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- ID:QE QEMM-50/60 Hardware Requirements
- Quarterdeck Technical Note #186
- by Todd Threadgill
-
- Quarterdeck Expanded Memory Manager 50/60 (QEMM-50/60) is a sophisticated
- program that provides expanded memory for IBM PS/2 Models 50 and 60 without
- requiring the purchase of a special expanded memory board. In order to work
- its magic, however, QEMM-50/60 does have certain hardware requirements that may
- be confusing to users. This document is intended to provide a clear and
- concise guide to these hardware requirements.
-
- Q: Does QEMM-50/60 work on all PS/2 computers?
-
- A: As its name suggests, QEMM-50/60 only works on IBM PS/2 Models 50, 50Z, and
- 60. If you have a Model 55SX, you should use Quarterdeck Expanded Memory
- Manager - 386 (QEMM-386) for your memory management needs, since the Model 55SX
- has an 80386SX processor. If you have a Model 30 or 30-286, the combination of
- an EMS 4.0 exPANDed memory board and Quarterdeck's QRAM product will provide
- most of the features of QEMM-50/60. The memory boards required by QEMM-50/60
- are NOT compatible with either Model 30 PS/2 computer.
-
- Q: I have 2 megabytes of memory on my computer's motherboard. Why doesn't
- QEMM-50/60 work?
-
- A: The memory on the Model 50/60 motherboard above 640K is exTENDed memory. On
- 80286 computers like the 50 and 60, this memory is essentially useless to DOS
- programs. Some programs can access exTENDed memory through the use of DOS
- extenders, but these are the exception rather than the rule.
-
- However, QEMM-50/60 can make the exTENDed memory on certain expansion cards
- behave like exPANDed memory. These cards have special hardware on them that
- give them the capability to "rearrange" memory, should one of the card's chips
- go bad. The hardware that does this "rearranging" is very similar to expanded
- memory hardware, but was not designed with that idea in mind. QEMM takes
- advantage of this special hardware feature to make the exTENDed memory look
- like exPANDed memory.
-
- QEMM-50/60 works with the following memory cards:
-
- Adapter Memory Board
- ID Capacity Name
-
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- FEFE 0.5-2MB IBM PS/2 80286 Memory Expansion Option
- F7FE 2-8MB IBM PS/2 80286 Expanded Memory Adapter /A
- F7FE 0-8MB IBM PS/2 0-8MB Expanded Memory Adapter /A
- F7F7 2-8MB IBM PS/2 2-8MB 80286 Memory Expansion Option
- 7011 0-2MB Tecmar MicroRAM
- 7048 0-8MB Edsun Labs EL2010 chip set
- 7049 0-8MB Edsun Labs EL2010 chip set
- 76DA 0-4MB Quadram QuadMEG PS/Q
- 76DE 0-4MB Quadram QuadMEG PS/Q
- 7F7E 0-8MB Orchid RamQuest Extra
-
- Note that the Edsun Labs entries are not actually boards, but rather chip
- sets that are used by some board manufacturers.
-
- Alternatively, a hardware upgrade will allow you to access all of your
- motherboard memory as well as the memory on any expansion cards you may have
- installed. Products such as the All Chargecard and the SOTA Pop card will
- provide such memory access, as will a conversion to a 386SX processor.
-
- Q: I have different memory boards from different manufacturers on the same
- machine. I'd like to use all of the memory with QEMM-50/60. Will I be able
- to?
-
- A: Yes. QEMM-50/60 allows you to mix boards from different manufacturers
- together and use them ALL as expanded memory. This cannot be done with any
- other EMM driver.
-
- Q: I'm thinking of getting an exPANDed memory card for my PS/2. Will
- QEMM-50/60 work with it?
-
- A: No - exPANDed memory cards come with their own drivers.
-
- Q: Do I need to disable my motherboard memory in order to use QEMM-50/60?
-
- A: Not for regular use of exPANDed memory. However, in order to multitask
- successfully on 80286 systems, reducing the amount of conventional memory is
- recommended. When conventional memory is reduced, multiple programs can be run
- in exPANDed memory. If you are planning on multitasking, remove the
- "X=0000-9FFF" parameter from the QEMM.SYS line in your CONFIG.SYS file.
-
- Copyright (C) 1991 by Quarterdeck Office Systems
- * * * E N D O F F I L E * * *