Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!att!dptg!pegasus!psrc
From: psrc@pegasus.ATT.COM (Paul S. R. Chisholm)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: How do you make a RAMDISK?
Summary: it depends
Message-ID: <4377@pegasus.ATT.COM>
Date: 5 Jan 90 06:06:31 GMT
References: <18100@netnews.upenn.edu>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 26

In article <18100@netnews.upenn.edu> parnes@eniac.seas.upenn.edu.UUCP
 (Gary Parnes) writes:
> What exactly do I have to put into my config.sys/autoexec.bat to
> make a Ramdisk?  I have 1 Meg of memory, so that 384K is just
> sitting around often.

Well, maybe that memory is sitting around, and maybe not.  It depends
on how your system (and specifically, your ROM BIOS) is designed.  If
you have an 8088 or 8086, the memory is lost, gone, inaccessible.  If
you have an 80286, the memory is probably very hard to get at.  If you
have an 80386, it's quite likely that the ROM BIOS maps itself into
that RAM and marks itself read-only; you may or may not be able to
disable this.  Ask whoever sold you your system.

Say you've got 384K of extended memory.  You want to find a software
package that will turn it into a RAM disk.  You may have gotten one
with your copy of MS-DOS; look for VDISK or something with a similar
name, or RTFM.*  If not, you can buy RAM disk software ala carte (I'm
sure, though I can't think of a source off hand), or with another
package (PC Tools has both cache and RAM disk software for
conventional, extended, or expanded memory).

Paul S. R. Chisholm, AT&T Bell Laboratories
att!pegasus!psrc, psrc@pegasus.att.com, AT&T Mail !psrchisholm
I'm not speaking for the company, I'm just speaking my mind.
*RTFM = Read The Manual.