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Exception #13 Advanced Troubleshooting This QEMM 7 technote is an abridged version of a technical bulletin that is available through our standard support channels. The information contained in this version pertains ONLY to QEMM version 7.0. If you need information relating to earlier versions of QEMM you can obtain the unabridged version from the following sources: Quarterdeck Technical Support BBS: EX13FLOW.TEC CompuServe: EX13FL.ZIP Q/FAX: #232 Subject: A step-by-step, flowchart-like procedure for solving problems that generate Exception #12 or Exception #13 error messages. YES, this document IS long. PLEASE do not be intimidated by its length, as you will only need to refer to portions of it. PLEASE NOTE: Unless otherwise indicated, all references to the 80386 processor apply to any 386 OR HIGHER processor. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Exception errors occur when your 80386 or higher processor receives an invalid instruction. QEMM has been designed to capture these exception errors and display them to you. If you were using a 386 computer WITHOUT QEMM, the same error would occur but your system would very likely hang as a result with no warning. If you are interested in a detailed, technical explanation of Exception Errors, refer to our technical bulletin EXCEPT13.TEC. You do not need an in-depth knowledge of the causes of such errors, however, in order to deal with them. ---------------------------------------------------------------- This technical note will help you troubleshoot and fix most Exception #13 problems. We have included an example scenario for you to follow in order to make this technote as "user friendly" as possible. This troubleshooting procedure will take several steps to complete and you will be instructed to skip ahead to different sections depending on the results of previous steps. PLEASE FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY. At the end of each step you will see three question marks (???) followed by a question. The answer to each question determines the next step you must follow. This Technote follows the same EXACT procedures our technical support staff uses to troubleshoot Exception #13 problems with QEMM. EXAMPLE Exception #13 PROBLEM SCENARIO: "I've installed QEMM and have run the OPTIMIZE program to load my TSRs and device drivers into High RAM. I'm running a scanner program from my network drive (drive F:). I get into the scanner program without a problem, but every time I start scanning I get an 'Exception #13' error and my system crashes." SCENARIO ASSUMPTIONS: QEMM has been loaded onto the local C: drive and QEMM is installed in the C:\QEMM subdirectory. (STEP 1) TRY TO RECREATE THE PROBLEM WITHOUT QEMM INSTALLED -------------------------------------------------- QEMM will report an Exception #13 error message regardless of the cause of the error. We need to reboot your system WITHOUT QEMM and try to recreate the problem to determine if QEMM is involved. If QEMM is NOT loaded on your system and the software STILL has problems, then QEMM is not involved with the error and you will need to consult the documentation or contact the makers of the software that is making your system crash. ??? Does your program need expanded memory in order to operate properly? If so, please go to STEP 2. (Otherwise proceed with this STEP). Proceed with this step if you are uncertain if your program uses expanded memory. We will need to reboot your computer without QEMM loaded. To accomplish this, hold down the <Alt> key immediately after you hear a beep on bootup. QEMM will post a message telling you to press <Escape> to unload QEMM, or any other key to continue with QEMM. Press <Escape>, and run your Setup program. If you are using the DOS-UP feature from QEMM version 7.0 you will first see a message asking if you want to unload DOSDATA. Press <Escape> to unload DOS-UP, then hold down the <Alt> key again until you see the message telling you to press <Escape> to unload QEMM. Once you computer has rebooted without QEMM, try to recreate the Exception #13 problem. ??? If you do not have enough memory to run your program, go to STEP 2. ??? If the problem still exists, go to STEP B. ??? If the problem goes away, go to STEP 2. (STEP 2) QUICK-FIX TROUBLESHOOTING PARAMETERS FOR QEMM --------------------------------------------- This second step is intended for the advanced QEMM user who is familiar and comfortable with editing and adding parameters to the QEMM386.SYS line of the CONFIG.SYS file. If you are not familiar with this process, please