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-
- QEMM Utilities
-
- Quarterdeck Technical Note #294 Filename: QEMMUTIL.TEC
- by Quarterdeck Documentation CompuServe: QUTIL.TEC
- Last Revised: 04/05/95 Category: QEMM
-
- Subject: A discussion of the utilities that come with QEMM.
-
-
- Utility Programs
- ----------------
-
- This technical note describes several miscellaneous utility
- programs included with QEMM. The programs described herein let you
- load device drivers before QEMM, load device drivers from the DOS
- prompt, ensure that Microsoft Windows runs properly with QEMM if
- you install Windows after QEMM, fix certain problems that occur on
- some Toshiba laptop PCs, fix problems that may occur if you are
- running LAN WorkPlace for DOS and fix bootup problems that occur
- with some Ultra Stor disk controllers. Read this document if any
- of these topics concern you.
-
-
- DEVICE.COM: Loading Device Drivers from the DOS Prompt
- ------------------------------------------------------
-
- DEVICE.COM is a program you can use to load certain device drivers
- from the DOS prompt instead of from CONFIG.SYS. DEVICE.COM will
- load character device drivers (e.g., a mouse driver, ANSI.SYS),
- but not block device drivers (e.g., drivers for disk compressors,
- RAM disks or CD ROM drives). In general, a block device is one
- that will be assigned a drive letter (e.g., E:, H:). You may want
- to use DEVICE.COM for the following reasons:
-
- - To load a device driver in a DESQview or DESQview/X window, or
- in a Microsoft Windows DOS window. For example, if you have a
- program that requires ANSI.SYS, you can load ANSI.SYS in that
- program's window without imposing ANSI's overhead on all your
- other windows.
-
- - To load a device driver from the DOS prompt when you need it.
-
- - To load a device driver in AUTOEXEC.BAT to help QEMM's Optimize
- program do a more efficient job of loading programs into upper
- memory. Occasionally a driver in CONFIG.SYS uses enough upper
- memory that there is not enough left to load a subsequent driver
- or TSR. In this case, you can try using DEVICE.COM to load the
- device driver in AUTOEXEC.BAT after the later driver or TSR has
- been loaded. This method is especially worth trying if Optimize
- is unable to load a very large TSR or driver into upper memory,
- after loading a preceding driver into upper memory.
-
- The syntax for DEVICE.COM is:
-
- DEVICE device_driver_pathname
-
- For example, to load ANSI.SYS from the DOS prompt you would type:
-
- DEVICE C:\DOS\ANSI.SYS.
-
-
- FIXINT13.SYS
- ------------
-
- FIXINT13.SYS prevents certain problems that can happen when the
- CONFIG.SYS file is being executed and problems occur on the DOS
- stack. FIXINT13's job is to switch away from the DOS stack and on
- to its own stack in conventional memory when a BIOS disk call
- occurs while the CONFIG.SYS file is being processed. If you give
- FIXINT13 the /STACKSIZE=xxxx parameter, you can also change the
- size of FIXINT13's stack, to prevent stack overruns. The default
- size of the FIXINT13 stack is 256 bytes; xxxx can be any value
- between 128 and 1024.
-
- FIXINT13 is needed with some UltraStor disk controllers to prevent
- "Device not found" errors during the boot process. FIXINT13 with
- the /STACKSIZE=384 parameter also prevents "Configuration too
- large for memory" errors or crashes in the CONFIG.SYS file on some
- systems with Adaptec 1542c controllers.
-
- If you think you need FIXINT13.SYS, load it in the CONFIG.SYS
- file, immediately before the QEMM386.SYS line (and after
- DOSDATA.SYS and any other programs loaded before QEMM386.SYS). For
- example:
-
- DEVICE=C:\QEMM\FIXINT13.SYS
-
- or
-
- DEVICE=C:\QEMM\FIXINT13.SYS /STACKSIZE=384
-
-
- HOOKROM.SYS: Loading Device Drivers before QEMM
- -----------------------------------------------
-
- HOOKROM.SYS is a device driver that allows you to load other
- device drivers before QEMM in your CONFIG.SYS file. You may need
- HOOKROM.SYS if you need to load a device driver before QEMM386.SYS
- and you are using QEMM's Stealth ROM feature (i.e., you have the
- parameter ST:M or ST:F on the QEMM386.SYS device line in
- CONFIG.SYS). Though it is usually best to load device drivers
- after QEMM386.SYS, there are some special drivers (like the ones
- that manage some 80386 conversion hardware) that must load before
- QEMM386.SYS. These drivers may obscure information that QEMM
- needs to enable the Stealth ROM feature. If this is the case,
- QEMM386.SYS will post an error message that reads,
-
- QEMM386: Disabling Stealth ROM because QEMM could not locate the
- ROM handler for INT x
-
- where x is the number of an interrupt handler that QEMM needs to
- manage for the Stealth ROM process to work.
