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1 HRAM Version 1.1 User's Guide COPYRIGHT This HRAM documentation and the software are copyrighted with all rights reserved. Under the copyright laws, neither the documentation nor the software may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Biologic, except in the manner described in this manual. The unregistered version of HRAM and accompanying documentation may be freely copied and distributed. Copyright (C) Biologic 1990-1991 All rights reserved. First edition printed 1990. Printed in the United States. Software License Notice Your license agreement with Biologic, which is included with the product, specifies the permitted and prohibited uses of the product. Any unauthorized duplication or use of HRAM in whole or in part, in print, or in any other storage and retrieval system is forbidden. Licenses and Trademarks MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. HRAM is a trademark of Biologic. Biologic POB 1267 Manassas VA 22110 USA 2 CONTENTS License Agreement and Disclaimer of Warranty 3 Introduction 4 Notes on Memory and Memory Addresses 5 Testing Your Memory with Chkmem 9 Notes for 8088 and 80286 PCs 10 Notes for 80386 PCs 11 Condensed Instructions 12 hramdev.sys 14 hram.exe 16 hram.sys 20 Your Turn 22 3 LICENSE AGREEMENT AND DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY License agreement The terms of this license agreement apply to you and to any subsequent licensee of this HRAM software. Biologic retains the ownership of this copy of HRAM software. This copy is licensed to you for use under the following conditions. You may use the HRAM software on any compatible computer, provided the HRAM software is used on only one computer and by one user at a time. You may not provide use of the software in a computer service business, network, timesharing, multiple CPU or multiple user arrangement to users who are not individually licensed by Biologic, except that you may designate any employee to use such products on a one employee per license basis. You may not disassemble or decompile the HRAM software. Disclaimer of warranty Biologic excludes any and all implied warranties, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Biologic does not make any warranty of representation, either express or implied, with respect to this software program, its quality, performance, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. Biologic shall not have any liability for special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of or resulting from the use of this program. 4 INTRODUCTION Description HRAM is a powerful memory management program for 8088, 8086, 80286, 80386 and 80486 PCs that enhances the utilization of high memory (memory between 640K and 1024K). It works in conjunction with DOS 5 to create up to 96K of extra low DOS memory and up to 224K of high DOS memory for use by device drivers (such as network drivers) and memory resident programs (TSRs). In addition, it provides many of the necessary memory management features DOS 5 left out: HRAM creates high memory on 8088, 80286, and 80386 PCs (DOS 5 creates high memory on 386 PCs only.) On 386 PCs, HRAM provides more high memory than DOS 5 by thoroughly searching the area between 640K and 1024K and converting ALL unused areas to high memory--memory that DOS 5 often overlooks HRAM gives you an extra 64K of high memory for program initialization by using expanded memory for loading drivers and TSRs--this means you'll often load programs you couldn't load before. HRAM optimizes your high memory by automatically determining which order and in which memory region your drivers and TSRs should be loaded. This one step can easily double the utilization of your high memory. (DOS 5 suggests that you "experiment with different combinations and orders of programs". When you consider that your high memory may consist of several separate regions and that you probably use up to a dozen drivers and TSRs, this process, without HRAM, could require rebooting your PC thousands of times!) Overview HRAM is a set of programs that consists of: hramdev.sys, a device driver that manages upper memory and can fill unused upper memory areas with expanded memory or shadow RAM. hram.exe, a program that works in conjunction with the DOS LOADHIGH command to optimally load TSRs into the high DOS memory created by hramdev.sys. hram.exe also provides a status report of high memory and lists the programs that have been loaded into it. hram.sys, a special driver that works in conjunction with the 5 DOS DEVICEHIGH command to optimally load device drivers into high DOS memory. A utility program, Chkmem, is included in the package and provides information about the status of memory in your PC. Requirements A PC with a 8088, 8086, 80286, 80386 or 80486 microprocessor. IBM Personal Computer Disk Operating System (PC-DOS) or Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS) version 5.0 or greater. On 8088 and 80286 PCs, expanded memory version 4 or Chips & Technologies shadow RAM. Contents of the HRAM disk The following files are included in the root directory of the distribution disk. hramdev.sys hram.exe hram.sys chkmem.exe read.me There may also be a \freeware directory which contains unregistered versions of our other software products. 