skip ahead to STEP 3 now, where you will be given examples about how to edit and add parameters to QEMM. If the following two scenarios do not apply to your Exception #13 problem or do not help RESOLVE the problem, then please go to STEP 3 (the next step) and remove the parameters specified below. Scenario #1: If, when your machine crashes, you notice that the video text or graphics is altered (you see a blank screen, part of the screen is altered, strange lines are displayed across the screen, the colors change) add the following parameters to the end of the QEMM386.SYS line of the CONFIG.SYS file: X=A000-C7FF VF:N VR:N Scenario #2: If, when your machine crashes, you notice that the hard disk (or floppy disk or CD-ROM) is being accessed, add the following parameters to the end of the QEMM386.SYS line of the CONFIG.SYS file: X=F000-FFFF X=C800-CFFF DB=4 ROM (If you already had the ROM parameter at the end of the QEMM386.SYS line, then REMOVE it from the QEMM386.SYS line at this time. If the scenario #2 parameters resolve your problem, try removing the X=C800-CFFF parameter. (Keep the other 3 parameters for now.) If the problem now occurs, then put back the X=C800-CFFF parameter. Next try removing DB=4. If the problem does not reoccur, you do not need that parameter. If it does, then you do need it. If the above parameters eliminated the problem, refer to the instructions in STEP 6 to narrow down the areas of High RAM that must be excluded and reclaim as much High RAM as possible. (STEP 3) DETERMINING THE FREQUENCY OF THE PROBLEM ---------------------------------------- Troubleshooting Exception #13 errors can be difficult if the problem occurs infrequently -- for instance, every couple of days/weeks with no discernable pattern. In order to troubleshoot ANY problem, you must be able to reproduce it. Otherwise, how can you know it is fixed when you fix it? If the Exception #13 error occurs every time you run a particular application or you have been experiencing Exception #13 errors regularly with a given application, then we can attempt to troubleshoot the problem systematically. If the problem occurs frequently, please go to STEP 4. If the problem is not frequent, you must try to determine a pattern by which you can recreate the error on a frequent basis and then proceed with this technote. PLEASE NOTE: Crashes which occur infrequently are usually hardware related problems. These random crashes cannot be resolved by reconfiguring or removing QEMM. (STEP 4) DETERMINING WHETHER STEALTH ROM IS INVOLVED ------------------------------------------- In version 6.00 of QEMM, Quarterdeck introduced the Stealth ROM feature which can create nearly 100K more High RAM than earlier versions (or up to 115K more on PS/2 systems.) The Stealth ROM feature is invoked with the parameter ST:M or ST:F on the "DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS ..." line of your CONFIG.SYS file (located in the root directory of your bootup drive). Your Exception #13 problem may be related to the Stealth ROM feature of QEMM, if you are using it. Check your CONFIG.SYS file for the ST:M or ST:F parameter. ??? If the QEMM386.SYS line DOES NOT have the ST:M or ST:F parameter, go on to STEP 5. If you are using Stealth ROM, we need to remove all Stealth- related parameters (ST:M, ST:F, XST=, XSTI=, DBF=, FSTC, FRAME=) to test whether Stealth ROM is involved with your Exception #13 problem. Here is an example: DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS R:1 RAM ROM X=D000-D3FF ST:M XST=C000 <---delete--> Edit your CONFIG.SYS file and remove the Stealth-related parameter(s), then reboot your computer and try to recreate the Exception #13 error. ??? If the problem still exists, please go to STEP 5. ??? If the problem goes away, it was due to a conflict with Stealth ROM. At this point you should refer to our technical bulletin STEALTH.TEC, a troubleshooting guide for Stealth-related problems. This technote was installed in your QEMM\TECHNOTE directory when you installed QEMM 7. (STEP 5) DETERMINING THE MEMORY LOCATION OF THE EXCEPTION #13 ERROR ---------------------------------------------------------- The memory address at which the Exception #13 error occurred may give us a clue as to what is causing the problem. The following is an example of an Exception #13 error message: QEMM: Exception #13 at C9F6:0173. <--------------------- Error code: 0000 AX=240A BX=0000 CX=0000 DX=0000 SI=0000 DI=0000 BP=0001 DS=29F6 ES=29F6 SS=29F6 SP=D4F9 Flags=7202 Instruction: 6F 72 20 72 65 61 64 69 6E 67 20 2E 53 59 4D Do you want to (T)erminate the program, (R)eboot, or disable