Extended/XMS memory in Win 98 setup

Stan Winter

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Oct 23, 2000, 3:00:00 AM10/23/00

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I am trying to install Windows 98 SE onto a newly formatted "clean" hard
drive. After setup runs scandisk, it then attempts to scan the system
registry. It is here that I get the following error message:

"Not enough free Extended/XMS memory to run setup.
Setup needs approximately 2816000 bytes of free Extended/XMS memory."

Then it returns to the A:\> prompt.

Before I formatted my hard drive I had been running Windows 95 with no
problems. I thougt that since I was formatting my hard drive, now would be
a good time to load Windows 98.
Can any of you kind souls please explain the error message and fill me in on
what I can do to resolve the issue and get Windows 98 loaded?

Thanks in advance!

Ron Martell

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Oct 23, 2000, 3:00:00 AM10/23/00

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"Stan Winter" <sewi...@atlantan.quik.com> wrote:

If the drive is newly formatted then there should not be an existing
registry (or any other files) on the hard drive for Windows setup to
scan.

Also check the contents of the config.sys and autoexec.bat on the
bootdisk that you are using to start the computer and run the Win98
setup program. There may be a problem with some of the entries in
these files.

Good luck.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

Stan Winter

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Oct 24, 2000, 3:00:00 AM10/24/00

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Ron Martell <r...@onlinehelp.bc.ca> wrote in message
news:aj7avskc3qj80p09r...@4ax.com...

Thanks for the response, Ron. But tell me: am I correct in assuming that
the Extended/XMS memory refers to RAM? Right now it only has 16MB. Do you
think adding more RAM before I try to install Windows again will solve this
problem?
Also, what are some typical problem areas I should look for when I inspect
the config.sys and autoexec.bat files?

Ron Martell

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Oct 25, 2000, 3:00:00 AM10/25/00

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"Stan Winter" <swi...@oaksconstruction.com> wrote:

>Thanks for the response, Ron. But tell me: am I correct in assuming that
>the Extended/XMS memory refers to RAM? Right now it only has 16MB. Do you
>think adding more RAM before I try to install Windows again will solve this
>problem?
>Also, what are some typical problem areas I should look for when I inspect
>the config.sys and autoexec.bat files?
>
>

Yes, extended/XMS memory refers to RAM, specifically the RAM beyond 1
mb that is made accessible when himem.sys is loaded.

16 mb of RAM is less than the minimum for Windows 98 SE - it is
designed not to install on a system with less than 24 mb, and even
with 24 mb it will perform like a slug.

You should have at least 32 mb of RAM for any version of Windows 98
and preferably even more. Once you get to 48 mb the performance
starts to be reasonable.

Stan Winter

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Oct 26, 2000, 9:34:58 AM10/26/00

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Thanks for the info, Ron. You've really helped shed some much-needed light
on this stuff for me. I'll get some more RAM (a friend of mine said he had
some he could give me) and see if that solves my problems. Again, thanks
for the help.

Ron Martell <r...@onlinehelp.bc.ca> wrote in message

news:3jsevsk7e5f30nln1...@4ax.com...