6 NOTES ON MEMORY AND MEMORY ADDRESSES Conventional Memory Conventional memory is located between 0K and 1024K and is the maximum amount of memory that can be addressed by the 8088 microprocessor on which the IBM PC is based.1 The designers of the original PC divided conventional memory space into a 640K block of memory to be used by MS-DOS programs (low DOS memory) and a 384K block of upper memory (which can be used for high DOS memory) for system hardware and ROM. The term, conventional memory, is sometimes used to refer just to memory from 0 to 640K. Expanded Memory Expanded memory is "paged" memory that can exist in 8088, 80286, and 80386 based PCs. As the memory requirements of programs grew, expanded memory was developed to support up to 32M of memory by swapping small blocks or "pages" of extra memory into the 1M address space of the 8088 processor so that only a few pages are addressable at a time. Memory pages that are not in use are stored as deactivated pages on an expanded memory board. The original expanded memory specification, EMS version 3.2, was developed jointly by Lotus, Intel, and Microsoft. Soon after, AST and Ashton-Tate developed a similar, but enhanced, specification called EEMS. These two specifications were replaced by EMS version 4.0, which incorporated features of both specifications. Below is a summary of a few important features: An expanded memory page is 16K in size. Expanded memory that conforms to the version 3.2 specification can be mapped only into a 64K region in high memory called the page frame. EMS version 4.0 supports the mapping of expanded memory into any location in conventional memory. A software control program, called an expanded memory manager, manages the placement of memory pages, and is typically loaded by the config.sys file when your PC is turned on or restarted. Extended Memory Intel's newer processors, starting with the 80286, are capable of ____________________ 11K equals 1,024 bytes. 1024K equals 1,048,576 bytes or 1 megabyte. 7 addressing memory above 1M--extended memory. Unfortunately, this memory is not addressable when these processors are in a processor state called real mode (a mode designed to maintain compatibility with the 8088) and cannot be fully utilized when using a real mode operating system such as MS-DOS. The problem of accessing extended memory while running MS-DOS has spawned several solutions: On PCs that support extended memory, a feature of the ROM BIOS allows programs to copy data between conventional and extended memory. Although programs cannot execute in extended memory, they can use it as storage space. Programs that take advantage of this feature include RAM disks, print spoolers, and 80286 expanded memory simulators. Protected mode run-time environments which allow an application program to execute in protected mode under MS-DOS. 80386 memory managers, like VRAM/386, that use the page mapping capability of the 80386 processor to convert extended memory into expanded memory and provide additional conventional memory for use by MS-DOS. Memory Addresses Memory addresses and ranges are typically specified using hexadecimal (hex) numbers. Hex numbers include the digits 0-9 and the letters A-F, giving 16 possible values for each hex digit. Conventional memory can be divided into 64 pages of 16K each. These pages can be referred to as page 0, page 1, page 2, and so on, or, as is the case in this manual, by their hexadecimal segment addresses. Using this notation, page 0 is at segment 0, page 1 is at segment 0400, page 2 is at segment 0800, etc. The following table lists some page numbers and their corresponding segment address and linear address: Segment Linear Page Address Address ________________________________ 0 0000 0K 1 0400 16K 2 0800 32K 3 0c00 48K 4 1000 64K 5 1400 80K 8 2000 128K 12 3000 196K 40 a000 640K 44 b000 704K 8 63 fc00 1,008K The first 40 pages (640K) of conventional memory are used by MS- DOS and the other 24 pages are reserved for system hardware and ROM. The exact usage of the upper 384K of conventional memory depends on the hardware configuration of your machine; typically, several blocks of this area are not used and are simply empty space. The table below lists the memory map of a typical PC: Address Range Description ________________________________________ 0000-9fff low DOS memory (640K) a000-bfff VGA display adapter (128K) c000-c7ff hard disk controller (32K) c800-cfff unused address space (32K) d000-dfff expanded memory page frame (64K) e000-efff unused address space (64K) f000-ffff ROM 9 TESTING YOUR MEMORY WITH CHKMEM The Chkmem program is a memory utility which displays the types and amounts of memory in your PC. With it, you can determine the current status of the upper memory area (the area between 640K and 1024K) and the amount of high DOS memory that can be created from it. Enter the command [chkmem] (don't type the brackets) to display the amount of upper memory that can be created on your PC. Example output is shown below: Biologic Chkmem, version 1.1 copyright (c) Biologic 1990-1991. all rights reserved. 