QEMM and try to (C)ontinue? We are only concerned with the first line which gives us the address at which the error occurred. The address is always represented by four digits followed by a colon and four more digits. (XXXX:YYYY) In this case the address is C9F6:0173. We are only concerned with the XXXX number (in our example C9F6). ??? If the Hexadecimal number of XXXX is in the range from: 0000 through 9999 go to STEP 7. A000 through FFFE go to STEP 6. FFFF go to STEP 7. (STEP 6) AVOIDING HIGH RAM CONFLICTS --------------------------- Exception #13 errors in the range from A000 up to FFFE are located in the upper memory area between 640K and 1024K. They are usually caused by one of the following: The first situation involves a bus-mastering device (usually a SCSI drive controller or network card) which conflicts with areas of High RAM. Some of these devices come with a driver (called a VDS driver) written by the manufacturer. VDS drivers prevent memory conflicts between bus-mastering devices and memory managers. The second situation relates to conflicts between QEMM and an adapter ROM (or RAM) which are both trying to use the same memory addresses. For example: If you have a network card that takes up 16K of memory and QEMM fails to detect this, QEMM will create High RAM in the SAME memory location the network card is using. If your software then tries to access the network card, the network ROM/RAM code will not be found. (Instead, your software will try to execute the contents of the High Ram area, into which another program may be loaded, causing your machine to crash.) Adding the following two parameters to the QEMM386.SYS device line in of your CONFIG.SYS file can help in either case: 1) DB=4 [This parameter can solve problems with bus-mastering hard drive controller cards. It will not help if the bus- mastering device is something OTHER than a hard drive controller. In such cases your only recourse is to obtain a VDS driver from the manufacturer.] NOTE: Beginning with version 7.0, QEMM (by default) creates a 2K disk buffer (the equivalent of adding DB=2 to the QEMM line) when it detects a bus-mastering hard drive controller. There are situations under which such a device will not be detected, however. 2) Use one of the following: 'X=A000-AFFF' if the error occurs in the range of A000-AFFF or 'X=B000-BFFF' if the error occurs in the range of B000-BFFF or 'X=C000-CFFF' if the error occurs in the range of C000-CFFF or 'X=D000-DFFF' if the error occurs in the range of D000-DFFF or 'X=E000-EFFF' if the error occurs in the range of E000-EFFF or 'X=F000-FFFF' if the error occurs in the range of F000-FFFF Here is an EXAMPLE of what your QEMM device line looks like: DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS RAM AROM=C800-CBFF Using the EXAMPLE Exception #13 memory address from the last STEP, (at C9F6), we will edit the line as follows: DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS RAM AROM=C800-CBFF DB=4 X=C000-CFFF Save the CONFIG.SYS file. Now reboot your machine and try to recreate the Exception #13 problem. ??? If the problem still exists, go to STEP 7. ??? If the problem goes away, try removing the DB=4 parameter from the QEMM386.SYS line. If your machine crashes, then obviously you need this parameter. You may want to contact the manufacturer of the bus-mastering device to inquire about a VDS driver, which is a preferable solution. For a detailed description of VDS drivers and bus-mastering devices, refer to BUS-MAST.TEC technote. (See STEP 4 for information on obtaining technical bulletins.) Next try removing the X=C000-CFFF parameter (remember, the 'C' is an example. You may be using 'A','B','D','E', or 'F' instead. If your machine crashes, then obviously you need this parameter. If so, we will try to narrow down this area (which is 64K, a significant amount of memory) in order to create as much High RAM as possible. The best way to determine which area(s) should be excluded is to run QEMM's Analysis procedure. For a detailed description of Analysis, refer to chapter nine of your QEMM manual or see our technical bulletin EXCLUDE.TEC. Once you have performed an Analysis of your system and determined which area(s) need to be excluded, you should rerun Optimize. (STEP 7) CREATE A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT FOR QEMM ----------------------------------- To determine whether QEMM is involved in the problem, we must create a clean environment by removing ALL lines from the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files which are not necessary to create problem. First, make back-up