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1
VRAM/386
Version 1.0
User's Guide
2
Copyright This VRAM/386 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 VRAM/386 and
accompanying documentation may be freely copied and distributed.
Copyright (C) Biologic 1990.
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 VRAM/386 in whole or in part, in print, or in any other
storage and retrieval system is forbidden.
Licenses and Trademarks Lotus 1-2-3 and Symphony are registered
trademarks of Lotus Corporation. MS-DOS, Excel, and Windows are
registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Quattro is a
registered trademark of Borland International, Inc. VRAM/386 and
HRAM are trademarks of Biologic.
Biologic
POB 1267
Manassas VA 22110
USA
3
Contents
License Agreement and Disclaimer of Warranty 4
Introduction 5
Notes on memory and memory addresses 8
Condensed Instructions 11
Installation 12
Examples 14
Command Reference 15
Notes 18
Error Messages 19
Site License 20
Your Turn 21
4
License Agreement and Disclaimer of Warranty
License agreement
Disclaimer of warranty
License agreement The terms of this license agreement apply to
you and to any subsequent licensee of this VRAM/386 software.
Biologic retains the ownership of this copy of VRAM/386 software.
This copy is licensed to you for use under the following
conditions.
You may use the VRAM/386 software on any compatible
computer, provided the VRAM/386 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 VRAM/386 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.
5
Introduction
Description
Overview
VRAM/386 and HRAM
Highlights
Requirements
Contents of the VRAM/386 disk
Description VRAM/386 is a powerful memory management program
for 80386 and 80486 PCs. It enhances the utilization of extended
memory (memory above 1 megabyte) and high memory (memory between
640K and 1024K) by providing up to 32 megabytes of EMS version
4.0 expanded memory and 944K of conventional memory for use by
MS-DOS programs.
Overview VRAM/386 is an enhanced version of our VRAM software,
designed to take advantage of the unique capabilities of the
80386 and 80486 processors. VRAM/386:
converts extended memory into EMS version 4.0 expanded
memory by using the special paging capability of the 80386
processor. VRAM/386 enables you to run programs that can
utilize expanded memory, such as Microsoft Windows, Lotus 1-
2-3 (version 2.2 and 3.0), dbase IV, and Paradox 3, more
efficiently, without having to buy additional hardware.
manages your PC's high memory area between 640K and 1024K.
VRAM/386, when used in conjunction with HRAM, fills unused
memory addresses in high memory with expanded memory,
creating up to 944K of DOS memory. Depending on the
hardware configuration of your PC, VRAM/386 can create up to
96K of additional low DOS memory, and up to 208K of high DOS
memory for use by TSRs and device drivers (such as network
drivers).
VRAM/386 consists of a single program, vram386.sys, that is
loaded as a device driver when your PC is turned on or restarted.
Optional command line parameters let you fine tune the program,
allowing you to specify the amount of expanded memory to create--
or the amount of extended memory to leave free--and what areas of
conventional memory are mappable.
A utility program, Chkmem, is included in the package and
provides information about the status of memory in your PC.
VRAM/386 and HRAM The VRAM/386 and HRAM programs are designed
to be completely compatible with one another. Although both will
function alone--VRAM/386 creates EMS 4.0 expanded memory and HRAM
converts expanded memory into high DOS memory--together they
provide a complete memory enhancement package for 80386 PCs.
6
Highlights
Compatible with all programs that support any version of the
Lotus/Intel/Microsoft expanded memory specification.
Allows the creation of very large worksheets in Lotus 1-2-3,
Symphony, Quattro, Excel, and other software.
Supports the Expanded Memory Specification version 4.0. All
functions are supported, not just a subset.
Supports physcial page mapping of conventional memory (0-
640K) which allows multitasking programs to swap
applications.
Fully supports the Virtual Control Program Interface version
1.0 which allows DOS extenders, multitaskers, and memory
managers to coexist on a PC.
