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- ID:LH Loadhi.sys and Loadhi.com
- Quarterdeck Technical Note
- by Joe Wilder
-
-
- The LOADHI programs are used to run resident programs and drivers in
- the memory area between 640 and 1024K. This area is normally reserved
- for hardware devices such as video cards, system ROM and Network
- Adapters. The more devices you have, i.e. the more reserved memory
- you have used, the less there will be available for using LOADHI to
- load programs.
-
- LOADHI comes in two forms: LOADHI.COM is used to load resident
- programs high in the AUTOEXEC.BAT or from the DOS prompt. For example
- to load MOUSE.COM high you would enter "LOADHI MOUSE.COM" from the DOS
- prompt or in the AUTOEXEC.BAT.
-
- LOADHI.SYS is used to Load programs high from the CONFIG.SYS. For
- example to load ANSI.SYS high you would put a line in the CONFIG.SYS
- that says "DEVICE=LOADHI.SYS ANSI.SYS".
-
- Many new DESQview users have an idea that LOADHI can load TSR's and
- device drivers into extended or expanded memory. This is not the
- case. The only place these programs can be loaded is in free and
- contiguous areas in the memory area from 640K to 1024K. Since a 64K
- page frame also must be installed somewhere in this area, the
- available reserved is usually fragmented into several small segments.
-
- All programs must be loaded into contiguous memory. Because of this
- you will probably have more luck loading smaller TSR's than large
- ones. This varies from computer to computer and also depends on the
- devices installed on the particular computer. The LOADHI program
- always uses the largest area available first. For network drivers
- this may not be desirable. For instance, Novell, which uses
- two programs, likes to have its smaller program loaded first. To load
- the smaller program first into the smaller of two areas use LOADHI
- redundantly. Example; "LOADHI LOADHI IPX". The first copy of LOADHI
- loads another copy of LOADHI into the first (and larger) memory area
- available. The second copy of LOADHI then loads IPX into the next
- largest area available. Each time LOADHI gets used it erases itself
- from memory. At this point IPX is loaded into the smaller of the two
- areas. The larger is now again fully available. Using a single
- LOADHI to load NET3 (the second and the larger of the Novell programs)
- will put it in the larger memory area. Typing LOADHI at the DOS
- prompt reveals areas available for loading high.
-
- The RAM parameter to QEMM.SYS must be invoked in order to use LOADHI
- programs. This attaches some expanded memory to the unused addresses
- in the reserved memory area. Once the ram is available, programs can
- be loaded there with LOADHI. Using the RAM parameter to QEMM.SYS
- disallows QEMM to be turned off.
- When using QEMM386 with DESQview there is one other thing to consider.
- DESQview has the capability of running most of its own code in the
- reserved memory area. You don't have to use the RAM parameter to QEMM
- to get this feature. XDV will map expanded memory onto the available
- addresses all by itself. It will then run DESQview in that memory.
- DESQview can use as much as 140K of reserved memory. Loading high too
- many resident programs and drivers before going into DESQview may
- cause DESQview to load more of itself into the lower 640K, resulting
- in no gain for the largest available window size in DESQview. If you
- are running DESQview, it is therefore a good idea to avoid loading
- "Pop-up" type TSR's before DESQview at all (using LOADHI or not) and
- install them instead in DESQview windows, where there overhead to lower
- memory can be completely overcome.
-
- Copyright (C) 1990 by Quarterdeck Office Systems
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