zap@netcom.COM (Paul Eastham) (05/27/91)
Hi all, sorry if this is a FAQ. Throughout the life of my clone, I've had problems with programs which need to have a full 640K memory present. They say I only have 636K memory installed. That's not really possible; my pc is here dissected on the table, and the chips add up to, you guessed it: 640K. The reason this is so troublesome is that part of a program called qram from Quarterdeck needs 640K (exactly) to allow you to utilize your VGA ram as base memory. This missing 4K prevents me from adding 96K to my base memory. (sniff sniff) Does anybody have any ideas/clues/hints/feedback/flames? -- -------- | ---- | ZAP!! | / | A.K.A. Paul Eastham | /_ | zap@netcom.com | / | Los Altos, CA --------
jason@hpcndjdz.CND.HP.COM (Jason Zions) (05/28/91)
Re: My PC has 640Kb worth of chips but all the programs claim I have only
636Kb.
Some PCs make use of an Extended BIOS area at the top of regular memory. For
example, HP Vectra PCs using an HP-HIL mouse will load a 4K ExBIOS at the
top of memory for the HIL stuff.
Usually, PCs which make use of the ExBIOS will have some kind of option to
their SETUP program or the like to disable the use of ExBIOS at the cost of
loss of some functionality. In the HP VECTRA case, the ExBIOS can be turned
of on all modern VECTRAs (i.e. any except the ones that just say VECTRA and
don't have a model name like ES/12 or the like) by invoking the SETUP
command with a single argument, "YADA". (Why? I don't know!) This will
disable the ExBIOS, at the cost of disabling the HIL mouse. Not a bad idea,
actually; you can get much more ergonomic mice and the like for serial or
bus connection.
--
This is not an official statement of The Hewlett-Packard Company. No
warranty is expressed or implied. The information included herein is not to
be construed as a committment on HP's part. The devil made me do it. This
won't save me from the lawyers' wrath, but it can't hurt.
Jason Zions The Hewlett-Packard Company
Colorado Networks Division 3404 E. Harmony Road
Mail Stop 102 Ft. Collins, CO 80525 USA
jason@cnd.hp.com (303) 229-3800