Uses the paging capability of the 80386 processor for
maximum speed. VRAM/386 is much faster than expanded memory
managers designed to run on both 286 and 386 PCs.
Requirements
A PC with a 80386 or 80486 microprocessor.
IBM Personal Computer Disk Operating System (PC-DOS) or
Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS) version 3.0 or
greater.
Minimum 256K of extended memory.
7
Contents of the VRAM/386 disk The following files are included
in the root directory of the distribution disk.
vram386.sys
chkmem.exe
read.me
There may also be a \freeware directory which contains
unregistered versions of our other software products.
8
Notes on Memory
and Memory Addresses
Conventional Memory
Expanded Memory
Extended Memory
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 high 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.
____________________
11K equals 1,024 bytes. 1024K equals 1,048,576 bytes or 1
megabyte.
9
Extended Memory Intel's newer processors, starting with the
80286, are capable of 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
10
40 a000 640K
44 b000 704K
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-a000 low DOS memory (640K)
a000-c000 VGA display adapter (128K)
c000-c800 hard disk controller (32K)
c800-d000 unused address space (32K)
d000-e000 expanded memory page frame (64K)
e000-f000 unused address space (64K)
f000- ROM
11
Condensed Instructions
The following instructions briefly describe the installation and
use of VRAM/386. If you are a knowledgeable computer user, you
should be able to get VRAM/386 working by following these steps.
More detailed information can be found in the sections,
"Installation", "Examples", and "Command Reference".
1. Copy the file, vram386.sys, to the root directory of drive
C. Copy the file, chkmem.exe, to your directory for utility
programs.
2. Add a line to your config.sys file that loads vram386.sys as
a device driver:
device=vram386.sys
The location of this line in your config.sys file is
important. It should be located after any device drivers
that control your hard drive and before any drivers that use
expanded or extended memory. If you are loading the
Microsoft driver, himem.sys, vram386.sys should be loaded
after it.
3. If you are using VRAM/386 with HRAM, include the /h option
on the vram386.sys command line.
4. By default, VRAM/386 turns all extended memory, except
aproximately 64K, into expanded memory. To specify a
different amount, use the /s option. For example, 1024K (1
megabyte) of expanded memory would be specified by:
device=vram386.sys /s1024
5. Restart your PC and use the command [chkmem /e] to verify
that VRAM/386 has been successfully installed.
12
Installation
Preparing a boot disk
Copying files
vram386.sys
Chkmem
read.me
Preparing a boot disk While installing VRAM/386, and
determining your optimum configuration, there is a chance it will
conflict with a hardware device and "lock up" your PC during the
boot process. For this reason, we recommend that you prepare a
bootable floppy disk before installing VRAM/386, so that you can
boot from drive A if necessary.
To prepare a disk, format it with the /s option, so that it
contains a copy of the MS-DOS operating system: [format a: /s].
Also, be sure to copy to the disk any required device drivers,
such as a driver needed to control your hard disk, and create a
config.sys file that loads the drivers. Verify that the disk
boots properly before experimenting with VRAM/386.
Copying files The file, vram386.sys, should be copied to the
root directory of drive C. The file, chkmem.exe, should be
copied to the directory on your hard disk you use for utility
programs. You should have a command in your autoexec.bat file
which includes this directory in your Path so that your utility
programs, including Chkmem, can be executed from any directory on
your hard drive.2 The following installation procedure assumes
you have a directory called \util in the root directory of drive
C.
1. Insert the distribution disk in drive A.
2. Type [copy a:vram386.sys c:\] (don't type the brackets).
3. Type [copy a:chkmem.exe c:\util].
vram386.sys The vram386.sys program is installed as a device
driver by adding the following line to your config.sys file and
restarting your PC:
device=vram386.sys
When your PC is turned on or restarted, each [device=] line in
your config.sys file loads a particular device driver. Since
vram386.sys is loaded as a driver, expanded memory is available
to drivers that are loaded after it. The line that loads
____________________
2Read about the Path command in your DOS manual.
