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From: jabusch@uiucdcsb.CS.UIUC.EDU
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: MS Windows Questions:  Extra memory
Message-ID: <5100129@uiucdcsb>
Date: Mon, 14-Jul-86 21:17:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: uiucdcsb.5100129
Posted: Mon Jul 14 21:17:00 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 16-Jul-86 04:19:46 EDT
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Nf-From: uiucdcsb.CS.UIUC.EDU!jabusch    Jul 14 20:17:00 1986



	According to the documentation, you can get Windows to 
recognize and use the extra memory > 640k in only one way, due to
the limitations of DOS, which Windows runs under.  The way to use
it is to use the program RAMDISK.SYS, which comes on disk 1 of the
Windows release.  You put this program on your hard disk, in some
place out of the way, then use it by making the following entry
in your CONFIG.SYS file:
		device = c:\pathname\RAMDISK.SYS /E:2000
	(inserting the appropriate directory names for "pathname").
	(I also probably have the format wrong, but you can check
	 easily enough, just look for RAMDISK.SYS in the glossary)
	Next, you enter Windows, and in its own directory you will
find a file called WIN.INI.  You pick this entry with your mouse, as
if you were starting a program, and Windows will invoke the notepad
program to allow you to edit the file.  Search through the file until
you find the entry that looks like:
		swapdisk=c
	and modify that to read:
		swapdisk=d .
	Now, reboot your pc, and you will see the ramdrive start up,
then when you enter Windows, you will notice a slight increase in 
performance (better than slight, actually).  What is happening is 
that Windows is using its Ramdisk in the upper memory as paging
space, for swapping the programs you load.  By the way, Microsoft
heavily recommends in the manual that you use their ramdisk program
over the vdisk.sys program supplied by IBM in DOS 3.0 ad 3.1.  I
assume they feel their program performs better in some respect.
You still have the same basic memory limitations on the number of
programs that can be loaded at one time, all that you'll see is a 
faster response time while jumping from one program to another.
I recommend that you stick to running around three programs or less,
at least until the next version of DOS is out.  This will give you
decent speed and hopefully avoid some of the "not enough memory to
load this program" responses.



John W. Jabusch
U.S. Mail:
	Department of Computer Science
	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
	Room 230 Digital Computer Laboratory
	1304 West Springfield Avenue
	Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 333-4111
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