copies of your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files (which are located in the root directory) because we are going to modify these files. At the DOS prompt type: 1) C: 2) CD\ 3) COPY CONFIG.SYS CONFIG.OLD 4) COPY AUTOEXEC.BAT AUTOEXEC.OLD Now edit your CONFIG.SYS file so that only the lines that are ABSOLUTELY necessary to recreate the Exception #13 error remain. You need the QEMM386.SYS line and the FILES= line as a minimum, but you should delete every other line unless it is ABSOLUTELY needed to recreate the problem. The following is an example CONFIG.SYS file for our example: #1 DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS RAM AROM=C800-CBFF 2 DEVICE=C:\UTIL\CACHE.SYS #3 FILES=25 4 BUFFERS=30 #5 DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:2 C:\SCAN\SCANNER.SYS 256 6 DEVICE=C:\DOS\ANSI.SYS 7 DEVICE=C:\FAXING\FAX.SYS #8 SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /P /E:768 #9 DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:3 C:\NETW\NETWORK.SYS 10 STACKS=0,0 The # indicates lines which are ABSOLUTELY necessary to include in the CONFIG.SYS file in order to recreate the example problem. At this time you may want to refer to the example problem scenario located on the first page of this technote.) line 1) We NEED the QEMM driver to recreate the problem. line 2) A disk cache IS NOT necessary to recreate the problem. line 3) We NEED to include the FILES= statement. line 4) The BUFFERS statement IS NOT needed. line 5) The scanner IS part of our problem. line 6) ANSI.SYS IS NOT needed to recreate the problem. line 7) The fax board has NOTHING to do with the problem. line 8) The SHELL= statement tells DOS where the command processor is. line 9) We NEED to log on to the network to run the scanner program. line 10) The Stacks statement IS NOT necessary. If you are not sure if a line is absolutely necessary in your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT files, check your DOS manual or the documentation that came with your hardware and software for information. This leaves our CONFIG.SYS with: DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS RAM AROM=C800-CBFF FILES=25 DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:2 C:\SCAN\SCANNER.SYS 256 SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /P /E:768 DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:3 C:\NETW\NETWORK.SYS Since you ran QEMM's OPTIMIZE program, some of your device drivers are loaded into upper memory. For now we want these drivers loaded low, as some drivers behave incorrectly when loaded high. DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:2 C:\SCAN\SCANNER.SYS 256 <------delete---------> Boost the FILES= to at least 40, and our final CONFIG.SYS looks like: DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS RAM AROM=C800-CBFF FILES=40 DEVICE=C:\SCAN\SCANNER.SYS 256 SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /P /E:768 DEVICE=C:\NETW\NETWORK.SYS (Your CONFIG.SYS may only need the QEMM386.SYS and FILES=40 line. Do not be concerned if your CONFIG.SYS is not 5 lines long.) Save the CONFIG.SYS, and now we will modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The following is an example AUTOEXEC.BAT file for our example: ECHO OFF PATH C:\;C:\DOS;C:\UTILS;C:\EDITOR;F:\SCANNER; C:\QEMM\LOADHI C:\UTIL\FASTKEYB PROMPT $P$G C:\QEMM\LOADHI /R:1 C:\NETW\LOGIN SET TEMP=F:\WINDOWS\TEMP FAXSETUP 125 The only lines we need to keep are the PATH, PROMPT, and NETWORK LOGIN. This leaves our AUTOEXEC.BAT follows: PATH C:\;C:\DOS;C:\UTILS;C:\EDITOR;F:\SCANNER; PROMPT $P$G C:\QEMM\LOADHI /R:1 C:\NETW\LOGIN Again, some of our device drivers are loaded high as a result of Optimize. We need to remove the LOADHI information from these lines. C:\QEMM\LOADHI /R:1 C:\NETW\LOGIN <----delete-------> This leaves our final AUTOEXEC.BAT with: PATH C:\;C:\DOS;C:\UTILS;C:\EDITOR;F:\SCANNER; PROMPT $P$G C:\NETW\LOGIN (Your AUTOEXEC.BAT may only need the PATH and PROMPT lines. Do not be concerned if your AUTOEXEC.BAT is not 3 or more lines long.) Save the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Now reboot your machine and try to recreate the Exception #13 problem. ??? If the problem still exists, go to STEP 8. ??? If the problem goes away, go to STEP C. (STEP 8) MODIFY THE QEMM386.SYS LINE --------------------------- Now we will modify your QEMM386.SYS line in the CONFIG.SYS file by adding parameters (and possibly removing some of the parameters that are already on the line) to avoid POSSIBLE conflicts involving QEMM. Modify the line as follows: DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS