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1993-04-27
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PRODUCT : Paradox for Windows NUMBER : 1281
VERSION : 1.0
OS : WIN
DATE : April 27, 1993 PAGE : 1/6
TITLE : Improving Performance: Get the most from 4Mb of RAM
Running Microsoft Windows and Windows applications like Paradox
for Windows places a high demand on the resources of your
computer. Since Windows sits on top of DOS, the rule for memory
is the same -- more is better.
Basic Memory Requirements
To run Windows, you need at least 1 megabyte (Mb) of extended
memory. This means that the machine you are using must have a
minimum of 2Mb of memory installed. The first megabyte is used
by conventional memory (the first 640K) and upper memory blocks
(the remaining 384K).
Paradox for Windows requires a minimum of 2Mb of memory available
after starting Windows. Combining the minimum requirements of
Windows and Paradox for Windows, the minimum amount of memory
required to run Paradox for Windows is 4Mb. Both products will
run in this minimal configuration, but by optimizing Windows you
can make them run more efficiently. This information sheet
contains suggestions for optimizing a minimal hardware
configuration. Specific information on configuring Windows is
also available in your Windows documentation.
Virtual Memory
Windows can use virtual memory to help with the memory demand
when you run Windows in Enhanced Mode. Essentially, virtual
memory is hard disk space that is treated as RAM (Random Access
Memory). Virtual memory in Windows takes the form of a swap
file. A swap file allows you to specify how much of your hard
disk to set aside for virtual memory. When Windows is low on
physical RAM, it will write part of what is currently in memory
to your hard drive. The process of swapping the contents of
physical RAM to virtual RAM is where the term swap-file comes
from. While this makes more resources available, virtual memory
is much slower than RAM. Hard drive speed is measured in terms
of milliseconds while RAM speed is measured in nanoseconds. A
millisecond is one thousandth of a second, and a nanosecond is
one billionth of a second. This makes physical memory one
million times faster than virtual memory. The more physical RAM
available, the faster Windows and its applications will run.
PRODUCT : Paradox for Windows NUMBER : 1281
VERSION : 1.0
OS : WIN
DATE : April 27, 1993 PAGE : 2/6
TITLE : Improving Performance: Get the most from 4Mb of RAM
It takes more memory to run Windows in Enhanced Mode. Microsoft
recommends that you have a minimum of 2Mb of Extended Memory to
run in Enhanced Mode. This would bring our minimum memory up to
5Mb to run Windows in Enhanced Mode and Paradox for Windows if
not for the virtual memory capabilities of Windows.
Configuring your RAM
The most obvious solution to memory related performance problems
is to add memory to your computer. This is a long term solution
that will improve performance for all Windows applications. By
increasing physical RAM, you decrease the use of the slower
virtual memory.
To get the most performance from Windows, make as much physical
RAM available as possible. Because Windows reports physical RAM
and virtual RAM as one figure, it is necessary to run Windows in
Standard Mode to see how much physical RAM is available. In
Standard Mode, virtual RAM is not used.
Note: Running in Standard Mode is only for optimization purposes.
Once optimization is complete, you should return to running in
Enhanced Mode.
To run Windows in Standard mode, load Windows with the /s
parameter (WIN /s). Once the Program Manager is loaded, select
Help | About Program Manager. The About Program Manager dialog
box provides information about what mode Windows is in, how much
memory is free, and how many Free System Resources you have. For
our purposes, the important data is how much memory is free. The
goal is to get 2500K or more of memory available. If less than
2500K is available, Paradox for Windows will perform sub-
optimally.
Try the following suggestions to maximize available memory.
After trying one of the tips, reboot your machine and restart
Windows in Standard Mode to see how much memory you were able to
reclaim.
PRODUCT : Paradox for Windows NUMBER : 1281
VERSION : 1.0
OS : WIN
DATE : April 27, 1993 PAGE : 3/6
TITLE : Improving Performance: Get the most from 4Mb of RAM
o Run with a smaller SmartDrive.
SmartDrive is the disk cache program for Windows. Below
is a listing of cache sizes to use based on the amount of
memory that you have on your machine:
Memory on Machine Cache Size
4Mb 256K
8Mb 512K
12-16Mb 1024K
Advantages: This frees conventional memory
(approximately 30K) for use by DOS, Windows, and
Paradox for Windows.
