ACAD386 on DOS 5.0
John Heah
installed. It seems like a lot of disk activities going on when I
want to load the ACAD program and the nozzle example drawing.
Any remedy for that problem? I don't like to give up DOS 5.0 but
I also like to have Acad386 v10.
Jeffrey K Rogers
John Heah <BEM...@NUSVM.BITNET>:
It's long, but here's Autodesks answer. I found this file on Compu$erve in
the ACAD forum. Your best bet would be to use QEMM386.
-Jeff
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Product Support July 18, 1991
Microsoft's MS-DOS(R) version 5.0 and Autodesk Products
Microsoft's recent release of the Disk Operating System 5.0 (MS-DOS
5.0) update offers several significant advantages for Autodesk customers.
MS-DOS 5.0 contains advanced memory management tools and an assortment of
useful DOS utilities. All Autodesk products work properly with MS-DOS 5.0
when correctly configured, as explained below.
Status Command
In AutoCAD 386TM, the Status command gives a complete listing of
memory use. From the command line of the drawing editor, enter:
status
to check the total memory (in Kbytes) above one megabyte that is available
to AutoCAD(R) (that is, not taken by other programs, including RAM disks
and disk cache programs). This will be reported as "Total extended memory:
xxxxK", where xxxx is the total amount of both extended and expanded memory
available to AutoCAD. If this number is significantly less than the
combined amount of both extended and expanded memory in your customer's
system, then use one of the options explained below to enable the use of
more system memory.
For a complete discussion of the Status command, refer to Chapter 3 of
the AutoCAD Reference Manual, and to Chapter 4 of the Installation and
Performance Guide.
HIMEM.SYS
Understanding HIMEM.SYS, the eXtended Memory Specification (XMS)
manager shipped with MS-DOS 5.0, is the key to proper system configuration.
Many of the advanced features of MS-DOS 5.0, such as the ability to
"highload" MS-DOS, use RAM disks, and use Microsoft's EMM386 expanded
memory specification (EMS) manager require HIMEM.SYS to be installed. The
default installation of MS-DOS 5.0 will include HIMEM.SYS in your
customer's CONFIG.SYS file with the following line:
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
AutoCAD 386
AutoCAD 386 is linked using Phar Lap's 386|DOS-ExtenderTM version 2.2d
for memory management. The 386|DOS-Extender version 2.2d complies with the
Virtual Control Program Interface (VCPI) and therefore does not access the
XMS memory that HIMEM.SYS creates by default.
There are four basic configuration choices that will allow AutoCAD 386
(Releases 10 and 11) to function properly with MS-DOS 5.0. They are, in
recommended order:
Option 1. Use NEWDX to update the Phar Lap 386|DOS-Extender in AutoCAD 386
from version 2.2d to 2.6. This will allow AutoCAD to use XMS memory as
well as provide important additional features, discussed in the section
DOS-Extender 2.6, below.
NEWDX.EXE will update the Phar Lap 386|DOS-Extender from version 2.2d
to version 2.6. This executable file is included in every package of
AutoCAD 386 Release 11 c2 on the disk labeled "Dxfix / Newdx / B1-step
Disk". NEWDX is also available on the Autodesk Forum on CompuServe in Data
Library 10 (Utilities / ADI) in compressed format as NEWDX.ZIP. Once
updated to version 2.6, the DOS-Extender, in addition to providing other
features, allows AutoCAD 386 to use the XMS memory managed by HIMEM.SYS.
Complete installation instructions and a summary of the other new features
of the new DOS-Extender are included with NEWDX. Note that a customer who
has upgraded to MS-DOS 5.0 should also upgrade his version of AutoCAD to
Release 11 c2.
IMPORTANT: Phar Lap 386|DOS-Extender version 2.6 will address XMS or VCPI
memory (regular extended or EMS expanded), but not both at the same time.
If a system is configured for both XMS and VCPI memory, through the use of
HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE respectively, 386|DOS-Extender will use only
memory from the VCPI memory pool. Hence, if a small amount of memory is
mistakenly allocated via EMM386.EXE (the default is only 256k) while the
bulk of memory is allocated as XMS memory, then 386|DOS-Extender 2.6 will
run sluggishly for lack of RAM.
Option 2. Use the /int15xxxx switch of HIMEM.SYS to exclude an amount of
memory from XMS compliance. This will leave xxxx K bytes of memory as
extended that AutoCAD can use. Refer to the section on HIMEM.SYS of the
MS-DOS 5.0 User's Guide and Reference Manual for more information.
Option 3. Use HIMEM.SYS and the device driver EMM386.EXE, which will
only function if HIMEM.SYS is loaded first, to create a specified amount
of expanded EMS memory that AutoCAD can use. By default the amount of
memory allocated to the expanded EMS memory pool is 256K. EMM386.EXE
must be used if you wish to load TSR's and device drivers "high" into
the upper memory block (UMB) area. For use with Autodesk products,
EMM386.EXE should be loaded with the following line in your customer's
CONFIG.SYS file immediately following the line which loads HIMEM.SYS:
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE xxxx RAM ON W=ON
where xxxx is the amount of memory EMM386.EXE will allocate to expanded EMS
in K bytes. This should be the total amount of RAM in the system minus one
megabyte. For example, in a system with 8 megabytes total memory the xxxx
setting should be 7168. (8192 K total RAM - 1024 K = 7168 K). The RAM ON
option enables EMM386 to be VCPI-compliant, enabling AutoCAD 386 to run in
expanded memory. Under NO circumstance should the NOEMS switch be
specified. This will cause the Phar Lap 386|DOS-Extender to abort and
issue an error message. The W=ON switch will enable EMS support for the
Weitek coprocessor on our products which support this hardware. See the
Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0 User's Guide for more information on EMM386.EXE
Option 4. Remove HIMEM.SYS from the CONFIG.SYS file. This will allow
AutoCAD right-out-of-the-box to run with a minimum of work. The
disadvantage here is that one loses some of the advanced features of MS-DOS
5.0, including the ability to load TSR's, device drivers, and MS-DOS itself
into high memory.
