config.sys and ultima VII and serpent isle
dtr...@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
i am trying to run ultima vii on my new system which is:
dell p166mmx w/ 32meg ram
s3 virge and soundblaster
win95 (apparently running fat32!)
and when i try to run the game it tells me to run in dos mode (i
expected). but when i created a boot disk with a config.sys that loads
just device=c:\himem.sys dos=high files=20 and my autoexec just loads
my mouse driver, when i go to play the game from my serpent directory, it
never starts but comes back, in a different resolution (probably the
resolution used by the game) with my prompt again as if nothing happend,
so when i try to run it again, this time it comes back saying that i need
x amount of extended memory free and that i have 0 free, when if i check
my mem, it tells me that i have 31meg free and 599 conventional free.
msdos is resident in high memory. i have no idea what to do. someone
pleas help. thanks dan traviglia dtr...@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
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Ng Ying Tat
dtr...@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu wrote:
>
> i am trying to run ultima vii on my new system which is:
> dell p166mmx w/ 32meg ram
> s3 virge and soundblaster
> win95 (apparently running fat32!)
>
> and when i try to run the game it tells me to run in dos mode (i
> expected). but when i created a boot disk with a config.sys that loads
> just device=c:\himem.sys dos=high files=20 and my autoexec just loads
> my mouse driver, when i go to play the game from my serpent directory, it
> never starts but comes back, in a different resolution (probably the
> resolution used by the game) with my prompt again as if nothing happend,
> so when i try to run it again, this time it comes back saying that i need
> x amount of extended memory free and that i have 0 free, when if i check
> my mem, it tells me that i have 31meg free and 599 conventional free.
> msdos is resident in high memory. i have no idea what to do. someone
I have the same system as yours.
This is what my config.sys contain:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
REM DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE RAM
BUFERS=15,0
FILES=40
DOS=UMB
LASTDRIVE=Z
FCBS=4,0
DOS=HIGH
STACKS=9,256
REM DEVICEHIGH=\PCAUDIO\SLCD.SYS /D:SONY_010 /B:300 /M:P /V /C
REM DEVICEHIGH = C:\CDROM\WCD.SYS /D:WP_CDROM
And my autoexec.bat is the same as yours.
Go ahead and try it.
It worked for me.
Exacto Dragon
Hint Dragon
This is the result of a sound setting conflict. Both the Black Gate and
Serpent Isle installers default to a sound card IRQ setting of 7, where 5
is much more common nowadays. Try rerunning the install program and
selecting no sound. If that works, you need to start tracking down some
DOS sound drivers and settings...
Hint Dragon
> and when i try to run the game it tells me to run in dos mode (i
> expected). but when i created a boot disk with a config.sys that loads
> just device=c:\himem.sys dos=high files=20 and my autoexec just loads
> my mouse driver, when i go to play the game from my serpent directory, it
> never starts but comes back, in a different resolution (probably the
> resolution used by the game) with my prompt again as if nothing happend,
> so when i try to run it again, this time it comes back saying that i need
> x amount of extended memory free and that i have 0 free, when if i check
> my mem, it tells me that i have 31meg free and 599 conventional free.
> msdos is resident in high memory. i have no idea what to do. someone
jack
My Advice: Try running an old version of DOS.
I originally ran the game on my old 50mhz 486.... with a boot disk.
When I started playing again recently on a pentium/win95, I had
problems.
I just don't think it works with Win95. I could not get u7 to work in
any situation where win95 was involved, not dos mode or anything... even
if the win95 *partition* was *merely visible* (!) running an old dos
disk, it didn't work. I'll explain.
I have a multi-boot congifuration, where drive C is either 1:Dos6.2
2:win95. They're not the same partition, they just have the same letter
depending on which is active. So when Win95 is active, the other C drive
is completely invisible, inaccessible, it doesn't exist. And vice versa.
