xtreger wrote on 2024-03-31, 12:22:

[...] 1. boot and press F8 -> start in MS-DOS mode 2. and run the command: XMSDSK 32000 /t […]
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[...]
1. boot and press F8 -> start in MS-DOS mode
2. and run the command: XMSDSK 32000 /t

Is this it? Or anything I'm missing?

do a MEM and see how much XMS you get (probably 64mb)
then like you write but with more mem allocated: XMSDSK 50000 /t /y
after the game finishes you can unload and free the memory with: XMSDSK /u /y

/y switch does not produce the "are you sure y/n" prompt if you are curious about it
/t switch allocates memory above the 16MB barrier for DMA reasons that some games have issues, better have it all the time enabled

keropi wrote on 2024-03-31, 16:29:

do a MEM and see how much XMS you get (probably 64mb) then like you write but with more mem allocated: XMSDSK 50000 /t /y after […]
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xtreger wrote on 2024-03-31, 12:22:

[...] 1. boot and press F8 -> start in MS-DOS mode 2. and run the command: XMSDSK 32000 /t […]
Show full quote

[...]
1. boot and press F8 -> start in MS-DOS mode
2. and run the command: XMSDSK 32000 /t

Is this it? Or anything I'm missing?

do a MEM and see how much XMS you get (probably 64mb)
then like you write but with more mem allocated: XMSDSK 50000 /t /y
after the game finishes you can unload and free the memory with: XMSDSK /u /y

/y switch does not produce the "are you sure y/n" prompt if you are curious about it
/t switch allocates memory above the 16MB barrier for DMA reasons that some games have issues, better have it all the time enabled

I followed your instructions. Initial mem gives this screen: https://imgur.com/a/csJMgaa
And then after using xmsdsk 50000 /t /y, entering mem gives: https://imgur.com/a/Dp1BXtQ

Running aladdin still gives XMS allocation error. I'm guessing that 50 Mb should go into the Free column instead of the Used column? Any idea on what I should try now?

keropi wrote on 2024-03-31, 16:29:

do a MEM and see how much XMS you get (probably 64mb) then like you write but with more mem allocated: XMSDSK 50000 /t /y after […]
Show full quote

xtreger wrote on 2024-03-31, 12:22:

[...] 1. boot and press F8 -> start in MS-DOS mode 2. and run the command: XMSDSK 32000 /t […]
Show full quote

[...]
1. boot and press F8 -> start in MS-DOS mode
2. and run the command: XMSDSK 32000 /t

Is this it? Or anything I'm missing?

do a MEM and see how much XMS you get (probably 64mb)
then like you write but with more mem allocated: XMSDSK 50000 /t /y
after the game finishes you can unload and free the memory with: XMSDSK /u /y

/y switch does not produce the "are you sure y/n" prompt if you are curious about it
/t switch allocates memory above the 16MB barrier for DMA reasons that some games have issues, better have it all the time enabled

I tried this but it still didn't work. (ref. my last message in thread)

just use EATXMS program, to eat extra XMS over 32MB

MAZter wrote on 2024-04-05, 12:47:

just use EATXMS program, to eat extra XMS over 32MB

I think XMSDSK is better, because it can be unloaded, while EATXMS, AFAIK, is irreversible until reboot.

xtreger wrote on 2024-04-05, 12:44:

I tried this but it still didn't work. (ref. my last message in thread)

himem.sys reports 2GB of XMS? am I seeing this correct?
also what is the deal with the SB16 emulation driver error that does not load because you do not have EMM386 loaded?

keropi wrote on 2024-04-05, 13:50:

xtreger wrote on 2024-04-05, 12:44:

I tried this but it still didn't work. (ref. my last message in thread)

himem.sys reports 2GB of XMS? am I seeing this correct?
also what is the deal with the SB16 emulation driver error that does not load because you do not have EMM386 loaded?

Ignore the sb16 emulation thing. That was some autoexec code that I forgot to remove. Even with a clean autoexec file, I see pretty much the same screens. And I don't know what "2,096,21" is supposed to mean. The units for conventional, upper and reserved memories are indicated by the letter K. But for extended it's this "2,096,21" total and "2,046,21" free.