QEMM-386TM
Another way to ensure compatibility between Autodesk Products and
MS-DOS 5.0 is by using Quarterdeck Expanded Memory Manager-386TM (QEMM-386)
version 5.1 or higher. QEMM-386 is a dual-function memory manager that
replaces both HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE. It does the job of both drivers by
allocating system memory between extended and expanded dynamically. See
the documentation that ships with QEMM-386 for further details.
AutoCAD DOS/286
For customers running the DOS version of AutoCAD Release 10 or earlier
Releases:
1. AutoCAD Release 10 c2a or c7 or Release 9
a. When running on an 80286-based machine, you must remove
HIMEM.SYS from the CONFIG.SYS file;
b. When running on an 80386- or 80486-based machine
i. Either remove HIMEM.SYS from the CONFIG.SYS file, or
ii. Use HIMEM.SYS together with EMM386.EXE, as explained
previously in Option 3.
2. AutoCAD Release 10c2
a. You must remove HIMEM.SYS from the CONFIG.SYS file, or
b. Configure AutoCAD to use regular AutoLISP instead of Extended
AutoLISP. Note that on 80386- and 80486-based machines, you
can still use EMM386.EXE to create expanded memory for
AutoCAD to use.
3. AutoCAD Release 2.62
a. You must remove HIMEM.SYS from the CONFIG.SYS file, or
b. Do not load MS-DOS into high memory. That is, in the
CONFIG.SYS file, delete the line:
DOS=HIGH
Note that AutoCAD Release 11 for 286, when released, will coexist
peacefully with HIMEM.SYS.
Other Autodesk Products
The four options listed above for AutoCAD 386 should also work on all
of Autodesk's Phar Lap 386|DOS-Extender-based products. Presently, these
are AutoShade(R) Version 2 with Autodesk Renderman(R), Autodesk 3D
StudioTM, and Autodesk Animator ProTM.
For James Gleick's CHAOS: The SoftwareTM, the METASHEL program should
be loaded into memory using the MS-DOS command LOADFIX. The easiest way to
do this is to edit the file CHAOS.BAT with MS-DOS 5.0's EDIT program. The
sixth line in the file is "metashel /i". This line should be changed to
"LOADFIX metashel /i". See the Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0 User's Guide for
information on EDIT and LOADFIX.
AutoSketch(R) Version 3 is not adversely affected by MS-DOS 5.0.
AutoSketch can use up to 2 megabytes of expanded EMS memory which can be
created with EMM386.EXE. See the section on EMM386.EXE in the Microsoft
User's Guide.
DOS-Extender 2.6
Some of the benefits of updating the Phar Lap 386|DOS-Extender in
AutoCAD 386 from version 2.2d to 2.6 include:
o A smaller kernel. DOS-Extender 2.2d has a fixed, conventional
memory "footprint" of approximately 180K bytes. However, DOS-Extender 2.6
requires only 80K, saving about 100K bytes of memory for shelled programs,
TSR's, etc.
o Demand paged loading for AutoCAD. DOS-Extender 2.2d loads AutoCAD
entirely into memory, and then frees up blocks when memory is scarce. A
new feature of DOS-Extender 2.6 enables code to be loaded into memory on
demand, as it is needed. This reduces the load time of AutoCAD 386 by 30
to 40%. This feature can be controlled be a DOS-
Extender switch called -DEMANDLOAD.
o Limited WindowsTM 3.0 support. DOS-Extender version 2.6 will run
in the DOS Box of Windows 3.0 in both real and standard modes Since
AutoCAD is a graphics program, it must be run in the full screen mode of
the DOS Box. In standard mode, 386|DOS-Extender gets its memory from XMS
(extended memory). To ensure that AutoCAD can access XMS memory when it
runs in the DOS Box, you will have to use Microsoft's PIF editor to create
a PIF file which makes XMS memory available to the application program,
AutoCAD.
Note that DOS-Extender version 2.6 will not support Windows 3.0 in 386
enhanced mode. Autodesk does not presently warrant the suitability of
Windows 3.0 as an operating environment for AutoCAD 386.
Autodesk Trademarks
AutoCAD, AutoShade, and AutoSketch are registered in the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office by Autodesk, Inc.
AutoCAD 386, Autodesk 3D Studio, Autodesk Animator Pro, and James Gleick's
CHAOS: The Software are trademarks of Autodesk, Inc.
Third-Party Trademarks
MS-DOS is a registered trademark and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft
Corporation.
386|DOS-Extender is a trademark of Phar Lap Software, Inc.
Quarterdeck Expanded Memory Manager-386 and QEMM-386 are trademarks of
Quarterdeck Office Systems.
John Raffensperger Jr.
: I am having trouble trying to run Acad386 v10 on a 386 with DOS 5.0
It sounds like you have himem.sys installed. Try commenting it out of
config.sys and then try.
If you need memory management look at QEMM v6.0 or 386MAX.
Hope this helps;
John W. Raffensperger, Jr.
jo...@dhump.mil.wi.us
(414) 887-3291 (voice - home)
(414) 796-2838 (voice - work)
K.M.Lijewski
I would suggest that you remove the SMARTDRV.SYS from the config.sys file
if it is there. I have seen the exact symptoms you have described with
Autocad and SMARTDRV.SYS. I hope this helps. Kevin