Caldera DR-DOS crashes during startup in Virtual PC 2004 (831515)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Virtual PC 2004

SYMPTOMS

After you install Caldera DR-DOS in a Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 virtual machine, when you start that virtual machine, DR-DOS may quit unexpectedly (crash), and you may receive the following error message:
The system memory manager (EMM386.EXE) has detected an error caused by a fault in one of the device drivers or programs loaded in the system.

Due to this fault, the system is probably in an unstable state, and you are therefore recommended to reboot the computer immediately. If the problem persists, then try to isolate which program is at fault (if you have loaded several, then load them one at a time until the fault appears), then contact the technical support department for that program.
Additionally, the following information appears:
Advanced technical information:
Exception 6 (Invalid Opcode).
DS=0070  ES=8A87  EAX=202D08B8  ECX=329289D9  EDX=1ACC3092  EDX=1ACC3092
FS=299B  SS=0100  ESP=000008A4  EBP=09800201  EDI=1728F949  EDI=1728F949
GS=F000  CS=EF20  EIP=00000070  EFLAGS=00033206  TR=0018  LDTR=0000
CR0=80000011  CR2=00000000  CR3=00119000  CR4=00000001
CS: [IP]=FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
SS: [SP]=1EE4 1843 11EA 016E 0000 0004 0DA2 0000 0100 0070 090A 0DA2

CAUSE

This issue may occur if you do not exclude the E000-EFFF memory locations from the EMM386.EXE memory manager in Caldera DR-DOS.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, add the following text to the EMM386.EXE line in the Config.sys file in your virtual machine: 
EXCLUDE=E000-EFFF
To do so, follow these steps:
  1. Use a bootable floppy disk to start the virtual machine.

    Note If you use the Caldera DR-DOS floppy disk to start the virtual machine, press CTRL+C to exit the Setup program.
  2. At the command prompt, type c:, and then press ENTER.
  3. Locate the folder where you installed Caldera DR-DOS. For example, type cd\foldername (where foldername is the folder where you installed Caldera DR-DOS), and then press ENTER.
  4. Type edit c:\config.sys, and then press ENTER.
  5. Type EXCLUDE=E000-EFFF at the end of the following line:

    DEVICE=C:\foldername\EMM386.EXE DPMI=OFF FRAME=NONE



    As a result, the line appears similar to the following line:

    DEVICE=C:\foldername\EMM386.EXE DPMI=OFF FRAME=NONE EXCLUDE=E000-EFFF

  6. Press ALT+F, and then press S to save your changes.
  7. Press ALT+F, and then press X to exit the text editor.
  8. Remove the floppy disk, and then restart the virtual machine.

MORE INFORMATION

The behavior that is described in this article also occurs with Caldera OpenDos.

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:12/8/2003
Keywords:kbprb KB831515 kbAudEndUser
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