Using MS-DOS 5.0 or later EMM386.EXE on Altima NSX (77182)
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 Q77182 SYMPTOMS
If you are trying to use the MS-DOS 5.0, 6.0, or 6.2 EMM386.EXE device
driver on an Altima NSX 80386SX computer, the following message may be
displayed:
EMM386 not installed - insufficient memory
This message appears regardless of the amount of extended memory you
have on your machine.
CAUSE
The Altima NSX computer is only available as an 80386SX system. The
Altima NSX also has an 8-bit ROM that significantly reduces the
system's floppy disk access time. As a result, Altima made some
changes to the BIOS to compensate. The Altima NSX has an Award BIOS
version 3.1.
The changes to the BIOS include dedicating 64K of extended memory for
shadow ROM and 320K of extended memory for EMS (expanded memory
specification). Neither of these options can be disabled or turned
off. Because of the nonstandard BIOS on the Altima NSX, EMM386.EXE
cannot be used on these machines regardless of the amount of extended
memory.
WORKAROUND
The only alternative is to use a third-party memory manager. According
to Altima, Quarterdeck's QEMM can be used to successfully manage the
upper memory area.
MS-DOS can be loaded into the high memory area (HMA) on an Altima NSX
386SX by including the following lines in the CONFIG.SYS file:
device=[drive:][path]himem.sys
dos=high
The products included here are manufactured by vendors independent of
Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these
products' performance or reliability.
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 5/12/2003 |
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| Keywords: | KB77182 |
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