I am also trying to use UMBCHK which comes with UMBPCI, but no matter what it recommends using (and it changes,) I get no expanded memory. So far, just using I=B000-B7FF gives me 595k, and I think that almost everything will work with that. However, now I am on a crusade to get 600+ because I have been able to achieve this on every past retro build. I do think that the Tabor series of boards are weird and quirky, however. They cannot handle the HIGHSCAN option, at all.

Posting your config.sys and autoexec.bat might be helpful . Personally, I have never needed to use more than I=B000-B7FF to get 620KB+ of free conventional memory, either with EMM386.exe or UMBPCI. You may well be loading more drivers than I am, however .

EDIT : Also, I have never had a Tabor (but have used other 440BX boards) .

darry wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:06:

Posting your config.sys and autoexec.bat might be helpful . Personally, I have never needed to use more than I=B000-B7FF to get 620KB+ of free conventional memory, either with EMM386.exe or UMBPCI. You may well be loading more drivers than I am, however .

EDIT : Also, I have never had a Tabor (but have used other 440BX boards) .

I'll post them. How do I post them with the line numbers like I see other people do?

Scythifuge wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:09:

I'll post them. How do I post them with the line numbers like I see other people do?

Use the "code" tags, as in [code][/code].

(I'm not sure why you wouldn't post them to begin with..?)

Scythifuge wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:09:

darry wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:06:

Posting your config.sys and autoexec.bat might be helpful . Personally, I have never needed to use more than I=B000-B7FF to get 620KB+ of free conventional memory, either with EMM386.exe or UMBPCI. You may well be loading more drivers than I am, however .

EDIT : Also, I have never had a Tabor (but have used other 440BX boards) .

I'll post them. How do I post them with the line numbers like I see other people do?

1Use the code display quotes .
2They are the 7th button  from the left

Jorpho wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:11:

Use the "code" tags, as in […]
Show full quote

Scythifuge wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:09:

I'll post them. How do I post them with the line numbers like I see other people do?

Use the "code" tags, as in

Copy code to clipboard

1[code]

[/code]

Thank you!

Config.sys:

1SWITCHES=/F
2DOS=HIGH,UMB
3BUFFERS=11,0
4FILES=60
5LASTDRIVE=H
6FCBS=1,0
7STACKS=0,0
8DEVICE=C:\MSDOS\HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=128 /TESTMEM:OFF /Q
9DEVICE=C:\MSDOS\EMM386.EXE 16834 I=B000-B7FF
10DEVICEHIGH /L:1,11264 =C:\MSDOS\VIDE-CDD.SYS /D:CD-RW /D:DVD-ROM
11DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\IFSHLP.SYS
12SHELL=C:\MSDOS\COMMAND.COM /E:512 /P
13SET PATH=C:\MSDOS;C:\WINDOWS;C:\SB16;..;
14SET TEMP=C:\TEMP
15SET TMP=C:\TEMP

Autoexec.bat:

1SET COMSPEC=C:\MSDOS\COMMAND.COM
2SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 E620 T6
3SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E MODE:0
4LH /L:0;1,41360 /S SMARTDRV
5LH /L:1,23472 C:\MSDOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:DVD-ROM /E /M:12
6LH /L:0;1,3328 /S CTMOUSE
7C:\UNI\UNISOUND
8PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\MSDOS;C:\SB16;%PATH%
9PROMPT $P$G
10CLS

Scythifuge wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:14:

Thank you! […]
Show full quote

Jorpho wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:11:

Use the "code" tags, as in […]
Show full quote

Scythifuge wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:09:

I'll post them. How do I post them with the line numbers like I see other people do?

Use the "code" tags, as in

Copy code to clipboard

1[code]

[/code]

Thank you!

Config.sys:

Copy code to clipboard

1SWITCHES=/F
2DOS=HIGH,UMB
3BUFFERS=11,0
4FILES=60
5LASTDRIVE=H
6FCBS=1,0
7STACKS=0,0
8DEVICE=C:\MSDOS\HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=128 /TESTMEM:OFF /Q
9DEVICE=C:\MSDOS\EMM386.EXE 16834 I=B000-B7FF
10DEVICEHIGH /L:1,11264 =C:\MSDOS\VIDE-CDD.SYS /D:CD-RW /D:DVD-ROM
11DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\IFSHLP.SYS
12SHELL=C:\MSDOS\COMMAND.COM /E:512 /P
13SET PATH=C:\MSDOS;C:\WINDOWS;C:\SB16;..;
14SET TEMP=C:\TEMP
15SET TMP=C:\TEMP

