[comp.windows.ms] Win3 + QEMM + DR DOS 5.0 = BOOM!

mbk@world.std.com (Michael B Klein) (05/07/91)

I hope someone out there has an answer for me on this one.  Here's my
configuration, to start things off.  I've even included things that
probably don't matter, just in case:

Hardware:
	25mhz 386 CPU
	8Mb RAM
	Two 60Mb RLL drives, partitioned evenly into ~32Mb partitions
		(w/Stacker co-processor card for data compression)
	1.2Mb 5.25" floppy, 1.44Mb 3.5" floppy
	Paradise 1024x768x16 Super VGA
	HP DeskJet Plus
	Logitech ScanMan Plus
	Microsoft Bus Mouse
	Roland LAPC-I Synth card

Software:
	QEMM 5.1 (I think it may be 5.10 -- bad idea, eh?)
	DR DOS 5.0
	4DOS command shell
	Windows 3.0

Problem:
	Before I loaded DRDOS, I could run Windows in Standard mode if
I loaded my mouse, scanner and smartdrive into high memory.  If I
tried to run in 386 enhanced mode, it would show me the opening
screen, then bomb out to DOS.  I found that if I loaded the mouse,
scanner, and smartdrive into CONVENTIONAL memory, I could still run in
386 enhanced mode.
	Then I loaded DRDOS.  Now I can still run in standard mode
with things loaded high.  However, when I try to run in 386 enhanced
mode, I see the opening screen, then a few beeps and a couple screens
of garbage characters.  The only intelligible string on the screen is
something like "WINHIRAM.VXD".  I've tried changing the placement of
all my drivers, eliminating what drivers I can, changing the QEMM
setup, eliminating QEMM and using HIMEM.SYS, and the like.  Nothing
works.
	My QEMM command line looks like this:

device=qemm386.sys ram rom vidramega exclude=d000-d3ff

	I have to exclude video ram to use the Paradise Fast VGA
driver for Windows, and I have to exclude d000-d3ff because that's the
port address for my stacker coprocessor card.  I also have the
EMMExclude=D000-D3FF line in the [386Enh] section of my SYSTEM.INI
file.
	That's all the pertinent information I can think of to
describe the problem.  I normally wouldn't care about 386 Enhanced
mode, because standard is faster anyway, except when using Ansel with
large greyscale images.  It gets REALLY slow without the use of the
8Mb permanent swapfile.  Otherwise, 386 enhanced is for the birds.  I
do my multitasking with Desqview anyway.  <smirk>

Thanks in advance,
Michael

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Michael B. Klein        |     "No, no...Don't tug on that.  You never      |
| mbk@world.std.com       |      know what it might be attached to."         |
| 48klein@cuavax.bitnet   |                             -- Buckaroo Banzai   |

tonyd@hplsla.HP.COM (Tony DeMartino) (05/09/91)

I believe you need Qemm 5.11 for Windows compatability. If you read in your
manual on DRDos, it says that the memory driver ( I believe it is called
EMM386.sys ) is not compatable with Win3.0. You can put a question mark (?)
before the DEVICE= in your config.sys DRDos will prompt you on boot if you
want to load the driver or not. If you say no, then you can just use HIMEM.sys
that came with Windows to run in Enhanced mode. If you say yes, then HIMEM
wont load and you can use DRDos to load your TSR's in High memory. I played
around with one DRDos system and was able to achieve 631K free conventional
memory after loading a ton of crap high. I was pretty impressed. However
to run Win3.0 in enhanced mode, I had to say no to loading the DRDos
memory manager. As for the WINHIRAM.VXD, I have read other notes pertaining
to this driver and I seem to remember referance to the fact that some 
software vendors supply updated versions to allow compatability with
WIN3.0. You might try contacting the DRDos folks.