[comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc] DR DOS 5.0 & Windows & Tops/Dos ... does it work ???

cmorgan@ooc.uva.nl (Chris Morgan/RIKS) (11/28/90)

Hi, i'm not sure if this is the correct news group but I have some DR DOS 5.0
related questions...

I've recently installed DR DOS 5.0 on a Compaq DeskPro 386-20 with 8MB RAM. In
all the software is pretty good - the hi-memory allocation of DOS modules
and drivers etc mean that I can now run my Tops/Dos network software in
conjunction with Matrix Layout which requires a large chunk of the 640K.

My problem is this - I cannot get Windows 3.0 to start up in 386 enhanced mode
because, presumably, there is an incompatibility between DR DOS's EMM386.sys
driver and Windows' HIMEM.sys driver.

The question is this - How can I utilize the advantages of DR DOS's memory
relocation tricks AND get MS-Windows 3.0 to run in enhanced 386 mode at the
same time. Also I don't want to loose the ability to keep Tops/Dos in high
memory at the same time.

In short - Can I run DR DOS *AND* Windows 3.0 (386 enhanced mode) *AND* Tops/Dos
ALL AT THE SAME TIME and STILL keep plenty of low memory over for ather apps ???



Thanks in advance for any replies - I would also appreciate direct E-Mail
since I get little chance to access this news group.


Chris Morgan
cmorgan@ooc.uva.nl

bondi@dri.com (Bob Bondi) (12/14/90)

In article <16275@slice.ooc.uva.nl> cmorgan@ooc.uva.nl (Chris Morgan/RIKS) writes:
>because, presumably, there is an incompatibility between DR DOS's EMM386.sys
>driver and Windows' HIMEM.sys driver.

Yes, you guessed correctly, and if you have registered you will be getting
the newest version of the DRDOS EMM386.SYS that runs Windows correctly!


>In short - Can I run DR DOS *AND* Windows 3.0 (386 enhanced mode) *AND* Tops/Dos
>ALL AT THE SAME TIME and STILL keep plenty of low memory over for ather apps ???

DRDOS still can solve your problem by using a smart config.sys!
Look at the following example and try to see if you can arrange yours similarly.

.........................................................................
:START
SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM c:\ /P /E:256
?"DO YOU WANT TO RUN WINDOWS IN ENHANCED MODE (Y/N)?" GOTO WINDOWS
?"DO YOU WANT TO LOAD EMM386.SYS WITH LIM MEMORY (Y/N)?" GOTO WITHLIM
?"DO YOU WANT TO LOAD EMM386.SYS WITHOUT LIM MEMORY (Y/N)?" GOTO NOLIM
?"DO YOU WANT TO START OVER (Y/N)?" GOTO START
GOTO COMMON
:WINDOWS
DEVICE=C:\WIN3\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\DRDOS\HIDOS.SYS /B=FFFF
DEVICE=C:\WIN3\SMARTDRIVE
GOTO COMMON
:WITHLIM
HIDOS=ON
DEVICE=C:\DRDOS\EMM386.SYS /F=AUTO /K=xxxx /B=FFFF /R=AUTO
GOTO COMMON
:NOLIM
HIDOS=ON
DEVICE=C:\DRDOS\EMM386.SYS /F=NONE /K=AUTO /B=FFFF /R=AUTO
GOTO COMMON
:COMMON
BREAK=ON
BUFFERS=20
FILES=20
FCBS=4,4
FASTOPEN=512
etc...etc...etc...
...............................................................

This config.sys will prompt for the proper configuration you need, i.e.,
if you want to run a DOS program that uses expanded memory you make the LIM
choice, for windows choose windows at start up.
This is a basic example, no network drivers loaded into hi memory, but,
you should be able to add these items in the COMMON area!

Good Luck! And have fun with DRDOS.

mvolo@uncecs.edu (Michael R. Volow) (12/15/90)

It's amazing, being able to specify configuration options in the
config.sys of DRDOS 5.0.
-- 
Michael Volow, Psychiatry, Durham VA Med Center, Durham NC 27712
919 286 0411 Ext 6933               mvolo@ecsvax.edu