Microsoft Knowledge Base

• Microsoft MS-DOS operating system versions 6.2, 6.22

1. Q. How can I free conventional memory on my computer?

   A. You can automatically optimize memory use in your computer by
      running the MS-DOS 6.2 MemMaker program. MemMaker works on 80386
      or higher computer systems only; it does not work on 80286 or
      8088 systems. It works with the MS-DOS HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE
      memory-management utilities only; it does not work with third-
      party utilities, such as Qemm and 386MAX.

      MemMaker reviews your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files and then
      optimizes them by loading terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR)
      programs and installable device drivers into the memory area
      between 640 kilobytes (K) and 1 megabyte (MB)-which is called
      the upper memory area (UMA).

      To run MemMaker, type "memmaker" (without the quotation marks)
      at the MS-DOS command prompt, and press ENTER.

      For more information about MemMaker, refer to your MS-DOS 6.2
      printed documentation.

2. Q. After MemMaker rebooted my computer, the computer stopped
      responding (hung). How can I correct this problem?

   A. MemMaker tries to use UMA locations that it determines are free.
      If your machine hangs, note any error messages that are
      displayed, then restart your computer. MemMaker detects that
      your computer is being restarted before the optimization is
      complete and displays a screen listing possible reasons for the
      interruption and instructions for resuming or quitting the
      optimization. Accept the default options to continue.

      For more information regarding MemMaker, refer to your printed
      MS-DOS 6.2 documentation.

3. Q. I am using the Multi-Config commands and I want to optimize my
      system. Are there any special precautions I should take?

   A. MemMaker views the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files as a single
      unit. When you run MemMaker, it removes all references to memory
      managers and the FILES, BUFFERS, and DOS commands. It then adds
      its own set of memory managers and configuration settings
      depending on your system configuration. Because of this design,
      MemMaker cannot optimize CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files that
      use Multi-Config commands.

      To optimize multiple configurations using MemMaker, you must
      have separate configuration files for each item on your multiple-
      configuration menu, and run MemMaker on each set of files. This
      process is explained in the "Making More Memory Available" chapter
      in the MS-DOS 6.0 "User's Guide."

4. Q. MemMaker does not complete its process. What could be causing
      this problem?

   A. Your system may be calling a batch file or menu program from
      your AUTOEXEC.BAT file that is preventing MemMaker from
      finishing.

      To work around this problem, use the following steps:

      1. Open your AUTOEXEC.BAT file in MS-DOS Editor and use the REM
         command to remark out any batch files or menu programs.

      2. Save your modified AUTOEXEC.BAT file and then quit MS-DOS
         Editor.

      3. Run MemMaker again.

      NOTE: If you receive the MemMaker error message "Invalid Session
      ID," delete all MEMMAKER.STS files from drive C, remove any MemMaker
      commands from the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files, and then run
      MemMaker again. You can search for all MEMMAKER.STS files by typing
      "dir c:\memmaker.sts /s" (without the quotation marks) at the MS-DOS
      command prompt and pressing ENTER.