655360 bytes conventional memory (low DOS memory) 0 bytes extended memory 351232 bytes available XMS memory 655360 bytes expanded memory 0 bytes high DOS memory 0 bytes upper memory blocks (UMBs) 0 bytes expanded memory can be converted to high DOS mem 0 bytes shadow ram can be converted to high DOS memory 163840 bytes unused areas can be converted to high DOS memory 163840 bytes high DOS memory can be created If the last line in the listing, "bytes high DOS memory can be created", is not 0, then HRAM can create and/or manage high DOS memory on your PC. If you have a 8088 or a 80286 PC and the listing shows that the only available source of high DOS memory is "unused areas", as in the example above, then you must add expanded memory to your system. Read the section, "Notes for 8088 and 80286 PCs" for more information on installing expanded memory. If you have expanded memory and only 65536 bytes (64K) can be converted to high DOS memory, your expanded memory may not be fully compatible with the EMS version 4.0 specification or it may need to be configured differently. Read the section, "Notes for 8088 and 80286 PCs" for more information on configuring your expanded memory. 10 NOTES FOR 8088 AND 80286 PCS 1. HRAM can utilize shadow RAM provided on PCs with the NEAT Chipset from Chips & Technologies. Expanded memory is not required on PCs that have this chipset. 2. HRAM can also convert expanded memory to high DOS memory, provided your expanded memory is hardware compatible with EMS version 4.0. If the Chkmem program reported that only 65536 bytes of high DOS memory can be created from expanded memory, then your expanded memory is either not hardware compatible with EMS 4 or it needs to be reconfigured. Consult the documentation for the board or contact your computer dealer to make this determination (note: many memory boards are software compatible with EMS 4 but are not fully compatible on a hardware level). 3. If your expanded memory is hardware compatible with EMS 4 and Chkmem reports that only 65536 bytes of high DOS memory can be created from expanded memory, then you need to reconfigure your expanded memory by changing the line in your config.sys file that loads the expanded memory manager for the board. Run the command [chkmem /c] to display a recommended command line for your expanded memory manager. 4. If your expanded memory is not hardware compatible with EMS 4, you can still create high DOS memory by using the hramdev /f option. This option will give you 64K of high DOS memory, but will make your expanded memory unavailable to other programs. 11 NOTES FOR 80386 PCS 1. HRAM can utilize shadow RAM provided on PCs with the AT/386 Chipset from Chips & Technologies. If you do not need to convert extended memory to expanded, the expanded memory manager, emm386.exe, is not required on PCs that have this chipset. 12 CONDENSED INSTRUCTIONS Creating high DOS memory 1. If you have a 386 PC or if you have EMS 4 expanded memory, you need to add a [device=] line to your config.sys file which loads your expanded memory manager. An expanded memory manager is a single file which, typically, has "EMM" in its name. If this line already exists in your config.sys file, you may need to change the parameters so that your expanded memory is configured correctly. If you are using shadow RAM to create high DOS memory, you should skip this step. 80386 PCs: DOS 5 provides an expanded memory manager, emm386.exe, for use on 386 PCs. If you have a 386 PC, you should run the [chkmem /c] command to list the recommend command line for emm386.exe, and add this line to your config.sys file (or modify it if it already exists). This line should be located immediately after the line [device=himem.sys]. 8088/80286 PCs: Run the command [chkmem /c] to list a recommended command line for the expanded memory manager that was provided with your memory board. You should add this line to your config.sys file (or modify it if it already exists). Since expanded memory managers are different for every board, the syntax of this command may differ slightly from what is displayed by [chkmem /c]. You should consult the documentation for your memory board for information on the exact syntax of this command. 