X=A000-C7FF X=F000-FFFF FILL:N TM:N CF:N SH:NONE DB=4 DO NOT ADD THE RAM PARAMETER TO THIS LINE. PLEASE NOTE: ALL parameters are typed ON THE SAME LINE, not on two lines as they appear in our document. ??? If you are using the Stealth ROM parameter (ST:M or ST:F), DO NOT include Stealth ROM at this time. BUT make a note of it, as you will add this parameter back to the QEMM386.SYS line in STEP 14. You will also want to remove any Stealth-related parameters you may be using at this time: XST=, XSTI=, DBF=, FSTC, FRAME=. If your QEMM386.SYS line previously contained a parameter to EXCLUDE an area of memory such as EXCLUDE= or X= or AROM= or ARAM=, you should also add this parameter to the end of the QEMM386.SYS line. DO NOT add any INCLUDE= or I= parameters, even if you previously used them. In our example, we previously had the AROM=C800-CBFF parameter. Adding this parameter to the above DEVICE line gives us the following QEMM line: DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS X=A000-C7FF X=F000-FFFF FILL:N TM:N CF:N SH:NONE DB=4 AROM=C800-CBFF (AGAIN, these parameters all go on one line.) Save the new CONFIG.SYS file and reboot your machine. Try to recreate the Exception #13 problem. ??? If the problem still exists, go to STEP 9 ??? If the problem goes away, go to STEP 12. (STEP 9) TRY TO RECREATE THE PROBLEM WITHOUT QEMM INSTALLED -------------------------------------------------- In order to determine whether QEMM is responsible for your problem we need to run your software without QEMM loaded. If your program uses expanded memory, then another memory manager (such as the ones that come with DOS 5/6 or Windows) must be loaded in place of QEMM. ??? Does your program need expanded memory in order to operate properly? If so, please go to STEP 10. (Otherwise proceed with this STEP). Reboot your machine without QEMM. To disable QEMM temporarily, hold down the <Alt> key immediately after you hear a beep on bootup. QEMM will post a message telling you to press <Escape> to unload QEMM, or any other key to continue with QEMM. Press <Escape>, and run your Setup program. If you are using the DOS- UP feature from QEMM version 7.0 you will first see a message asking if you want to unload DOSDATA. Press <Escape> to unload DOS-UP, then hold down the <Alt> key again until you see the message telling you to press <Escape> to unload QEMM. Once your system has rebooted without QEMM, try to recreate the Exception #13 problem. ??? If the problem still exists, go to STEP B. ??? If the problem goes away, go to STEP A. (STEP 10) USE ANOTHER EXPANDED MEMORY MANAGER INSTEAD OF QEMM --------------------------------------------------- The problem you are having may be related to the use of expanded memory, in which case the result would be the same regardless of which memory manager you use. If your system has problems with another expanded memory manager loaded, then your program has a problem with expanded memory in general and QEMM is not to blame for the crashes you have been experiencing. If this is the case, you should contact the publisher of your program for information on using it with an expanded memory manager. You probably have either DOS 5 or DOS 6 and you may have Microsoft Windows as well. All of these come with an expanded memory manager. Loaded together, HIMEM.SYS and either EMM386.SYS or EMM386.EXE provide services similar to those provided by QEMM. We will now modify your CONFIG.SYS to use these drivers instead of QEMM and try to recreate the problem. First, make a backup copy of the "clean environment" version of CONFIG.SYS file by entering the following 3 commands at the DOS prompt: 1) C: 2) CD\ 3) COPY CONFIG.SYS CONFIG.Q HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE are probably in your \DOS, \WINDOWS, or root directory. We will assume they are in the \DOS directory. Edit the CONFIG.SYS file as follows: DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE ON 4096 [Use a lower number if your FILES=40 system has less than four DEVICE=C:\SCAN\SCANNER.SYS 256 megs of RAM] SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /P /E:768 DEVICE=C:\NETW\NETWORK.SYS Save the CONFIG.SYS, reboot, and try to recreate Exception #13 problem. ??? If the problem still exists, then go to STEP B. ??? If the problem goes away, go to STEP 11. (STEP 11) CONFIGURE QEMM SIMILARLY TO THE OTHER DRIVERS --------------------------------------------- Now we want to configure QEMM to emulate HIMEM and EMM386. MANIFEST can provide the information we need. Reboot your computer and type the following: CD\QEMM MFT Tap the DOWN-ARROW key once to view