Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bbn!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!cadre!pitt!darth!liber
From: liber@darth.UUCP (Eric Liber)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms
Subject: re: Windows/386
Message-ID: <403@darth.UUCP>
Date: 14 Nov 88 15:07:08 GMT
Organization: Darth Software, Allison Park, Pa.
Lines: 35

Well, I am sure glad to see this news group.  I sometimes think i am the
only person using Windows(/386).  In answer to the poster that wondered
whether you could run non windows tasks with only !!! two meg under windows
386.  If microsoft said it won't work then i am inclinded to believe that 
the person you talked to is either unknowledgable or lying ;-).  I run
Windows/386 at work on a 2meg PS/2 model 80 and at home on my new (AHEM!!)
Gateway 386 with 2.5 meg (.5meg of ooooold sloooooow 16 bit memory) and I
regularly run non windows apps.  If you set up a pif file for them most 
things will run in a window just fine (even Microsoft's JET - a tad slow).
Rough calculations and observations indicate that you need about 15-20% more
memory than that requested in the PIF to run the application.  That is if
you say you need 512k you mus have about 512 * 1.2 = 614k free.  With only
the Executive window running you will have about 1300k free on a 2 meg 
machine.  This is only an estimate because the way that windows allocates
memory is still a mystery (apparently to microsoft also :-)).  I have a 
utility that i picked up off a bbs called FREEEMS ( i think) which shows
free ems and regular memory dynamically, but, sometimes it is really a 
puzzlement where the numbers come from.  

One other note: If you decide to buy a 386 machine (at least a gateway 386)
and want to run windows 386 avoid AWARD BIOS (version 3.03???).  I tried
and windows will NOT READ THE FLOPPY DISKS under this bios. It hangs the 
computer permanently or drops back to dos unpredictably.  GET A PHEONIX
BIOS it works flawlessly (at least it has for the last 4 or 5 days ;-).

Now a question: does any body know how to replace the SYSTEM font in 
things like the Executive window.  And how does fontedit relate to the
standard fonts shipped with windows since it only edits .fnt files and
all the shipped fonts are .fon files and fontedit will not recognize them.

Anyway it is good to be able to talk to other windows hackers (oops bad 
word any more .. i guess :-)).

Have fun
Eric