2. Add the line [dos=umb] to your config.sys file. 3. Add the line [device=hramdev.sys] to your config.sys file. This line should be located immediately after the line that loads emm386.exe [device=emm386.exe] or, if you have a 8088 or 80286 PC, this line should be located immediately after the line that loads the expanded memory manager for your memory board. If you do not have expanded memory, this line should be located near the beginning before any other [device=] lines. 4. Reboot your PC and run the Chkmem program. Chkmem should report a non-zero value for "bytes high DOS memory". Enter the command [chkmem /h] to display the size and location of the high DOS memory regions in your PC. Optimizing high DOS memory High DOS memory is utilized in two ways: (1) programs that recognize this area will automatically take advantage of it, and 13 (2) TSRs and device drivers can be loaded into it with the DOS commands DEVICEHIGH and LOADHIGH. The process of loading programs high is complicated by the fact that high DOS memory is a relatively small area, which may consist of several regions of different sizes, and that, when loaded, programs have an initialization size which may be much larger (or smaller) than their resident size. Loading programs in a different order or into different memory regions can significantly increase the number of programs you are able to load high. HRAM provides features which allow you to gain optimum use of your high DOS memory: it automatically determines the resident size and initialization size of each of your drivers and TSRs, it calculates the best configuration for your high memory, it allows you to load a program into a specific region, and it provides an extra 64K of memory for program initialization by temporarily adding expanded memory to high DOS memory. Follow the steps below to optimize your memory: 1. Add the /s option to the [device=hramdev.sys] line in your config.sys file and add a new line as shown below: device=hramdev.sys /s device=hram.sys on 2. Reboot your PC. 3. Type the command [hram /l] to list the analysis of your drivers and TSRs. 4. Type the command [hram /c] to list recommended commands for loading your programs high and add these lines to your config.sys and autoexec.bat files. 5. Remove the /s option from the [device=hramdev.sys] line in your config.sys file and reboot your PC. 6. Use the [hram /m] command to list the programs that have been loaded into high DOS memory. 14 HRAMDEV.SYS Command reference The format of the hramdev.sys command is device=d:\path\hramdev.sys [options] [options] specifies the optional hramdev.sys parameters described in the following section. The following options can appear in the hramdev.sys command. /f Use the expanded memory page frame for high DOS memory. The page frame is a 64K buffer in the high memory area into which expanded memory pages are mapped. Although EMS version 4.0 supports mapping of expanded memory to areas outside the page frame, most software programs, at a minimum, require the page frame to be available. This option will create an additional 64K of high memory, but will, in most cases, prevent other programs from utilizing expanded memory. /i<addressrange> Include address range. The memory range specified by <addressrange> will be converted to high DOS memory. It must be above a000 (hex). <addressrange> is specified with hexadecimal segment addresses which must be multiples of 16K (0000, 0400, 0800, 0c00, 1000, 1400, ...). For example, to include the range c000 to c800 use the parameter [/ic000- c800]. Multiple include ranges should be separated by commas. For example, [/ic000-c800,e000-f000]. If /i is used, only the memory areas with the include range(s) will be available as high DOS memory. This option is useful only if there are mappable areas in high memory that should not be under the control of hramdev.sys. Normally, this option should not be used; hramdev.sys will automatically convert all mappable high memory (excluding the page frame) into high DOS memory. /n No pause on error. If hramdev.sys reports an error, it waits for you to press a key. This option causes hramdev.sys to continue without waiting for a key. /p Do not use expanded memory for program initialization. Normally, HRAM provides extra memory for use by programs 15 during their initialization by temporarily adding 64K of expanded memory to high DOS memory. /s Get size of programs. HRAM will calculate the resident size and initialization size of every driver and TSR that is loaded after it and write this information to the file "\hram0000.dat" for use by the [hram /l] command. Programs will not be loaded high when this option is used. /x<addressrange> Exclude address range. This option prevents hramdev.sys from using a particular range of addresses. <addressrange> is specified with hexadecimal segment addresses which must be multiples of 16K. For example, to exclude the range c000 to c800 use the parameter [/xc000-c800]. Multiple exclude ranges should be separated by commas. For example, [/xc000- c800,e000-f000]. 