[comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc] Want opinion on Desqview w/ XT

dejong@euclid.math.colostate.edu (steve dejong) (08/16/90)

I have a 10 MHz XT clone with 1 meg of EMS and a hard drive.  How
will Desqview work on such a system?  I haven't gotten a clear 
answer from the people I have talked to so far.  For example
 - will Desqview work with my EMS
 - switching tasks vs multitasking
 - will running Desqview slow the system to a halt

Everything I have heard is good, but just not clear.  If you e-mail
to me I will post a summary of the replies.  Thanks in advance.

   Steve De Jong      dejong@euclid.ColoState.edu

simon@hpspwr.enet.dec.com (Curiosier and curiosier...) (08/24/90)

In article <8472@ccncsu.ColoState.EDU>, dejong@euclid.math.colostate.edu (steve dejong) writes...
> 
>I have a 10 MHz XT clone with 1 meg of EMS and a hard drive.  How
>will Desqview work on such a system?  I haven't gotten a clear 
>answer from the people I have talked to so far.  For example
> - will Desqview work with my EMS
> - switching tasks vs multitasking
> - will running Desqview slow the system to a halt

I can provide some information up to a point:  I occasionally used 
DESQview on an 8 MHz XT for a couple of years.  However, until I got 
2 megs of expanded memory on a board, it was a little frustrating 
because of a long time to swap programs on the disk (e.g., about 15 sec 
to swap from Word Perfect to Quicken).  After I install these 2 megs, I 
liked it so much that it became my default environment (and still is on 
a new 386SX with 4 megs).

DESQview will work with your EMS (if you have the driver, of course) to 
almost instanteneously swap programs.

It will not do multitasking on an XT except programs that can 
concurrently fit your conventional memory (640K) -- not many of them 
now.

It will not noticeably slow the system (unless it runs out of expanded 
memory and will have to swap to disk -- see above).

---------
Leo Simon			simon@pwrvax.enet.dec.com

Who is not liberal when young, does not have a heart.
Who is not conservative when old, does not have a brain.

						-- W. Churchill