-
- The solution to this problem is to place the line
-
- DEVICE=C:\QEMM\HOOKROM.SYS
-
- at the beginning of the CONFIG.SYS file, before the driver that
- needs to be loaded before QEMM386.SYS. HOOKROM will gather the
- necessary information for QEMM386.SYS, so that the special driver
- does not interfere with the Stealth ROM process.
-
-
- LWPFIX: Fixing Problems with LAN WorkPlace
- ------------------------------------------
-
- LWPFIX.COM is a TSR that works around problems with some versions
- of Novell's LAN WorkPlace for DOS. Specifically, some versions of
- Novell's TCPIP.EXE do not properly save and restore the state of
- two of the processor's 32-bit extended registers; this can cause
- malfunctions and crashes when other programs are using these
- registers. By adding the command C:\QEMM\LWPFIX.COM to your
- AUTOEXEC.BAT after TCPIP.EXE is loaded, you ensure that the
- original contents of these registers will be restored after
- TCPIP.EXE finishes using them.
-
- You will need LWPFIX.COM if you are using versions 4.00 or 4.01 of
- LAN WorkPlace for DOS; you may need it with some later versions.
- LWPFIX.COM does no harm even if it is not needed, so it may be
- worth loading LWPFIX.COM if you are experiencing problems with any
- version of LAN WorkPlace for DOS. DESQview/X automatically loads a
- driver that performs the same function as LWPFIX.COM, so
- LWPFIX.COM is only needed to fix problems that occur outside of
- DESQview/X.
-
-
- QWINFIX: Using Microsoft Windows with QEMM
- ------------------------------------------
-
- QWINFIX.COM makes Microsoft Windows 386 enhanced mode compatible
- with QEMM. QWINFIX does this by adding the line
-
- SystemROMBreakPoint=false
-
- to the [386Enh] section of Windows' SYSTEM.INI file. If you have
- Windows installed on your PC at the time you install QEMM, QEMM's
- installation program will run QWINFIX. If you install Windows
- after installing QEMM, you should run QWINFIX. To run QWINFIX:
-
- Switch to Windows' directory (usually \WINDOWS).
-
- Type QWINFIX and press Enter.
-
-
- QEMMREG: Displaying QEMM's Version and Serial Number
- ----------------------------------------------------
-
- QEMMREG.COM displays QEMM's version number and your serial number.
- To use QEMMREG, type
-
- QEMMREG
-
- and press Enter
-
-
- SCANMEM.COM: Checking for Memory Above the 16MB Line
- ----------------------------------------------------
-
- SCANMEM.COM is a program that scans your PC's memory, looking for
- memory that is not reported by the BIOS, and reports a parameter
- you can use to make QEMM see this memory. This program may be
- useful if your system has more than 16 megabytes of memory and you
- cannot access the memory above 16 megabytes after installing QEMM.
- The USERAM:XX:YY parameter to QEMM performs a similar function,
- scanning all of the address range between XX and YY; running
- SCANMEM is not a prerequisite to using USERAM. However, you can
- use SCANMEM.COM to find the precise ranges of addresses that can
- be specified to USERAM; this may save a couple of moments when you
- boot your machine.
-
- Some systems with more than 16 megabytes of memory do not report
- all of their memory through the appropriate BIOS call (the
- standard method for reporting how much memory is installed in a
- system). On such a system, QEMM will not automatically detect the
- memory above 16 megabytes. Certain Compaq and Dell PCs and PCs
- with older Micronics motherboards (e.g., some Gateways) with more
- than 16 megabytes of memory are the most notable examples. SCANMEM
- tries to locate regions of RAM that QEMM does not detect
- automatically when it loads. If you have a system with more than
- 16 megabytes of RAM and you suspect that all your memory is not
- available, follow the steps below:
-
- First, run Manifest to see if the memory is recognized. Type
-
- MFT
-
- and press Enter.
