#386 Enhanced?
14 messages in this thread
Can anybody tell me if I should be able to get Windows running in
Enhanced 386 mode on my CBM 386/25 BB?. If so how? 😉
I have 3 megs of ram on the board and have the EMM.SYS device in my
config.sys, anything else I should be doing?.
Paul Lakey (UK)
Enjoying AutoPilot!
Paul…
What happens when you try to run Windows? And do you have a VGA card?
You might want to take EMM.SYS out of you CONFIG.SYS. If I remember correctly,
without looking it up, Windows 3.1 likes to do its own memory management.
Marion
CROSSINGS
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Marion,
Yes I do have a SVGA card running, my problem is not with windows
itself but getting it to think that its running on a 386. I was hoping
that it would run in 386 enhanced mode.
EMM.SYS (CBM supplied PCJanus file) does not seem to be compatible with
Windows 3.1, but trying to run the Windows supplied EMM386.EXE throws up
errors. I do not understand all the flags etc that can be attached to
these files and was wondering if anybody had in fact managed to run the
DOS 5/Windows EMM. If it can be run then I think Windows will run in 386
enhanced mode and also I will be able to run a 387 emulator successfully.
Many thanks
Paul Lakey (UK)
Enjoying AutoPilot!
Paul,
In fact you don't need to run an expanded memory manager to run
Windows. Windows does not use EMM but extended memory. You should not even
bother with either EMM.SYS or EMM386.SYS unless you want to have Windows
provide emulated expanded memory for DOS programs which use EMM but cannot use
extended (XMS) memory. You should be using HIMEM.SYS for Windows and follow
the general directions in MSDOS 5.0 for installing and setting HIMEM.SYS. If
you aren't using HIMEM.SYS then you won't get Windows to run. If you use
EMM.SYS or EMM386.SYS but don't provide sufficient extended memory then Windows
won't run. If you use HIMEM.SYS and properly configure things to open the UMB
and high memory areas and have sufficient extended memory (minimum is 2 meg,
but that really isn't enough) then Windows will run and will run in enhanced
mode if you have a 386.
Steve,
Thanks very much for the detailed description, I currently have 3
meg on the BB, and run EMM.SYS.
As you may have guessed I have very little idea about PC's, I bought the
BB out of curiosity really. I will get another 2 megs and also a 387
Co-Pro when funds permit.
Cheers
Paul
Paul Lakey (UK)
Enjoying AutoPilot!
Paul,
3 meg is sufficient to run Windows, although you will need to have a
large virtual memory partition if you plan to run several large apps at the
same time. However, to get Windows up and running, what you have is sufficient.
However, what you need to do is get rid of EMM.SYS unless you have some major
need to have expanded memory outside of Windows, because it isn't needed inside
Windows except to run DOS apps that use EMM. Windows apps don't use EMM, but
extended memory (XMS) so you want as much XMS memory available as possible.
In CONFIG.SYS you need to delete the EMM.SYS line and install HIMEM.SYS
according to the MSDOS instructions that come with DOS 5.0. There are
instructions on how to set HIMEM to open up UMBs and high memory so DOS loads
high and so other drivers will load high. Do not allocate ANY memory to EMM so
that you will have the maximum ram available for XMS and Windows. Once you
install Windows you should find that you can run in 386 enhanced mode.
If you find you need some help with the installation, let me know. I've been
through it a couple of times. I don't use MSDOS, but DRDOS, however the
process is similar. You might also want to go to a bookstore and pick up a
copy of "Windows 3.1 Secrets" by Livingston and published by InfoWorld
Technical Books. It's the bible for using Windows and DOS 5.0 and is full of
helpful tips on installing and getting the most out of Windows. BTW you will
also need to have an EGA or VGA monitor and video card on the PC side. Windows
won't work in CGA. (I think you already know that).
Steve,
Thanks for the tips, I now have Windows running in Enhanced mode
:-)….
I have removed EMM.SYS and put in the HIMEM and DOS HIGH|UMB lines. Now
all I have to do is find out how to run one of the 387 emulators.
Thanks again,
Paul
Paul Lakey (UK)
Enjoying AutoPilot!
Paul,
I don't think you'll have much need for a 387 emulator. Not too many
programs even use the math chip and those that do can run just fine without it.
However, math chips are dirt cheap right now. You can get a 387 for an SX from
IIT or Cyrix for under $90 and all it takes to use it is to be able to push in
a chip with your fingers!!
Steve,
I like to play with CAD and Rendering software on the Amiga and
was hoping to get a little involved with the same on the PC, a co-pro
could be pretty handy for that sort of application.
I have also been trying to twist the arm of my employer to maybe extend
the site license we have for AutoCAD 12, (I have no idea how the site
license system works for AutoCAD, it may not be possible) so that I could
use it at home on the BB. Anybody seen ACAD 12 running on a BB??.
Paul Lakey (UK)
Enjoying AutoPilot!
Paul,
Well, guess that is an app where the FPU would be a big help. But I
don't think you can get any benefit from a software emulator because it can't
do anything much faster or any faster than the CPU. I think you want to get
the real thing. I bought one for about $120 a few months back, and now the
prices have dropped even more. In many respects you could say they're a real
bargain, today!!
Paul,
As I'm sure you're aware, the purpose of EMM386 is to provide additional
expanded memory for DOS programs you might have on your system when
Windows ISN'T running. For awhile, I had on my system a line that read:
DEVICE=c:\win\emm386.sys 512
This provided 512K of expanded memory outside of Windows for my DOS
programs. This worked fine on my system. However, as an experiment, I
rem'd it out and just relied on defining WIN\HIMEM.SYS as a device and
loading DOS "high". Worked fine, so I just left EMM386 out for
good…..Nancy
Nancy,
I have now got Windows to run in Enhanced mode thanks to help of
yourself and many people here.
While I thought I understood a bit about EMS and XMS, I seem to have
ignored this HIMEM thing altogether. I did read the manual honest! ;-).
Paul Lakey (UK)
Enjoying AutoPilot!
The reason I asked about a VGA card is that they sometimes load their ROM in to
the same location used by expanded memory as the page frame. With the 64K block
(D000) used by the Janus software, things get a little crowded in upper memory.
If you can disable the ROM on your VGA card, you might try that.
Marion
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