Packard Bell SPEED.COM and MS-DOS 5.0 and Later (73323)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 5.0
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 5.0a
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.0
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.2
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.21
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.22

This article was previously published under Q73323

SUMMARY

Some Packard-Bell 8086 machines running MS-DOS versions 3.x have a utility called SPEED.COM that changes the clock speed of the processor from the standard 4.77 megahertz to 8 or 9 megahertz, depending upon the model. This utility must be copied into the new DOS directory from either the OLD_DOS.1 directory or the original DOS 3.x floppy disks.

MORE INFORMATION

SPEED.COM does not require addition to the SETVER table, but the MS-DOS 5.0 or later Setup program does not recognize SPEED.COM as an add-in utility that must remain in the DOS directory. Therefore, it must be manually copied to the DOS directory.

Many Packard-Bell 8086 machines have this command in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. MS-DOS 5.0 or later Setup does not place this command in the new AUTOEXEC.BAT, so you may notice decidedly slower performance when upgrading to MS-DOS 5.0 or later. Copying SPEED.COM into the DOS directory and adding SPEED.COM to AUTOEXEC.BAT should correct the problem.

The products included here are manufactured by a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/12/2003
Keywords:KB73323