracuse, you dress in a tie; in Ephesus, you juggle . . . or die!>

In article <1640@houxa.UUCP>, singhal@houxa.UUCP (S.SINGHAL) writes:
> Currently I am using my extended memory for:
> RAM disk (1.5M); disk cache (1M); print spooler (.5M)
> Rest of the 1 meg is sitting around idling just in case some program wants
> to use it as data space.
>... 
> My question to the net is this: Can anyone suggest more
> useful/efficient/fun ways of using my ocean of extended memory?  Which
> programs are out there which can help me get the most out of it?  I am
> especially interested in RAM resident programs which use only a tiny
> fraction of main memory and perform most of their lurking around in
> extended memory.
> Thanks a lot, Sharad Singhal

Well, you could always give one of the boards to me. . . .

No, huh?  Well, pick up a copy of PC Tools (version 3.x or higher) from
Central Point Software.  It's a nice disk utility:  moves, copies,
erases, unerases, backs up, restores, browses, and edits disks and
files.  It can be invoked as a "normal" program, or as a pop-up.  As a
pop-up, it can stay resident in expanded memory.  (Um, expanded is LIM
EMS, and extended is 286 protected mode, right?)  PC Tools lists for
$40; I've seen it for as low as $19.  (From Telemart; and a friend of
mine bought it through them.)

ward@cfa.harvard.EDU (Steve Ward) (11/25/87)

 
In followup to lamentations on how to make use of extend memory
(EMS/LIM expansion memory boards), here is a little info:

With the coming advent of PC-DOS 3.4, the operating system will
support EMS memory.   This will be transparent to any program, allowing
any program to take advantage of the extra memory.

Of course, it remains to be seen how well this works, but removing the
EMS support from programs and putting it into the OS is the right way
to go.  Hardware EMS memory compatible with EMS 4.0 will be compatible
with PC-DOS 3.4 which is rumored for April-June '88 release.

luis@grinch.UUCP (luis) (11/28/87)

In article <810@cfa.cfa.harvard.EDU> ward@cfa.harvard.EDU (Steve Ward) writes:
>In followup to lamentations on how to make use of extend memory
>(EMS/LIM expansion memory boards), here is a little info:
>
>With the coming advent of PC-DOS 3.4, the operating system will
>support EMS memory.   This will be transparent to any program, allowing
>any program to take advantage of the extra memory.
>
>Of course, it remains to be seen how well this works, but removing the
>EMS support from programs and putting it into the OS is the right way
>to go.  Hardware EMS memory compatible with EMS 4.0 will be compatible
>with PC-DOS 3.4 which is rumored for April-June '88 release.

I am wondering about one thing though...  Where will EEMS (Extended Memory)
fall with all this?  I have heard rumers that EMS 4.0 and EEMS are the same
thing... Is this true?  If not, then how do they differ?  I guess, I am
wondering if my 2MB EEMS memory in my AT will work?

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Luis Chanu                             "Live every day as if it were your last,
UUCP: ...ihnp4!sun!aeras!grinch!luis      because one day you will be right."
UUCP: ...pyramid!wjvax!grinch!luis                              -Benny Hill
              Disk-Claimer: That's not your disk, that's my disk.
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