16 HRAM.EXE Displaying regions and programs in high memory The command, [hram /m], will display a status report of the high memory created by hramdev.sys. As illustrated in the following example, the report lists the location and size of each high memory region as well as the TSRs and drivers that have been loaded: Biologic HRAM, version 1.1 copyright (c) Biologic 1990-1991. all rights reserved. region address size ------ --------- ---------------- 0 b002-b7fd 32704 ( 31.9k) 1 c802-dfff 98272 ( 96.0k) region address size program ------ --------- ---------------- ------- 0 b003-b01b 400 ( 0.4k) (character device) setverxx 0 b01d-b122 4192 ( 4.1k) (character device) con 0 b124-b67d 21920 ( 21.4k) (character device) smartaar 0 b684-b6e0 1488 ( 1.5k) c:\util\unblink.com 0 b6e7-b7d9 3888 ( 3.8k) c:\util\calc.com 0 b7db-b7fd 560 ( 0.5k) (avail) 0 128 ( 0.1k) other allocated blocks 1 c803-cba0 14816 ( 14.5k) (character device) ms$mouse 1 cba7-cdcc 8800 ( 8.6k) c:\util\anarkey.com 1 cdd3-cdfe 704 ( 0.7k) c:\util\fastkey.com 1 ce05-ce27 560 ( 0.5k) c:\util\scrnsave.com 1 ce29-dfff 73072 ( 71.4k) (avail) 1 192 ( 0.2k) other allocated blocks expanded memory page frame located at: e000 hram: off Note that each region is identified by a number, starting with 0, and that the report indicates into which region each TSR or device driver has been loaded. The amount of available space remaining in each region is listed also. The command, [hram /a], will list the raw memory allocations in high memory. Loading TSRs into high DOS memory hram.exe, itself, does not load programs into high memory, it works in conjunction with DOS to improve the function of the 17 LOADHIGH command. hram.exe provides a way to load a program into a specific memory region and provides an extra 64K for program initialization by temporarily converting expanded memory to high DOS memory. To illustrate, suppose you wish to load a TSR program, called Notepad, into high DOS memory. The command you normally use to load it into low memory is: notepad /i The command to load it into high memory, without using HRAM, would be: loadhigh notepad /i The commands to load the program into the second memory region in high memory (regions are numbered starting with 0) and provide an additional 64K of memory would be: hram on /r1 loadhigh notepad /i hram off Although the LOADHIGH command alone will load notepad into high memory, it will load it into the first available high memory region; the advantage to using HRAM is that it will force LOADHIGH to load it into a specific region. This is an important feature, since in order to gain optimum use of high memory, your programs should be loaded into the region recommended by HRAM (with the [hram /l] command). In addition, suppose you have 100K of high memory, but the notepad program requires 150K for initialization. Without HRAM, there would not be enough high memory and LOADHIGH would load it into low memory. Since HRAM provides an additional 64K for initialization, the program would be successfully loaded high. The HRAM command can be executed at the DOS prompt or it can be used within a batch file (usually your autoexec.bat file). When the HRAM command is executed without any parameters, [hram], it reports the current status of HRAM--on or off. Command reference The format of the HRAM command is hram [on|off] [options] [on|off] specifies whether HRAM should be "on" or "off". When HRAM is on, programs can only be loaded into the memory region specified on the HRAM command line (with the /r option) and 64K of expanded memory is temporarily converted to high DOS 18 memory. [options] specifies the optional HRAM parameters described in the following section. The following options can appear in the HRAM command. /? Display help. /a List raw memory allocations in high DOS memory. Use this option to display the memory control blocks that have been allocated from high memory. /c List recommended config.sys and autoexec.bat files. When the /s option is added to the hramdev.sys command and your PC is rebooted, information about the memory requirements of your drivers and TSRs is written to the file "\hram0000.dat". The command [hram /c] analyzes this information and displays a list of recommended commands for your config.sys and autoexec.bat files. /i Display registration information. This option causes hram.exe to list information about registering your copy of HRAM. If you have not purchased a registered copy of HRAM, and you continue to use it after a reasonable testing period, you are required to register your copy. /l List analysis of programs. When the /s option