Even after running xmsdsk 50000 /t /y command, ALADDIN shows the xms allocation error. Also I don't get why this 50 megs of memory gets assigned to the "Used" column as against "Free".

xtreger wrote on 2024-04-08, 12:46:

keropi wrote on 2024-04-05, 13:50:

xtreger wrote on 2024-04-05, 12:44:

I tried this but it still didn't work. (ref. my last message in thread)

himem.sys reports 2GB of XMS? am I seeing this correct?
also what is the deal with the SB16 emulation driver error that does not load because you do not have EMM386 loaded?

Ignore the sb16 emulation thing. That was some autoexec code that I forgot to remove. Even with a clean autoexec file, I see pretty much the same screens. And I don't know what "2,096,21" is supposed to mean. The units for conventional, upper and reserved memories are indicated by the letter K. But for extended it's this "2,096,21" total and "2,046,21" free.

Even after running xmsdsk 50000 /t /y command, ALADDIN shows the xms allocation error. Also I don't get why this 50 megs of memory gets assigned to the "Used" column as against "Free".

Any help with this? Seems like many people have an idea on how to use xmsdsk. If anyone's faced the same issue and solved it before, please let me know..

xtreger wrote on 2024-04-08, 12:46:

Even after running xmsdsk 50000 /t /y command, ALADDIN shows the xms allocation error. Also I don't get why this 50 megs of memory gets assigned to the "Used" column as against "Free".

The number after XMSDSK shows how much memory to use, not how much to leave free.

In your case, since your HIMEM.SYS shows 2GB of RAM (is that the actual memory you have installed?), you should probably use something like XMSDSK 2075000, assuming it supports such sizes.

I also recall a discussion which showed you can use built-in Windows capabilities to create a shortcut to your DOS program, which will limit the XMS/EMS size visible to the program. See here: Re: Dune II Refuses to Run on Win98SE and here: Re: Dune II Refuses to Run on Win98SE

dr_st wrote on 2024-04-22, 16:24:

The number after XMSDSK shows how much memory to use, not how much to leave free. […]
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xtreger wrote on 2024-04-08, 12:46:

Even after running xmsdsk 50000 /t /y command, ALADDIN shows the xms allocation error. Also I don't get why this 50 megs of memory gets assigned to the "Used" column as against "Free".

The number after XMSDSK shows how much memory to use, not how much to leave free.

In your case, since your HIMEM.SYS shows 2GB of RAM (is that the actual memory you have installed?), you should probably use something like XMSDSK 2075000, assuming it supports such sizes.

I also recall a discussion which showed you can use built-in Windows capabilities to create a shortcut to your DOS program, which will limit the XMS/EMS size visible to the program. See here: Re: Dune II Refuses to Run on Win98SE and here: Re: Dune II Refuses to Run on Win98SE

Sorry for the late reply. The links you shared were very informative. I tried those approaches to get Aladdin to run in Win98SE native DOS box. Aladdin needs a minimum of 512 EMS and 1024 XMS and 570K conventional to run. But for the EMS option to even be visible in the Memory tab of DOS shortcut properties, I have to write DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS and DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE. Here are my observations:

1. There is no EMMExclude or EMMPage clause in the 386Enh section of my system.ini
2. setsnd properly auto-detects the sound card settings (SBPro, IRQ 5, DMA 1, 220)
3. Below 1024 XMS, game doesn't run saying that XMS is insufficient
4. Between 512 and 1024 EMS (and 1024 XMS), game crashes with "Music error... 001"
5. At 1024 EMS, 1024 XMS, 570 conventional memory and rest at "Auto", the game runs but the sound is just some machinegun-like white noise (call this version 1)
6. If I enable high quality music in setsnd, then I still get machinegun-like noise (call this version 2), but it's slightly different from what I hear in point 5 (ver 1)
7. If with high quality music enabled, I change DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE to DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE RAM 1024, then I again hear the version 1 white noise

So from what I can gather, memory config (even if it's above minimum specs for Aladdin) affects music/sound in a major way. I'm looking for that combo of XMS/EMS/conventional/config.sys settings that will actually run the music and sounds properly..