sbarr@ic.sunysb.edu (Sanford L Barr) (06/06/90)
In article <6574@vax1.acs.udel.EDU> bill@vax1.udel.edu (William Tsai) writes: >Does anybody know how to increase the environment space used >by variables when executing command.com in a window? >Seems like SHELL= .. /E .. doesn't affect the copy of comman.com >being executed in a window. > >Any help? I second the request. I'm getting a measley 530K free even with the PIF's at -1 -1. Does anyone know if the new version of 386MAX works with Win 3.0? >-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- > Bill Tsai | bill@vax1.udel.EDU ..@freezer.it.udel.edu > University of Delaware | ..@sun.udel.EDU ffo30260@udelvm.bitnet -- ::::::::::::::::: - Sanford L. Barr - ::::::::::::::::::::"Never argue with ___- ARPA: sbarr@libserv1.ic.sunysb.edu _------ :: a fool. Most ____- UUCP: ...!cmcl2!sbcs!libserv1!sbarr _----- :: people can't tell _____- ..!rutgers!philabs!sbcs!libserv1!sbarr _---- :: the difference."
jcmorris@mwunix.mitre.org (Joe Morris) (06/07/90)
In article <6574@vax1.acs.udel.EDU> bill@vax1.udel.edu (William Tsai) writes: >Does anybody know how to increase the environment space used >by variables when executing command.com in a window? >Seems like SHELL= .. /E .. doesn't affect the copy of comman.com >being executed in a window. Try the following: ===== Start file 'envirn33.not' ===== This patch changes the default environment size in COMMAND.COM for DOS 3.3 from its IBM-provided value of 160 bytes. The COMMAND command (both in the SHELL statement in CONFIG.SYS and in the command which establishes a secondary command processor) accepts the /E:xxxx parameter, but when a secondary processor is started it does not honor the size specification of its parent. This can cause significant problems if a user invokes functions which require more environment space than is available while in a secondary command processor environment. The patch will work for PC-DOS 3.3 only. The concept is probably applicable for other DOS variants and other releases, but the verify code (and possibly the patch data) will differ. The value to be changed represents a (two-byte) word containing the size of the default environment space in paragraphs (16-byte blocks). Since the 80*86 architecture inverts the sequence, the low-order byte appears first. The default value is 160 bytes (hex 00A0), so the original data is hex 0A 00; to patch the file to default to 512 bytes (hex 0200) the data should be changed to hex 20 00. Note that the low-order zero is not present. To summarize: For this much space...insert this value...inverted 160 bytes (10 paragraphs) 000A 0A 00 256 bytes (16 paragraphs) 0010 10 00 512 bytes (32 paragraphs) 0020 20 00 The installation script to set a 512-byte default if typed from the console. Executing this from a file would not show exactly the same material. C:\> debug command.com - d eb4 eb9 (show the data where we will patch) xxxx:0EB0 C7 06 60 16 - 0A 00 ...... - e eb8 20 (make the actual patch) - w (write the file back to disk) Writing 62DB bytes - q (exit DEBUG) C:\> ===== end file 'envirn33.not' =====
michaelk@copper.WR.TEK.COM (Michael D. Kersenbrock) (06/07/90)
Does anybody know how to increase the environment space used by variables when executing command.com in a window? Seems like SHELL= .. /E .. doesn't affect the copy of comman.com being executed in a window. Any help? What I did to "fix" this, is to put "SET DUMMY=aa . . . aaa" in my autoexec.bat. When a new command.com/DOS app. is fired up in Win 3.0, with a batch file invocation, I put a "SET DUMMY=" line in it to free that amount of environment space. -- Mike Kersenbrock Tektronix Logic Analyzers Division michaelk@copper.WR.TEK.COM Aloha, Oregon
bg11+@andrew.cmu.edu (Brian E. Gallew) (06/07/90)
The simplest way is to change the .PIF so that it calls command in the following manner: c:\dos\command.com /E:1024 Command.com never looks at the shell statement. That is only used by IBMDOS.COM to load up the cammand processor of your choice. That is why you are supposed to put a /P in the parameters in your shell statement. Without that switch, it is possible to exit from your primary copy of command.com and hang the system because there is *NO* command processor running. Hope this helps.
