jdb@reef.cis.ufl.edu (Brian K. W. Hook) (01/28/91)
In article <1991Jan27.235629.4920@eddie.mit.edu> pjnesser@fenchurch.mit.edu (Philip John Nesser) writes: >Hi, > >I just recently purchased 386/33 machine with a SVGA monitor (lucky me) >with 8 meg of ram. I very much want to run windows3.0 in the enhanced 386 >mode to use all of this wonderful ram but whenever I start windows it just >sits there at the Microsoft Logo and never does anything else. After a >long time it finally exits with the error "Can't find file knrl386.exe" >which is currently in the system subdirectoy of my windows directory just >as it was when installed. Someone suggested that I need to run a memory >manager like qemm. I did and I can't seem to get the configuration right >to get window to run at all. Another person suggested I need to have the >Shadow bios turned on for my video ram but I don't know how to do this. I >currently have three devices in my config.sys. > >device=c:\dm.sys(Its not really dm but it is the driver that allows me to >access my 330 meg drive) > >device=c:\himem.sys >device=c:\smartdrive.sys 2048 1024 Well, first off, make sure that you won't trash your hard drive via using a disk manager along with Windows in 386 mode. There have been numerous postings on the subject. Second: You shouldn't need to turn ON shadowing at all. If anything, shadowing interferes with normal operation. Third: You shouldn't need anything but HIMEM.SYS loaded. Fourth: You didn't mention what kind of SVGA card you have. This makes a big difference! Have you tried running Windows in normal (/S or /R) mode? Does it work? Also, have you tried setting up windows for normal VGA mode instead of SVGA. We used to have MicroLabs Ultimate VGA cards (16-bit w/512K) and they worked fine except in WIN /3 with SVGA. They did exactly what you described. The problem was the drivers shipped with the board. The board, by the way, uses the ET4000 chip set. Brian
kusumoto@chsun1.uchicago.edu (Bob Kusumoto) (01/30/91)
just to add something here, when I tried to get my AST Premium II 386SX/20's
built-in SVGA to work in windows, the drivers they supplied for windows
specificly stated that it would only work in real or standard mode (in
fact, windows setup said this when I added it).
I'd agree with the guy before, use HIMEM.SYS that came with windows, don't
bother with shadow ram, and you might want to consider dumping the smartdrv
since it might end up ruining your hard drive (esp since you said that you're
using disk manager to deal with your hard drive). I'd definately check
into this.
Bob
--
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Internet: kusumoto@chsun1.uchicago.edu | the sun/ from a war that must
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UUCP: ...!{oddjob,gargoyle}!chsun1!kusumoto | - New Order, "Love Vigilantes"marc@rna.UUCP (Marc Johnson) (02/11/91)
] In article <26531@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> you write: ]>In article <1991Jan27.235629.4920@eddie.mit.edu> pjnesser@fenchurch.mit.edu (Philip John Nesser) writes: ]>>Hi, ]>> ]>>I just recently purchased 386/33 machine with a SVGA monitor (lucky me) ]>>with 8 meg of ram. I very much want to run windows3.0 in the enhanced 386 ]>>mode to use all of this wonderful ram but whenever I start windows it just ]>>sits there at the Microsoft Logo and never does anything else. After a ]>>long time it finally exits with the error "Can't find file knrl386.exe" ]>>which is currently in the system subdirectoy of my windows directory just ]>>as it was when installed. Someone suggested that I need to run a memory ]>>manager like qemm. I did and I can't seem to get the configuration right ]>>to get window to run at all. Another person suggested I need to have the ]>>Shadow bios turned on for my video ram but I don't know how to do this. I ]>>currently have three devices in my config.sys. ]>> ]>>device=c:\dm.sys(Its not really dm but it is the driver that allows me to ]>>access my 330 meg drive) ]>> ]>>device=c:\himem.sys ]>>device=c:\smartdrive.sys 2048 1024 ]> ]>Well, first off, make sure that you won't trash your hard drive via using ]>a disk manager along with Windows in 386 mode. There have been numerous ]>postings on the subject. ]> ]>Second: You shouldn't need to turn ON shadowing at all. If anything, ]>shadowing interferes with normal operation. ]> ]>Third: You shouldn't need anything but HIMEM.SYS loaded. ]> ]>Fourth: You didn't mention what kind of SVGA card you have. This makes ]>a big difference! Have you tried running Windows in normal (/S or /R) ]>mode? Does it work? Also, have you tried setting up windows for ]>normal VGA mode instead of SVGA. ]> ]>We used to have MicroLabs Ultimate VGA cards (16-bit w/512K) and they ]>worked fine except in WIN /3 with SVGA. They did exactly what you ]>described. The problem was the drivers shipped with the board. The ]>board, by the way, uses the ET4000 chip set. ]> ]>Brian ] ] I just installed Windows 3.0 on my 386 with SVGA and 4 Mb of RAM, and it took me about 6 tries to finally get it. Brian's comment about first installing as VGA is right on. You should install and setup Windows first in a basic (stripped-down) mode, then change the setup parameters one at a time until you get all your goodies installed as desired. Despite the snazzy and pretty user-friendly setup/install, Windows can be a nightmare to install correctly. The main thing is that it doesn't tell you why it's not able to start correctly, or give you any hints as to what to do to fix it. In my case, it was due to an out of date mouse driver, of all things! It didn't complain, just bombed back to the prompt. The thing is, it worked in /R (real) mode, so I was stumped. The correct SVGA drivers are also critical, but they also must be properly referenced in your SETUP.INI and WIN.INI files. Basically, take things a step at a time, and ensure that all devices have current drivers. The config.sys you showed looks fine, but perhaps you should also add "FILES=30" and "BUFFERS=50" or something like that. DO NOT use QEMM with Windows and HIMEM.SYS, they may well conflict. Let Windows manage memory for you -- it's a lot happier that way. Regarding Shadow RAM, you shouldn't need it. Once you get it setup correctly, I have found that Windows runs quite robustly. but that setup can be a hair-tearing experience! Good luck!! marc =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= = Marc Johnson BITNET: rna!marc@rockvax.bitnet = = Rockefeller Univ. Neurobiology UUCP: ...cmcl2!rna!marc = = New York City INTERNET: marc%rna@rocky2.rockefeller.edu = = (129.85.2.1) = = = = "Gimme the beat boys and free my soul, I wanna get lost in your rock & roll = = ...and drift away" = =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=