the First Meg/Overview screen. The box in the center of the screen looks something like this: Memory Area Size Description 0000 - 003F 1K Interrupt Area 0040 - 004F 0.3K BIOS Data Area 0050 - 006F 0.5K System Data 0070 - 0FB0 61K DOS 0FB1 - 21F8 73K Program Area 21F9 - 9FFF 504K [Available] Conventional memory ends at 640K A000 - AFFF 64K VGA Graphics B000 - B7FF 32K Unused B800 - BFFF 32K VGA Text C000 - C7FF 32K Video ROM C800 - CFFF 32K Unused D000 - DFFF 64K Page Frame <--------------------- E000 - EFFF 64K Unused F000 - FFFF 64K System ROM We will use the QEMM parameter FRAME= to place the Page Frame at the same memory address used by EMM386. In our example, the Page Frame begins at D000. Hit the ESCAPE key twice to exit MANIFEST and type the following commands at the DOS prompt: C: CD\ REN CONFIG.SYS CONFIG.M [Saves the CONFIG.SYS w/other drivers] COPY CONFIG.Q CONFIG.SYS [Brings back the STEP-8 CONFIG.SYS] Add the following parameters to your QEMM device line: VF:N VR:N TR:N LD:Y XBDA:N MR:N RH:N VDS:N FRAME=XXXX Replace XXXX with the starting address of the Page Frame as set up by EMM386. In our example, this is FRAME=D000. The QEMM386.SYS line for our EXAMPLE now looks like this: DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS X=A000-C7FF X=F000-FFFF FILL:N TM:N CF:N SH:NONE AROM=C800-CBFF NV NVR NTR LD NX NR NRH NOVDS FRAME=XXXX (These parameters all go on the same line.) Reboot and try to recreate the Exception #13 problem. ??? If the problem still exists , then go to STEP A. ??? If the problem goes away, then go to STEP 12. (STEP 12) CREATING HIGH RAM FOR QEMM -------------------------- We have properly configured QEMM without High RAM to work with your program. Now add the RAM parameter back to the QEMM386.SYS line in your CONFIG.SYS to create High RAM. Reboot your machine and try to recreate the Exception #13 problem. ??? If the problem reoccurs, then go to STEP 13. ??? If the problem does not occur, then proceed below: At this point we want to recover as much high RAM as possible. Edit the QEMM device line and delete the following parameters from the QEMM device line in your CONFIG.SYS file ONE AT A TIME. X=A000-C7FF, X=F000-FFFF, and CF:N Each time you remove a parameter, save the revised CONFIG.SYS and reboot the machine, then try to recreate the problem. If removing a parameter does not cause the problem to reoccur, then you DO NOT need that parameter. Try the other two to determine whether you need them. ??? If the problem still does not occur and you WERE using the Stealth ROM feature (ST:M or ST:F) go to STEP 14. ??? If the problem still does not occur and you WERE NOT using the Stealth ROM feature (ST:M or ST:F) go to STEP C. (STEP 13) ELIMINATING HIGH RAM CONFLICTS ------------------------------ A conflict appears to exist between one of your adapters and QEMM. QEMM is not recognizing that your adapter is using upper memory addresses and is mapping memory into the same space. We will exclude all High RAM areas to test this. If it is the case, we will systematically narrow down the area that needs to be excluded. At the DOS prompt type the following to start MANIFEST: CD\QEMM MFT Tap the DOWN-ARROW key once to see the First Meg/Overview screen. The box in the center of the screen will look something like this: Memory Area Size Description 0000 - 003F 1K Interrupt Area 0040 - 004F 0.3K BIOS Data Area 0050 - 006F 0.5K System Data 0070 - 0FB0 61K DOS 0FB1 - 21F8 73K Program Area 21F9 - 9FFF 504K [Available] Conventional memory ends at 640K A000 - AFFF 64K VGA Graphics B000 - B7FF 32K Unused B800 - BFFF 32K VGA Text C000 - C7FF 32K Video ROM C800 - CFFF 32K High RAM <------------ D000 - DFFF 64K Page Frame E000 - EFFF 64K High RAM <------------ F000 - FFFF 64K System ROM We want to exclude these areas of high RAM. For our example we would add the following to the QEMM device line: X=C800-CFFF X=E000-EFFF Add an EXCLUDE statement for each area of high RAM you see in the First Meg Overview screen. Save the CONFIG.SYS file, reboot the machine, and try to recreate the problem. ??? If the problem occurs, then go to STEP A. ??? If the problem goes away, you have a memory conflict and we must now narrow down the address range in upper memory that is causing the conflict. This will allow you to recover as much High RAM as possible. In our example the areas of high RAM are comprised of six different 16K areas: C800-CBFF, CC00-CFFF, E000- E3FF, E400-E7FF, E800- EBFF, EC00-EFFF. To narrow down the area, we use the X= parameter, trying all six of these combinations, one at a time. Most likely, you will need only one of the