Autoexec.bat:

Copy code to clipboard

1SET COMSPEC=C:\MSDOS\COMMAND.COM
2SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 E620 T6
3SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E MODE:0
4LH /L:0;1,41360 /S SMARTDRV
5LH /L:1,23472 C:\MSDOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:DVD-ROM /E /M:12
6LH /L:0;1,3328 /S CTMOUSE
7C:\UNI\UNISOUND
8PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\MSDOS;C:\SB16;%PATH%
9PROMPT $P$G
10CLS

Thank you, and also please share the output of mem /c
EDIT : You can run "mem /c > c:\mem_c.txt" and share the mem_c.txt file

darry wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:16:

Scythifuge wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:14:

Thank you! […]
Show full quote

Jorpho wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:11:

Use the "code" tags, as in […]
Show full quote

Use the "code" tags, as in

Copy code to clipboard

1[code]

[/code]

Thank you!

Config.sys:

Copy code to clipboard

1SWITCHES=/F
2DOS=HIGH,UMB
3BUFFERS=11,0
4FILES=60
5LASTDRIVE=H
6FCBS=1,0
7STACKS=0,0
8DEVICE=C:\MSDOS\HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=128 /TESTMEM:OFF /Q
9DEVICE=C:\MSDOS\EMM386.EXE 16834 I=B000-B7FF
10DEVICEHIGH /L:1,11264 =C:\MSDOS\VIDE-CDD.SYS /D:CD-RW /D:DVD-ROM
11DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\IFSHLP.SYS
12SHELL=C:\MSDOS\COMMAND.COM /E:512 /P
13SET PATH=C:\MSDOS;C:\WINDOWS;C:\SB16;..;
14SET TEMP=C:\TEMP
15SET TMP=C:\TEMP

Autoexec.bat:

Copy code to clipboard

1SET COMSPEC=C:\MSDOS\COMMAND.COM
2SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 E620 T6
3SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E MODE:0
4LH /L:0;1,41360 /S SMARTDRV
5LH /L:1,23472 C:\MSDOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:DVD-ROM /E /M:12
6LH /L:0;1,3328 /S CTMOUSE
7C:\UNI\UNISOUND
8PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\MSDOS;C:\SB16;%PATH%
9PROMPT $P$G
10CLS

Thank you, and also please share the output of mem /c
EDIT : You can run "mem /c > c:\mem_c.txt" and share the mem_c.txt file

1Modules using memory below 1Mb:
2
3  Name           Total       =   Conventional   +   Upper Memory
4  --------  ----------------   ----------------   ----------------
5  SYSTEM      14,192   (14K)      9,552    (9K)      4,640    (5K)
6  HIMEM        1,152    (1K)      1,152    (1K)          0    (0K)
7  EMM386       4,304    (4K)      4,304    (4K)          0    (0K)
8  SMARTDRV    29,120   (28K)     29,120   (28K)          0    (0K)
9  VIDE-CDD     5,008    (5K)          0    (0K)      5,008    (5K)
10  IFSHLP       3,856    (4K)          0    (0K)      3,856    (4K)
11  MSCDEX      16,144   (16K)          0    (0K)     16,144   (16K)
12  CTMOUSE      3,328    (3K)          0    (0K)      3,328    (3K)
13  COMMAND     10,240   (10K)          0    (0K)     10,240   (10K)
14  FREE       638,112  (623K)    609,168  (595K)     28,944   (28K)
15
16Memory summary:
17
18  Type of Memory       Total    =     Used    +     Free
19  ----------------  -----------   -----------   -----------
20  Conventional          655,360        46,192       609,168
21  Upper                  72,160        43,216        28,944
22  Reserved              330,272       330,272             0
23  Extended (XMS)    535,813,120     3,194,880   532,618,240
24  ----------------  -----------   -----------   -----------
25  Total memory      536,870,912     3,614,560   533,256,352
26
27  Total under 1Mb       727,520        89,408       638,112
28
29  Total Expanded (EMS)                 17,170,432  (16,768K)
30  Free Expanded (EMS)                  16,744,448  (16,352K)
31
32  Total Extended (XMS)                535,813,120 (523,255K)
33  Free Extended (XMS)                 532,618,240 (520,135K)
34
35  Largest executable program size         608,832     (595K)
36  Largest free upper memory block          13,664      (13K)
37  Available space in High Memory Area       1,744       (2K)
38  MS-DOS is resident in the high memory area.

