richardgrayuk
asked on
How can I free up memory in Windows 95 (and fix a problem described below)?
Hello,
I recently upgraded to Windows 95 from MS-DOS 6.22. I do not have enough memory to run music with my applications, only sound effects; when I Shut Down and select "Restart in MS-DOS Mode".
Using a different sound card is not an option so please do not suggest this. I have looked on Search Engines for help and have tried modifying the config.sys file to include the lines:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.E
I have also loaded certain drivers into High Memory by including DEVICEHIGH, and I have remarked out lines that load unnecessary drivers. I have also tried using MEMMAKER for DOS.
Making modifications to the config.sys file as advised online, has done absolutely nothing to free up memory. The computer does not even seem to acknowledge that the lines are present. MEMMAKER is the option I've tried that has freed up memory and I still encounter problems with sound.
I cannot provide you all with my config.sys and autoexec.bat files because I was forced to re-install MS-DOS 6.22.
Finally, I have tried pressing F8 when starting up and selecting: Run previous version of MS-DOS (option 7). At first, this works great and once again I am able to hear music with my applications. However, when I restart my computer or switch it off and on again, the machine hangs after detecting all the drives and I am forced to reinstall DOS, what a nightmare! Can anyone advise me on how to overcome this problem, and/or free up enough memory in Windows 95 so that I can hear music when I restart in MS-DOS mode?
Thanks.
I recently upgraded to Windows 95 from MS-DOS 6.22. I do not have enough memory to run music with my applications, only sound effects; when I Shut Down and select "Restart in MS-DOS Mode".
Using a different sound card is not an option so please do not suggest this. I have looked on Search Engines for help and have tried modifying the config.sys file to include the lines:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.E
I have also loaded certain drivers into High Memory by including DEVICEHIGH, and I have remarked out lines that load unnecessary drivers. I have also tried using MEMMAKER for DOS.
Making modifications to the config.sys file as advised online, has done absolutely nothing to free up memory. The computer does not even seem to acknowledge that the lines are present. MEMMAKER is the option I've tried that has freed up memory and I still encounter problems with sound.
I cannot provide you all with my config.sys and autoexec.bat files because I was forced to re-install MS-DOS 6.22.
Finally, I have tried pressing F8 when starting up and selecting: Run previous version of MS-DOS (option 7). At first, this works great and once again I am able to hear music with my applications. However, when I restart my computer or switch it off and on again, the machine hangs after detecting all the drives and I am forced to reinstall DOS, what a nightmare! Can anyone advise me on how to overcome this problem, and/or free up enough memory in Windows 95 so that I can hear music when I restart in MS-DOS mode?
Thanks.
Dave Baldwin
I'm a little confused. Windows 95 does not run on DOS 6.22 like Windows 3.1 did, it has it's own command line program. If you Reboot to MS-DOS mode, you are rebooting to Windows 95 command line, not DOS 6.22. In MSINFO for Windows 95, it lists MS-DOS version as 7.10. Yes, I really do have a Windows 95 machine still running.
ASKER
I re-installed Windows 95 (again) overwriting MS-DOS 6.22 and the previous installment of Windows 95 and option 7 no longer appears if I press F8 when booting up.
I get music and sound in Windows 95 (I did not even need to install the drivers for my AWE 64 Gold card) but when I restart into MS-DOS 7.10 I only receive sound effects for games and no music. The system now acknowledges changes made to the config.sys and autoexec.bat files and I have managed to free up 605K of memory, when before it was at 476K, all without using MEMMAKER.
I am not even sure that this is a memory issue as I have freed up a lot of memory and still have a problem, but when I run a certain application in DOS I get a LOW MEMORY WARNING error. Surely this is not a RAM related problem? I have 16 MB of RAM installed by the way.
I get music and sound in Windows 95 (I did not even need to install the drivers for my AWE 64 Gold card) but when I restart into MS-DOS 7.10 I only receive sound effects for games and no music. The system now acknowledges changes made to the config.sys and autoexec.bat files and I have managed to free up 605K of memory, when before it was at 476K, all without using MEMMAKER.
I am not even sure that this is a memory issue as I have freed up a lot of memory and still have a problem, but when I run a certain application in DOS I get a LOW MEMORY WARNING error. Surely this is not a RAM related problem? I have 16 MB of RAM installed by the way.