exclusions. In some cases, however, you may need to exclude more than a 16K block. ??? Once you have determined the area that needs excluding, if you WERE using Stealth ROM (ST:M or ST:F) go to STEP 14. ??? Once you have determined the area that needs excluding, if you WERE NOT using Stealth ROM (ST:M or ST:F) go to STEP C. (STEP 14) ADDING THE STEALTH ROM PARAMETER BACK ------------------------------------- We have configured QEMM with High RAM to work with your program. We will now add Stealth ROM (and any Stealth-related parameters) to the QEMM device line. Reboot your machine and try to recreate the problem. ??? If the problem still does not occur, then go to STEP C. ??? If the problem does reoccur, then your Exception #13 problem is due to a conflict with Stealth ROM. You should refer to our Stealth ROM troubleshooting technical note (STEALTH.TEC) for further help. This technote can be found in your QEMM\TECHNOTE directory. Once you have resolved the Stealth-related problem go to STEP C. ------------------------------------------------------------------ (STEP - A) Your problem requires further investigation. Please call our Technical Support line at (310) 392-9701 for further assistance. We will be happy to help out. When you call, please have the following information at hand: 1) Your original CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT (now CONFIG.OLD and AUTOEXEC.OLD) 2) CONFIG.SYS (QEMM386.SYS and FILES=) 3) AUTOEXEC.BAT (PATH and PROMPT) 4) CONFIG.Q (If you have gone thru STEP 10) 50 CONFIG.M (If you have gone thru STEP 11) Be sure to mention that you have been using EX13FLOW.TEC. (STEP - B) The program in question has problems EVEN WHEN QEMM IS NOT LOADED. QEMM is not responsible for the system crashes you are experiencing. You should consult the documentation or contact the makers of the resident program or driver which is making your system crash. (STEP - C) CONGRATULATIONS! You have successfully configured QEMM and your program to work together. Enter the following six commands at the DOS prompt: C: CD\ RENAME AUTOEXEC.BAT AUTOEXEC.Q COPY CONFIG.SYS CONFIG.Q COPY CONFIG.OLD CONFIG.SYS [Brings back your original file.] COPY AUTOEXEC.OLD AUTOEXEC.BAT [Brings back your original file.] Edit the CONFIG.SYS file and replace the original QEMM386.SYS line with the one you have created by using this technote (now in CONFIG.Q) and make sure FILES= at least 40. Reboot the machine and try to recreate the Exception #13 crash. ??? If the problem no longer occurs, it is solved. ??? If the problem now occurs, then go to STEP D. (STEP - D) Since your problem does not occur with the stripped down CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT but does occur with a full CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT file, there is a command line in one of these files that is causing the Exception #13 problem. To determine which file the command line is in, we will bring back the AUTOEXEC.BAT (Path and Prompt) that we previously created in STEP 7: Enter the following 4 commands at the DOS prompt: C: CD\ COPY AUTOEXEC.BAT AUTOEXEC.OLD COPY AUTOEXEC.Q AUTOEXEC.BAT Reboot your machine and try to recreate the Exception #13 crash. ??? If the problem still exists, than we know that the command line giving us a problem is located in the CONFIG.SYS file. If the problem goes away, the command line is in the original AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Now you must systematically determine which command line is giving you trouble. Try deleting one line at a time (if you have a long CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT file try deleting 2-3 lines at a time) until you find out which line is causing the problem. When you finally determine which line it is: 1) If the device driver or TSR is loaded into High RAM, use the procedure in STEP 7 to load it low and see if this corrects the problem. 2) Read the manual or call the technical support for the product which you are loading to determine where the problem might lie. 3) Some TSR's and device drivers can be configured to use conventional memory, XMS, EMS, or a combination of these. See how it is currently configured and try the other options. 4) You may need to permanently remove that line. ****************************************************************** Trademarks are property of their respective owners. This technical note may be copied and distributed freely as long as it is distributed in its entirety and it is not distributed for profit. Copyright (C) 1993 by Quarterdeck Office Systems ******************* E N D O F F I L E ************************