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1988-05-15
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ADJRAM -- Adjustable RAM Disk
by Gary Cramblitt
Version 4.1
(c) Copyright 1986,1987,1988 by Gary Cramblitt. All rights
reserved. Permission is granted to copy and use this
software for non-commercial purposes only. Permission is
granted to distribute copies of this software provided no
profit is obtained by doing so and that the entire package
is distributed.
NOTICE: This program is provided on an "as is" basis
without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied,
including but not limited to the implied warranties of
mercantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The
entire risk as to quality and performance of this program is
with you, the user. Should the program prove defective, you
assume the entire cost of all necessary repair, servicing,
or correction. In no event will the author be liable to you
for any damages, including any lost profits, lost savings,
or other incidental or consequential damages arising out of
the use or inability to use this program.
This program, although copyrighted, may be freely copied and
used, so long as it is not used for commercial purposes. It is
NOT shareware or user-supported software. You are not expected
to make a donation to the author for using this program. Enjoy
-- and try to do the same for others some day.
If you distribute copies of this software to others, you are
REQUIRED to distribute the ENTIRE package consisting of the
following files:
AMDISK.DVD
ADJRAM.EXE
ADJRAMEM.EXE
ADJRAM.DOC
AMDISK.ASM
ADJRAM.C
If you leave any of the above files out, you will be in
violation of copyright. You may charge a distribution fee for
ADJRAM so long as the recipient is not charged more than a total
of $6.00 (including tax and postage) to receive ADJRAM. If you
charge more than that, you are in violation of copyright.
READ THIS DOCUMENTATION
-----------------------
Using this program without first reading all of this document
can be hazardous to your data. While the program has been
reasonably tested for defects, the nature of its algorithm is
such that under certain conditions it will fail and this could
in turn cause loss of valuable data. The section on
Compatibility and Memory Usage and the section on Errors are
particularly important.
What Is ADJRAM?
---------------
ADJRAM is a RAM disk program. Sometimes, RAM disks are called
"virtual disks" like the VDISK supplied with PC-DOS. Sometimes
they are called "memory disks" like MEMBRAIN. Whatever you call
it, a RAM disk is a program that makes a section of the Random
Access Memory (RAM) of your computer look like a floppy disk
drive to DOS. The advantage is that RAM is many hundreds of
times faster than a floppy disk -- even faster than a hard disk.
Why use ADJRAM, when you already have VDISK or MEMBRAIN or some
other RAM disk? Because ADJRAM allows you to vary the size of
the RAM disk without rebooting, and without loss of existing
data stored in the RAM disk. For example, you can start out
with 64K of your memory allocated for the RAM disk, expand it
later to 320K, copy a document file of 60K to the RAM disk, and
still later reduce the RAM disk capacity back down to 128K --
without losing your document file.
ADJRAM is ideal for those who do not have a hard disk. It also
supports LOTUS/INTEL/Microsoft Expanded Memory and Reserved
Memory (explained later). It does not support Extended Memory.
Requirements
------------
ADJRAM is designed to run under MS-DOS version 2 or greater. It
has been tested on the following machines:
1. Zenith Z100 under MS-DOS version 2.21
2. Zenith Z171 (an IBM PC compatible) under MS-DOS version
2.11
3. KayPro 16 also under MS-DOS 2.11
4. Tandy 1000 under MS-DOS 2.11
5. Sperry Personal Computer with 2 Mbyte JRAM 3 card under
MS-DOS 3.1
6. EPSON Equity I under MS-DOS 2.11
7. COMPAQ DeskPro (80186) under IBM DOS 3.10
8. IBM PC Portable.
9. Sharp PC-5000.
10. Zenith Z160 under DOS 3.1.
11. XEROX 6060 under MS-DOS 3.1.
12. Epson Equity I under MS-DOS 2.11.
It requires approximately 14K bytes of disk space. Memory usage
is, of course, a function of the RAM disk's size, but it
requires a minimum of 50K free RAM.
Installation
------------
Note: If you have a computer with LOTUS/INTEL/Microsoft Expanded
Memory and you want ADJRAM to use the Expanded Memory,
please read the section below entitled "Expanded Memory
Support" before you install ADJRAM.
Copy the following files to your boot disk:
AMDISK.DVD
ADJRAM.EXE
Edit your CONFIG.SYS file and place the following line in it:
device = amdisk.dvd
Reboot your computer. If all goes well, you should see the
following message appear near the beginning of your boot
sequence:
AMDISK v4.1 (c) Copyright 1986,1987,1988 by Gary Cramblitt
-- Initialized as disk C:
The disk drive letter will vary according to your system
configuration. Remember that drive letter, since it is that
disk which is your RAM disk.
If you use any memory resident programs, such as Sidekick (a
trademark of Borland International), load them before attempting
to change the size of the RAM disk (as explained in the next
section).
MS-DOS 3.x users may need to add a LASTDRIVE= clause to their
CONFIG.SYS file. Consult your DOS manual.
Using the RAM Disk
------------------
The RAM disk is used just like any floppy disk drive. You can
copy files to or from it, create directories on it, erase files,
etc. You may NOT do the following things with the RAM disk:
1. You may not FORMAT the RAM disk.
2. You may not DISKCOPY from or to the RAM disk.
3. You may not run SYS against the RAM disk.
4. You may not boot from the RAM disk.
5. You may not use any program on the RAM disk that
accesses the disk controller circuitry directly. Some
anti-copy protection programs fall into this category.
6. You may not use any program that depends upon IBM
standard disk media codes.
Restrictions 1 through 5 are generally true of any RAM disk.
Restriction 6 is unique to the Adjustable RAM Disk because it
uses a non-standard media descriptor byte. This shouldn't cause
great hardship though.
Also, keep in mind that anything stored in the RAM disk can
potentially be lost. For example, should your power fail and
you don't have an Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS), then
everything in the RAM disk will be lost. If you reboot (by
pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL for example), t