is added to the hramdev.sys command and your PC is rebooted, information about the memory requirements of your drivers and TSRs is written to the file "\hram0000.dat". The command [hram /l] analyzes this information and displays the optimum load order and memory region for each program. /m List regions and programs in high DOS memory. [hram /m] lists a status report of high memory, including the size and location of each memory region and program or device driver. Read the previous section, "Displaying regions and programs in high memory", for more information. /n No pause on error. If hram.exe reports an error, it waits for you to press a key. This option causes hram.exe to continue without waiting for a key. 19 /o<order> Set program load order. This option is useful only if you have a program which must be loaded before one or more other programs. For example, to ensure that program1.exe is loaded before program2.exe and program3.exe, include these commands in your autoexec.bat file: hram on /o1 program1 hram on /o2 program2 program3 hram on To ensure that program1.exe is loaded before program2.exe and that program2.exe is loaded before program3.exe, use these commands: hram on /o1 program1 hram on /o2 program2 hram on /o3 program3 hram on This option is valid only if the /s option is used on the hramdev.sys command line. Otherwise, it is ignored. /p Do not temporarily convert 64K of expanded memory to high DOS memory for use during program initialization. /r<region> Load into memory region number <region>. This option causes LOADHIGH to load one or more programs into the specified memory region. For example, the following commands would load the programs, notepad.exe and calc.exe, into memory region 1 (memory regions are numbered starting with 0): hram on /r1 loadhigh notepad loadhigh calc hram off Without this option, LOADHIGH loads programs into the first memory region in which they fit. 20 HRAM.SYS Like hram.exe, hram.sys does not load programs into high memory, it works in conjunction with DOS to improve the function of the DEVICEHIGH command. hram.sys provides a way to load a device driver into a specific memory region and provides an extra 64K for driver initialization by temporarily converting expanded memory to high DOS memory. To illustrate, suppose you wish to load the device driver, ansi.sys, into high DOS memory. The command you normally use to load it into low memory is: device=ansi.sys The command to load it into high memory, without using HRAM, would be: devicehigh=ansi.sys The commands to load the program into the second memory region in high memory (regions are numbered starting with 0) and provide an additional 64K of memory would be: device=hram.sys on /r1 devicehigh=ansi.sys device=hram.sys off Command reference The format of the hram.sys command is device=hram.sys [on|off] [options] [on|off] specifies whether HRAM should be "on" or "off". When HRAM is on, programs can only be loaded into the memory region specified on the HRAM command line (with the /r option) and 64K of expanded memory is temporarily converted to high DOS memory. [options] specifies the optional HRAM parameters described in the following section. The following options can appear in the HRAM command. /n No pause on error. If hram.sys reports an error, it waits for you to press a key. This option causes hram.sys to continue without waiting for a key. 21 /o<order> Set program load order. This option is useful only if you have a program which must be loaded before one or more other programs. For example, to ensure that program1.sys is loaded before program2.sys and program3.sys, include these commands in your config.sys file: device=hram.sys on /o1 device=program1.sys device=hram.sys on /o2 device=program2.sys device=program3.sys device=hram on This option is valid only if the /s option is used on the hramdev.sys command line. Otherwise, it is ignored. /p Do not temporarily convert 64K of expanded memory to high DOS memory for use during program initialization. /r<region> Load into memory region number <region>. This option causes DEVICEHIGH to load one or more programs into the specified memory region. For example, the following commands would load the programs, notepad.sys and calc.sys, into memory region 1 (memory regions are numbered starting with 0): device=hram.sys on /r1 devicehigh=notepad.sys devicehigh=calc.sys device=hram.sys off Without this option, DEVICEHIGH loads drivers into the first memory region in which they fit. 22 YOUR TURN We value you opinions. Please let us know what you like and dislike about the HRAM program and user's guide. We're dedicated to developing the most innovative and useful software available-- and selling it at reasonable prices. Your support helps make this possible. Please send all comments and suggestions to Biologic POB 1267 Manassas VA 22110 USA THANK YOU.