akm@getafix.cs.uoregon.edu (Anant Kartik Mithal) (06/07/90)
Another solution is to use 4dos, whic is a shareware command.com replacement. It is available on Simtel20 and its mirror sites. 4dos adds a whole bunch of things that command.com does not have, has been completely compatible for me so far. I shell to it from win3, and it works just fine. You can define very large environment areas in for your path, set variables and aliases (three separate areas). Works like a breeze. kartik ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anant Kartik Mithal akm@cs.uoregon.edu Department of Computer Science akm@oregon.BITNET University of Oregon
bwb@sei.cmu.edu (Bruce Benson) (06/07/90)
In article <1990Jun7.051132.14399@cs.uoregon.edu> akm@getafix.cs.uoregon.edu (Anant Kartik Mithal) writes: >Another solution is to use 4dos, whic is a shareware command.com >replacement. It is available on Simtel20 and its mirror sites. 4dos >adds a whole bunch of things that command.com does not have, has been >completely compatible for me so far. I shell to it from win3, and it >works just fine. You can define very large environment areas in for >your path, set variables and aliases (three separate areas). Works >like a breeze. One small bug in 4dos is when swapping to windows (not exiting 4dos) and then back to 4dos will hang your system. I don't have win 3.0 yet, but understand it still is a problem, at least in the 286 mode. Rex Conn, author of 4dos, is aware of the problem and working on it. Otherwise, it is a great program. * Bruce Benson + Internet - bwb@sei.cmu.edu + + * Software Engineering Institute + Compuserv - 76226,3407 + >--|> * Carnegie Mellon University + Voice - 412 268 8496 + + * Pittsburgh PA 15213-3890 + + US Air Force
akm@cacofonix.cs.uoregon.edu (Anant Kartik Mithal) (06/08/90)
In article <7462@fy.sei.cmu.edu> bwb@sei.cmu.edu (Bruce Benson) writes: >In article <1990Jun7.051132.14399@cs.uoregon.edu> akm@getafix.cs.uoregon.edu (Anant Kartik Mithal) writes: >>Another solution is to use 4dos, whic is a shareware command.com > >One small bug in 4dos is when swapping to windows (not exiting 4dos) and >then back to 4dos will hang your system. I don't have win 3.0 yet, but >understand it still is a problem, at least in the 286 mode. Rex Conn, >author of 4dos, is aware of the problem and working on it. Otherwise, >it is a great program. For some reason, the problem doesn't happen with my setup. I frequently open one or more 4dos windows to use its file management/file name completion, and then "forget" about the windows, and go back to Win3.0. During a typical "heavy" work schedule, I typically have two to four dos apps running, of which two on the average are 4dos. I also believe that Windows loads 4dos everytime it opens a window for a dos app: I see some of the 4dos start up messages whenever I launch a dos application. kartik ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anant Kartik Mithal akm@cs.uoregon.edu Department of Computer Science akm@oregon.BITNET University of Oregon
michaelt@microsoft.UUCP (Michael THURLKILL) (06/11/90)
In article <6574@vax1.acs.udel.EDU> bill@vax1.udel.edu (William Tsai) writes: >Does anybody know how to increase the environment space used >by variables when executing command.com in a window? >Seems like SHELL= .. /E .. doesn't affect the copy of comman.com >being executed in a window. > You need to create a .PIF file for command.com. In the 'Optional Parameters' field, put in /E:xxxx. Also, when you spawn a command.com under Windows only the environment space currently in use will be reserved. Thus if you have specified /E:1024 in the shell line of config.sys, but you have only defined 256 bytes of environment variables, only 256 bytes will be reserved in the spawned DOS VM. Use the above method to explicitely reserve the desired environment space. Likewise, if you run an application that requires addtional environment space, you create a .PIF with command.com as the 'Program Filename', and '/E:xxxx /C xxx.EXE' as the 'Optional Parameters. Mike Thurlkill Disclaimer: These are my opinions. They should be in no way misconstrued as being correct or in any way related to my employer.