How EMM386.EXE Rounds Segment Addresses (74870)


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 Q74870

SUMMARY

The version 5.0 "Microsoft MS-DOS User's Guide and Reference" states that when using the X= and I= parameters with EMM386.EXE, addresses are rounded down to the nearest 4K boundary. Specifically, the address range is rounded to the next even 4K address closest to the hexidecimal address FFFFF.

MORE INFORMATION

Because of this rounding procedure, it is possible that pieces of memory 1 to 4K in size may not be correctly included or excluded by EMM386.EXE. The significance of this rounding procedure becomes important when attempting to arrange included and excluded memory blocks in a contiguous order. To ensure that all pieces of memory are used correctly, use hexidecimal ranges that border one place digit apart, rather than values that overlap.

For example, an address range E000-E100 overlaps one complete 4K piece of memory by 16 bytes and is rounded upward toward FFFFF. This address range is actually recognized as E000-E1FF, which is approximately 8K in size. In this example, to specifically reference only the 4K piece of memory starting at E000, the correct range is E000-E0FF.

The following chart demonstrates some examples of using include and exclude parameters with EMM386.EXE and the NOEMS parameter. Remember that X= parameter has priority over the I= parameter. The leftmost value in the chart is the total amount of UMB memory reported when booting up. The K value is the rounded kilobyte value given by the MEM/C command. 
 Total UMB   X= and I= Parameters                    Result of MEM/C
   Memory      Showing Available
   on Boot Up                                          Bytes   (K value)
   ----------  -------------------------------------   ------  ---------

    3K         X=A000-DFFF  X=E100-FFFF  I=E000-E0FF    4,064    4.0K
    7K         X=A000-DFFF  X=E200-FFFF  I=E000-E100    8,160    8.0K
    3K         X=A000-DFFF  X=E100-FFFF  I=E000-E100    4,064    4.0K
   63K         X=A000-DFFF  I=E000-EFFF                65,504   64.0K
   67K         X=A000-DFFF  I=E000-F000                69,600   68.0K
   55K         X=A000-DFFF  X=E400-E500  I=E000-EFFF   57,248   55.9K
Key points from the above chart:

  • Line 2 was intended to include only a 4K piece of memory but resulted in an 8K size.
  • Line 3 is different from line 2 only by the second exclude parameter. Because this exclusion range overlaps the inclusion range, it has priority and restricts the size of the inclusion range.
  • Line 5 was intended to include only a 64K piece of memory but actually included 68K.
  • Line 6 was intended to exclude only a 4K piece of memory but actually excluded 8.1K.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/12/2003
Keywords:KB74870
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