Disadvantages: If Windows needs to make use of
virtual memory, SmartDrive helps speed (and minimize)
the disk access. If you notice a sharp increase in
disk access running without SmartDrive, reload
SmartDrive.
o Keep your hard drive optimized.
Simply running a compression utility (PC Tools COMPRESS or
Norton SpeedDisk) weekly will help Windows performance.
Perform a File | Sort | By Extension with the following
extensions:
*.DLL, *.EXE, *.F?L, *.DB, *.PX, *.X??, *.Y??, *.R?L,
*.S?L
Advantages: When Windows needs to access the disk for
virtual memory, it will be able to do so faster and
with less chance for error.
Disadvantages: None.
PRODUCT : Paradox for Windows NUMBER : 1281
VERSION : 1.0
OS : WIN
DATE : April 27, 1993 PAGE : 4/6
TITLE : Improving Performance: Get the most from 4Mb of RAM
o Disable Expanded Memory.
Windows does not need expanded memory (EMS), and any RAM
set aside as EMS is not available to Windows or any
Windows application. While running Windows, consider
running with only HIMEM.SYS or configuring your memory
manager so it does not provide EMS.
Advantages: Memory reserved for EMS is made available
to Windows and its applications.
Disadvantages: You will need to reload your memory
manager if you need to run DOS applications that
require Expanded Memory.
o Disable other RAM caches or RAM drives.
Any other types of caches that utilize RAM should be
disabled. This includes disk caches and print caches.
RAM drives should also be disabled. Any memory allocated
to these types of programs reduces the amount of memory
available to Windows.
Advantages: Memory that was not available to Windows
is freed up.
Disadvantages: The loss of the services of these
external caches and/or RAM drives.
o Minimize the number of TSRs and device drivers.
Avoid memory resident programs (TSRs) that are not
necessary for the operation of your computer. Memory is
allocated for any device drivers or programs in your
CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT files before Windows runs. If
you are not careful, you could allocate all of the
computers memory before Windows even starts! If you are
running MS-DOS version 5, load as many of these drivers
into high memory as possible.
Advantages: Memory that was not available to Windows
is freed up.
PRODUCT : Paradox for Windows NUMBER : 1281
VERSION : 1.0
OS : WIN
DATE : April 27, 1993 PAGE : 5/6
TITLE : Improving Performance: Get the most from 4Mb of RAM
Disadvantages: If you take out a TSR or particular
driver, the function it performed is lost.
o Use the standard Windows drivers for your video card.
Most OEM drivers for video cards take more memory than
their standard counterparts.
Advantage: Memory that was not available to Windows
is freed up.
Disadvantages: Loss of the higher than normal
resolutions available on some video cards.
o Use less fonts or move them to the end of the WIN.INI file
Advantage: If you use less fonts, the WIN.INI file
will be smaller. If you move the fonts to the end of
the WIN.INI file, performance will be improved
because programs will not have to read as far for
their information in the WIN.INI file.
Disadvantages: If you use less fonts, you will have
less fonts available. If you move the fonts to the
end of the WIN.INI file there are no disadvantages.
o Adjust the Max Buffer Size in Configuration Utility
For best performance, set the maximum buffer size to 2/3
of your available extended memory. You may need to
experiment with your Buffer Size settings if you are
planning to run Paradox while other applications are
running on your workstation. Make sure that you leave
enough memory for your other applications.
Once you have maximized the amount of memory available in
Standard Mode, restart Windows in Enhanced Mode. At this point,
consider creating a swap file. Consult the Windows documentation
before deciding between a permanent or temporary swap file. The
Windows documentation also contains information on how to create
a swap file and the benefits of creating a swap file.
PRODUCT : Paradox for Windows NUMBER : 1281
VERSION : 1.0
OS : WIN
DATE : April 27, 1993 PAGE : 6/6
TITLE : Improving Performance: Get the most from 4Mb of RAM
DISCLAIMER: You have the right to use this technical information
subject to the terms of the No-Nonsense License Statement that
you received with the Borland product to which this information
pertains.