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- ID:RM REMM.SYS Driver Optimization
- Quarterdeck Technical Note #101
- by Myke Keefe Revised: Aug 27, 1990
-
- Owners of the AST line of computers and/or memory boards on 8088,
- 8086, and 80286 based computers need to run the program REMM.SYS
- to activate the expanded memory features they provide.
-
- REMM.SYS is installed in your CONFIG.SYS file by adding the line:
-
- DEVICE=REMM.SYS
-
- If you have a 286 based system with only 640K of RAM, then you
- should set aside 128K of memory as exTENded and load QEXT.SYS
- (Quarterdeck Extended Memory Manager) in your CONFIG.SYS file
- after REMM.SYS.
-
- This adds support for a new memory specification called XMS
- (eXtended Memory Specification) which can be used in addition to
- EMS to provide memory beyond 640K to your programs.
-
- If your computer already has more than 768K of memory (other than
- exPANDded), you do not need to allocate any memory from the AST
- memory board as exTENded.
-
- To reduce the risk of memory conflict, REMM will not make
- available all areas that you can utilize with Quarterdeck's
- DESQview and QRAM products. Usually you can reclaim 32K or more
- by utilizing unused video memory. We feel that the REMM driver
- is too conservative in reserving video areas which can be used.
-
- If you have any options installed in your computer like network
- boards or non-standard video adapters or hard disk controllers or
- other "unusual" features you should proceed with caution. If you
- have such things then please be familiar with REMM's /X (eXclude)
- parameter as you will have to probably have to use it to prevent
- a memory conflict.
-
- Check the owner's or installation manuals for these types of
- adapters/options to determine if they use any memory between 640K
- and 1024K as ROM or if they set up some sort of RAM buffer in
- reserved memory. These areas will probably need to be eXcluded
- from use by REMM.SYS
-
- REMM.SYS can be told to use areas with the /L (incLude) parameter
- on REMM.SYS. This tells REMM to use an area that it may not
- normally use by default.
-
- You can also minimize the amount of memory that REMM.SYS itself
- uses by limiting Process IDs and Contexts. We have found that
- most users generally use only 8-10 of either PIDs and Contexts
- and don't need all 64 or 255 that REMM will allocate by default.
-
-
- To limit PIDs and Contexts you should use the parameters /P=16
- and /C=16. This is shown in the following examples.
-
- To include the unused monochrome areas available when you only
- have an EGA or VGA adapter attached to a COLOR monitor use this
- example:
-
- DEVICE=REMM.SYS /P=16 /C=16 /L=B000-B7FF
-
- If you are using a Monochrome or Hercules Graphics Adapter, you
- can gain 64K of additional memory by including A000-AFFF. For
- example:
-
- DEVICE=REMM.SYS /P=16 /C=16 /L=A000-AFFF /X=B000-BFFF
-
- A whole 96K of RAM can be reclaimed if you have a Color Graphics
- adapter (CGA) by using this example:
-
- DEVICE=REMM.SYS /P=16 /C=16 /L=A000-B7FF /X=B800-BFFF
-
- If you have an AST Premimum computer you can use /S=E000 to place
- the EMS Page Frame at E000 and thus get 64K more memory for
- DESQview or QRAM.
-
- For example, if you had a Premimum 286 with a VGA the line would
- be: DEVICE=REMM.SYS /p=16 /c=16 /L=B000-B7FF /S=E000
-
- High Speed Communications in DESQview note!
-
- If you intend to use baud rates greater than 2400 baud while
- using Quarterdeck's DESQview, you may want to use the older REMM
- 3.x versions. These older versions of REMM.SYS only support EEMS
- (AST's proprietary expanded memory specification), but operate
- much faster than the newer versions, which also support the more
- popular EMS 4.0 specifications. AST may speed up their EMS 4.0
- drivers in the future, so you may want to check their BBS for
- newer versions.
-
- Multi-tasking With REMM.SYS
-
- AST Memory Products support multi-tasking beyond 640K if set up
- properly. Please refer to EMS40.TEC, another Quarterdeck White
- Paper or for DESQview users, Appendix B, especially page 149 of
- the DESQview 2.0 manual
-
- All versions of REMM.SYS and further information can be
- downloaded from the AST Research BBS: (714) 727-4723. I highly
- reccomend downloading REMMINFO.TXT for more information about the
- Rampage Expanded Memory Manager.
-
- Copyright (C) 1991 by Quarterdeck Office Systems
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