13
vram386.sys should be located after any device drivers that
control your hard disk and before any drivers that use expanded
or extended memory. If you are loading the Microsoft driver,
himem.sys, vram386.sys should be loaded after it.
Several options, which are described in the section "Command
Reference", can be included in the VRAM/386 command line to
change its default configuration. The most frequently used
options are listed below:
The /s option specifies the size of expanded memory. If
this option is omitted, VRAM/386 turns all extended memory,
except approximately 64K, into expanded memory.
The /h option instructs VRAM/386 to search for unused memory
areas in high memory and consider them mappable. This
option must be specified when using VRAM/386 with HRAM.
Some hardware devices, such as network adapters, may not be
detected by VRAM/386. If you specify the /h option, you may
have to exclude a range of memory in use by a particular
device with the /x (exclude range) option.
Chkmem The Chkmem program is a utility program that reports the
status of memory in your PC. After VRAM/386 has been loaded, the
command [chkmem] should show that expanded memory is present.
The command [chkmem /e] will display detailed information about
your expanded memory.
read.me Corrections to this user's guide and information about
program enhancements are in the read.me file on the distribution
disk. You can view this file by putting the disk in drive A and
entering: [type a:read.me].
14
Examples
The following line installs VRAM/386 with its default
settings. All extended memory is turned into expanded
memory and no high memory, except the page frame, is
mappable.
device=vram386.sys
The following line turns all extended memory into expanded
memory and maps all unused areas of high memory:
device=vram386.sys /h
The following line creates 1024K of expanded memory and maps
all unused areas of high memory, except the range c800 to
d000 (hex):
device=vram386.sys /s1024 /h /xc800-d000
The following line turns all extended memory into expanded,
except 512K (which could be used by a RAM disk). The page
frame is located at d000 (hex); other areas of high memory
are not be mappable.
device=vram386.sys /e512 /fd000
15
Command Reference
Format
Options
Default settings
Format The format of the VRAM/386 command is
device=d:\path\vram386.sys [options]
where
[options]
specifies the optional VRAM/386 parameters described in the
following section.
Options The following parameters can appear in the VRAM/386
command.
/3
Simulate lim 3.2. With this option, VRAM/386 supports
version 3.2 of the Lotus/Intel/ Microsoft Expanded Memory
Specification instead of version 4.0.
/e<kbytes>
Amount of extended memory to leave available. This option
ensures that the specified amount of extended memory in
kilobytes will be available after VRAM/386 is loaded. This
amount of extended memory will not be converted into
expanded memory. For example, to leave 512K of extended
memory free, use [/e512].
/f<segment>
Page frame base address. <segment> specifies the
hexadecimal segment address of the start of the page frame.
The page frame is a 64K area into which expanded memory
pages are swapped. If you omit this parameter, VRAM/386
puts the page frame in the highest 64K block of unused
memory.
/h
Search for unused areas in high memory and consider them
mappable. This option instructs VRAM/386 to allow the
mapping of expanded memory pages to any area of high memory
that is not in use by a hardware device. If this option is
omitted, VRAM/386 will not map pages to any high memory
areas outside the page frame except those specified by the
/i (include range) option. This option must be specified
when using VRAM/386 with HRAM.
Some devices, such as network adapters, cannot be detected
16
when VRAM/386 searches for unused high memory. If your
system does not work properly when using /h, VRAM/386 is
incorrectly identifying an unused memory area. This block
of memory must be excluded from mappable memory using the /x
(exclude range) option.
The [chkmem /e] command will list the memory segments
VRAM/386 considers mappable. You must ensure that none of
the segments listed by this command are in use by a device
in your PC.3
/i<addressrange>
Include address range. The range of addresses specified by
<addressrange> will be mapped by VRAM/386. <addressrange>
is specified with hexidecimal segment addresses which must
be multiples of 16K (0000, 0400, 0800, 0c00, 1000, 1400,
...). For example, to include the range from segment 0000
to segment 1000 use the parameter [/i0000-1000]. Multiple
include ranges should be separated by commas. For example,
[/i0000-1000,a000-b000].