Thank you! I posted my MEM above. I have to leave to go to someone's house, but I'll have my phone with me and will check the thread, and I will play with settings when I get back! It looks like I just need to figure out how to load SMARTDRV into upper memory.

Scythifuge wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:24:

Thank you! I posted my MEM above. I have to leave to go to someone's house, but I'll have my phone with me and will check the thread, and I will play with settings when I get back! It looks like I just need to figure out how to load SMARTDRV into upper memory.

Why are you specifying a minimum size of 41360 for smartdrv ? I could be wrong, but it is presumably not loading high because there is no UMB block big enough and its memory footprint in conventional memory suggests it does not need that much .

darry wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:43:

Scythifuge wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:24:

Thank you! I posted my MEM above. I have to leave to go to someone's house, but I'll have my phone with me and will check the thread, and I will play with settings when I get back! It looks like I just need to figure out how to load SMARTDRV into upper memory.

Why are you specifying a minimum size of 41360 for smartdrv ? I could be wrong, but it is presumably not loading high because there is no UMB block big enough and its memory footprint in conventional memory suggests it does not need that much .

Memmaker set that up. I can play with those numbers.

If you running pure DOS (6.x/7,x) then you do not need Ifshelp.sys loading, it only gives 32bit access for when in Windows and does not help much in DOS IIRC and if running off a SD card you really do not need SmartDRV as the CF drive is faster than any IDE that may need some caching. Or am I misunderstanding ? 😀

Scythifuge wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:55:

darry wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:43:

Scythifuge wrote on 2021-07-05, 01:24:

Thank you! I posted my MEM above. I have to leave to go to someone's house, but I'll have my phone with me and will check the thread, and I will play with settings when I get back! It looks like I just need to figure out how to load SMARTDRV into upper memory.

Why are you specifying a minimum size of 41360 for smartdrv ? I could be wrong, but it is presumably not loading high because there is no UMB block big enough and its memory footprint in conventional memory suggests it does not need that much .

Memmaker set that up. I can play with those numbers.

What happens if you remove all those Memmaker added references ? I gave up on memmaker a long time ago . My preferred approach has usually been to try to load high the biggest memory users first without trying to explicitly fit the puzzle pieces as tightly as possible. That has worked well enough for me, so I am probably not the best person to assist in more advanced tweaking, if that ends up being necessary .

Horun wrote on 2021-07-05, 02:21:

If you running pure DOS (6.x/7,x) then you do not need Ifshelp.sys loading, it only gives 32bit access for when in Windows and does not help much in DOS IIRC and if running off a SD card you really do not need SmartDRV as the CF drive is faster than any IDE that may need some caching. Or am I misunderstanding ? 😀

Very good points .

I run off of an SSD and typically do not load smartdrv either , though it can be useful for CDROMs, though .

Reduce your Files= entry to half of what you listed.

I just got back and I am firing up the PC. I'm going to remove the memmaker lines and see what happens. I wasn't sure about SMARTDRV. I remember old Origin Systems game installation instructions mentioned using SMARTDRV for games like Ultima VII which thrashed drives a lot. I am using an SD-to-IDE drive, bypassing CF cards/adapters with this build (previous builds used CF-to-IDE drives with CF cards or CD/SD adapters.) If I don't need it, I'll get ride of it. Part of conquering EMM386 is to get as close to 640k as I can while loading as much as I can into upper memory, almost as though it is a game in of itself.

I'll remove IFSHELP for this SD card. After I tweak this DOS card to my liking, I'm going to clone it and then make a dedicated set up for WFW 3.11.

Caluser2000 wrote on 2021-07-05, 03:03:

Reduce your Files= entry to half of what you listed.

Will do!

Scythifuge wrote on 2021-07-05, 03:04:

Caluser2000 wrote on 2021-07-05, 03:03:

Reduce your Files= entry to half of what you listed.

Will do!

If that works out go to Files=15 or 20 and Buffers=10

Caluser2000 wrote on 2021-07-05, 03:13:

Scythifuge wrote on 2021-07-05, 03:04:

Caluser2000 wrote on 2021-07-05, 03:03:

Reduce your Files= entry to half of what you listed.

Will do!

If that works out go to Files=15 or 20 and Buffers=10

Removing memmaker stuff and reducing files loads SMARTDRV partially into upper memory, though still leaves me with 595k. The MSD map and UMBCHK keep giving different results, as if ROMs change memory addresses, and UMBS move around.

I'll try reducing the files further and decrease the buffer.