-
- Near the bottom of the Manifest System Overview screen, you will
- see a number for Total Extended Memory (pooled). If you have over
- 16 megabytes of RAM and the amount displayed is less than 16384K,
- your system's BIOS is not reporting the memory above 16 megabytes,
- and you should continue with the steps below.
-
- Note: If you are having problems accessing memory above 16
- megabytes on a Dell PC, contact Dell's technical support. They may
- be able to supply you with an updated version of the system BIOS
- that fixes this problem.
-
- You should not run the SCANMEM program when QEMM386.SYS, DOS's
- HIMEM or EMM386, or any other memory manager is loaded. Similarly,
- you should not use any program that uses extended memory without
- the assistance of a memory manager; some disk caches or RAM disks
- may do this. The ideal environment for running SCANMEM is a
- completely clean boot with no CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT.
-
- Reboot your PC without any extended memory managers or consumers
- present. After rebooting, type SCANMEM and press Enter.
-
- SCANMEM will scan your PC's memory, and if it finds a memory
- region that QEMM has not detected, it will post a message listing
- the exact form of the USERAM=xxxxxxxx-yyyyyyyy parameter that you
- should put on the QEMM386.SYS device line in CONFIG.SYS. SCANMEM
- will list an address range in eight-digit hexadecimal format
- (e.g., USERAM=00100000-00206000). When you add the USERAM
- parameter to the QEMM386.SYS device line, use all the digits given
- in the address. This parameter will reclaim the memory; SCANMEM's
- only job is to suggest the appropriate USERAM parameter (for
- information on the USERAM parameter, see Chapter 7).
-
- If SCANMEM lists a USERAM parameter, jot it down, when edit your
- CONFIG.SYS file and add the exact parameter SCANMEM reported to
- the QEMM386.SYS device driver line.
-
- Save your CONFIG.SYS file and reboot.
-
- After rebooting, you should be able to access the memory above 16
- megabytes. You can use Quarterdeck Manifest to verify that the
- memory is recognized (see the first step above).
-
- SCANMEM may post various messages:
-
- Address wrap at xxxxx, where xxxxx is a memory address, means that
- SCANMEM has detected that your PC's address space is smaller than
- the four gigabytes that the 386 processor can address. This
- message is for your information and does not invalidate SCANMEM's
- findings.
-
- NOUSERAM=xxxxx-yyyyy, where xxxxx and yyyyy are memory addresses,
- means that SCANMEM does not detect memory in the address range
- xxxxx-yyyyy, even though your system's BIOS has reported enough
- extended memory to fill these addresses. If you see this message,
- you may wish to use your PC's system setup to reconfigure your
- machine so that the BIOS reports extended memory properly.
-
- Error: Invalid USERAM due to memory cache! means that SCANMEM has
- detected that the USERAM=xxxxx-yyyyy parameter that it last
- printed to the screen is invalid and should not be used. You
- should ignore only the last USERAM message printed to the screen;
- previous USERAM messages are valid. This error may occur if an
- unusual memory cache makes the contents of memory appear to be
- variable.
-
-
- T386.EXE: Displaying the Pop-up Menu on Toshiba Laptops
- -------------------------------------------------------
-
- T386.EXE is a program for Toshiba laptop computers which
- allows the Toshiba pop-up menu to appear when QEMM is enabled.
- T386 works on many Toshiba laptops.
-
- If the computer is in virtual-8086 mode, Toshiba's pop-up menu
- will display only if the expanded memory manager calls itself
- "T386." The computer is always in virtual-8086 mode when
- expanded memory is in use or High RAM has been created.
- Therefore, when QEMM is performing these services you will not
- be able to access the pop-up menu. The T386 program makes QEMM
- appear to be named T386 and allows the menu to work properly.
- To use T386.EXE:
-
- Type
-
- T386
-
- and press Enter
-
- You can load T386.EXE into upper memory by typing LOADHI T386.
-
- You may want to load T386 from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, so it
- will run whenever you start your PC. We suggest you run
- Optimize after adding this or any other program to
- AUTOEXEC.BAT.
-
- To remove T386 from memory (even if it is loaded into upper
- memory):
-
- Type
-
- T386 R
-
- and press Enter
-
-
- ******************************************************************
- * Trademarks are property of their respective owners. *
- * This and other technical notes may be available in updated *
- * forms through Quarterdeck's standard support channels. *
- * Copyright (C) 1995 Quarterdeck Corporation *
- ******************** E N D O F F I L E ***********************
-
-