/s<kbytes>
Expanded memory size. This parameter specifies the size of
expanded memory in 1K increments. For example, 1024K of
expanded memory would be specified by [/s1024].
/x<addressrange>
Exclude address range. This option prevents VRAM/386 from
mapping a particular range of addresses. <addressrange> is
specified with hexidecimal segment addresses which must be
multiples of 16K. For example, to exclude the range from
segment 0000 to segment 4000 use the parameter [/x0000-
4000]. Multiple exclude ranges should be separated by
commas. For example, [/x0000-4000,a000-b000].
This option is particularly important if you have a hardware
device, such as a network adapter, that cannot be detected
by VRAM/386. You must use the /x option to exclude the
range of memory in use by the device. For example, if a
network adapter in your PC uses 16K of memory at d000 (hex),
you must exclude this area with the option [/xd000-d400].
Default settings The default settings of VRAM/386 which can be
overridden with the options described above are:
All extended memory, except approximately 64K, is converted
____________________
3The Chkmem command lists all mappable memory segments only
if vram386.sys has been loaded and hramdev.sys (included in the
HRAM package) has not been loaded. hramdev.sys will decrease the
number of mappable segments listed.
17
to expanded memory.
The page frame is located at the highest 64K area of free
memory.
In addition to the page frame, the memory range 1000-A000
(hex) (64K-640K) is mappable.
18
Notes
If your PC "locks up", it is most likely due to a conflict
in high memory between VRAM/386 and a hardware device. The
[chkmem /e] command lists the memory segments VRAM/386
considers mappable.4 You must ensure that none of the
segments listed by this command are in use by a device in
your PC. If such a conflict exists, use the /x (exclude
range) option to remove this range from mappable memory.
For the reason noted above, do not use the /i (include
option) to include a range of high memory, unless you are
certain the range is not used by a hardware device.
____________________
4The Chkmem command lists all mappable memory segments only
if vram386.sys has been loaded and hramdev.sys (included in the
HRAM package) has not been loaded. hramdev.sys will decrease the
number of mappable segments listed.
19
Error Messages
can't enable a20 line
VRAM/386 was unable to enable the a20 address line which
allows access to extended memory. VRAM/386 is not
compatible with your PC.
can't install
VRAM/386 can't be installed on your system.
free block not available for page frame (64K)
VRAM/386 reports this error if it cannot find a free 64K
block in high memory, which it requires for the page frame.
This usually occurs when the hardware devices in your PC are
located so that your memory is fragmented into blocks of
less then 64K. You must relocate one or more of your
devices (such as a network adapter) so that a contiguous
block of 64K is free.
invalid expanded memory size
Expanded memory size is specified in 1K increments and must
be between 64 and 32768. For example, two megabytes of
expanded memory would be specified by [device=vram386.sys
/s2048].
invalid parameter
At least one of the parameters on the command line is
invalid. Read the section, "Command Reference".
not enough extended memory
There is not enough extended memory to simulate the amount
of expanded memory requested. VRAM/386 requires
approximately 50K of extended memory for its own use.
Either specify less expanded memory or omit the /s option.
processor not 80386/80486
Your PC does not have an 80386 or an 80486 processor which
is a requirement of VRAM/386.
vram is already installed
VRAM/386 is already installed. Modify your config.sys file
so that VRAM/386 is only loaded once.
20
Site License
VRAM/386 can be licensed on a per location basis which allows a
company to use it on a network or use multiple copies of VRAM/386
without purchasing them individually. Pricing is dependent on
the number of copies and is very reasonable. Please contact
Biologic for further information.
21
Your Turn
We value you opinions. Please let us know what you like and
dislike about the VRAM/386 program and documentation. 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.
22
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