It is two things. The drivers for your sound card in Windows 95 are not DOS mode drivers. The second problem with LOW MEMORY WARNING is about how memory is used. 'DOS-MODE' is still restricted to memory below 1MB, only Extended Memory and the Windows Memory manager can access memory above that. I do not believe that MEMMAKER exists in Windows 95. The CONFIG.SYS on my system does show EMM386 but I believe that is just for 'DOS Compatibility'. And 'DOS Compatibility' Only applies to programs, not a different version of ODS.
here some suggestions : http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000375.htm
ASKER
I have re-installed the sound drivers and I am able to get sound & music in DOS if I Shut Down and Restart in MS-DOS Mode. However, if I access DOS by pressing F8 at the Start Up screen and selecting Command Prompt Only, I can only hear sound effects.
When I shutdown into DOS from Windows 95, I receive the following:
C:\WINDOWS>C:\WINDOWS\CTCM
Creative Plug & Play Configuration Manager (v1.05)
Copyright Creative Technology Ltd., 1995-1996. All rights reserved.
Found Creative Plug & Play Card: Creative SB AWE 64 Gold.
Successfully configured 3 of 3 Creative Plug & Play devices.
BLASTER environment is set at: A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 E620 T6.
Is there anyway I can tweak my settings so that this message appears when entering the Command Prompt from Start Up? Or is this a driver compatibility related issue?
When I shutdown into DOS from Windows 95, I receive the following:
C:\WINDOWS>C:\WINDOWS\CTCM
Creative Plug & Play Configuration Manager (v1.05)
Copyright Creative Technology Ltd., 1995-1996. All rights reserved.
Found Creative Plug & Play Card: Creative SB AWE 64 Gold.
Successfully configured 3 of 3 Creative Plug & Play devices.
BLASTER environment is set at: A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 E620 T6.
Is there anyway I can tweak my settings so that this message appears when entering the Command Prompt from Start Up? Or is this a driver compatibility related issue?
On a normal boot-up, Windows 95 does not use AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS. I believe that only when you Shut Down and Restart in MS-DOS Mode does it tell the boot-up code to load them.
ASKER
Is there anyway that I can create a menu at the start up that will allow me to choose between Windows 95 and MS DOS? I know that for Windows 98 you need to type msconfig from the run command on the start menu, but that does not work with 95.
Also, I am getting a "Windows Protection Error" when restarting into DOS Mode, does anyone know anything about this?
Plus, I am gathering lots of potentially useful information on the Microsoft website. Does anyone know how I can determine what version of Windows 95 I am running?
Thanks.
Also, I am getting a "Windows Protection Error" when restarting into DOS Mode, does anyone know anything about this?
Plus, I am gathering lots of potentially useful information on the Microsoft website. Does anyone know how I can determine what version of Windows 95 I am running?
Thanks.
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ASKER
I managed to correct the Run previous version of MS-DOS issue where the computer would hang after detecting the drives on boot up.
Do you think it would be worthwhile to install a different sound card? Perhaps an ISA slot sound card that is not so advanced?
Do you think it would be worthwhile to install a different sound card? Perhaps an ISA slot sound card that is not so advanced?
what is the purpose of this? i'm sure you can find better systems and softwares nowadays
ASKER
Hi nobus.
I wish to use some very old applications that will only run in Windows 95, and others that will only run in native MS-DOS.
Update: I booted up without a sound card installed (physically removed the hardware and uninstalled the software drivers) but still the problem persists.
I created two separate partitions using the FDISK utility for DOS and Windows 95. DOS was installed to C: and 95 to D: and unfortunately the system booted straight to 95, also the second partition (D:) was not acknowledged in the BIOS Boot Sequence.
I wish to use some very old applications that will only run in Windows 95, and others that will only run in native MS-DOS.
Update: I booted up without a sound card installed (physically removed the hardware and uninstalled the software drivers) but still the problem persists.
I created two separate partitions using the FDISK utility for DOS and Windows 95. DOS was installed to C: and 95 to D: and unfortunately the system booted straight to 95, also the second partition (D:) was not acknowledged in the BIOS Boot Sequence.
ok - then i assume you also use hardware from that era ? otherwise, you'll run into many problems; best post some specs
ASKER
I have fixed the issue. I installed my Zip Drive under Windows 95 and removed all lines from the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files related to the Zip Drive, then did the same for my Sound Card and I am no longer experiencing the "Low Memory" problem when running certain programs.
Glad to hear that. Thanks for the points.
ASKER
I also fixed the "Run previous version of MS-DOS" issue (where the machine would lock up after booting back to Windows 95) by inserting the Windows 95 Boot Disk, typing "sys c:" and then restarting the computer and removing the disk.
I figured you must have done something to fix it since you said it was working.