I tried configuring a dos mode setup for u7, typing in the Autoexec and
Config in that little dialog box. It didn't work.. u7 said I didn't have
enough memory. I wondered, why is this? I'm using only minimum configs:
just himem and mouse for god's sake!
I did a test to see what was going on. I decided to just make a boot
disk despite the inconvenience. I used the old boot disk from when I
first played, with an old version of DOS (it was left in my u7 box.) So
i just modified the startup and stuff, and I knew there was enough
memory for that on the old machine. so I thought it would work.
No! Still not enough memory. So I ran "mem/c" to get a readout on what's
loaded. Surprise!! **Win95's DriveSpace** taking up 100K of low
memory!!!! I made no such attempt in my configs or autoexec to load it,
so it should not be there. I don't even have any compressed drives!
Inexplicably it was in memory! Then I realized: the win95 partition is
visible. Perhaps something was going on.
So I rebooted into dos62 to make win95's disk hidden, and then rebooted
again to my boot floppy *with no changes to the floppy.* DrvSPace did
not load, and the game runs fine. However, I always have to reboot
twice. :-(
I don't know how, but the mere *visibility* of Win95's partition caused
it to load drvspace which I did not need. And because I wasn't loading
it explicitly, how could I set it to load high?
And so far I have not found any way to erase drivespace from my system.
These experiments led me to a re-affirmation of the things I really hate
about win95 "configuration" (if you can call it that.)
1. Win95 does things you don't want it to do, even if you explicitly
tell it not to.
2. It does things you haven't told it to, without telling you it has
done so.
3. You can't turn off the things you don't like.
4. It still doesn't work. :-(
Did anyone notice how well os/2 warp's dos box worked? You could modify
*every* little thing pertaining to a dos game, like timer access ports,
a billion little troubleshooting settings.
Just my overall disappointment with win95 after having used os2 for a
while. Why do I use it? I want to play games. ;-(
Paul Gilham
dtr...@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu spake thus:
>i am trying to run ultima vii on my new system which is:
>dell p166mmx w/ 32meg ram
>s3 virge and soundblaster
>win95 (apparently running fat32!)
>
>expected). but when i created a boot disk with a config.sys that loads
>just device=c:\himem.sys dos=high files=20 and my autoexec just loads
>my mouse driver, when i go to play the game from my serpent directory, it
>never starts but comes back, in a different resolution (probably the
>resolution used by the game) with my prompt again as if nothing happend,
>so when i try to run it again, this time it comes back saying that i need
>x amount of extended memory free and that i have 0 free, when if i check
>my mem, it tells me that i have 31meg free and 599 conventional free.
>msdos is resident in high memory. i have no idea what to do. someone
>pleas help. thanks
Hmm. I'm not sure whether Win95 relese 2, which I presume you're
using if running FAT32, is any different from the first one, but I'd
recommend shutting down to DOS and running command.com rather than
using a boot disk. Once you get your DOS prompt, you can play from
there.
In the Advnaced Program properties of the shortcut to command.com,
you'll need to click the "Specify a new MS-DOS configuration" button.
I find these work for me:
config.sys:
DOS=HIGH
Device=C:\WINDOWS\Himem.Sys
autoexec.bat:
SET PROMPT=$p$g
SET winbootdir=C:\WINDOWS
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND
SET TMP=c:\windows\temp
SET TEMP=C:\windows\temp
SET BLASTER=[whatever your soundcard settings are]
C:\[your DOS mouse driver]
C:\WINDOWS\SMARTDRV.EXE
You can omit the last line if you're running short of conventional
memory, but I find it helps load and save games faster.
Hope that helps!
____________________________________________________________
\^\^//
,^ ( ..) Paul Gilham ~~ Samurai Dragon ~~ (remove fish to reply)
| \ \ -==(UDIC)==- d++e-N T--Om++U1467'8u-uC++uF-uG++uLB+uA+nC++
\ `^--^ uR nH+nP++nI++nPT++nS+++nT--wM-wC oA++y+a22
\ \ \ AFD: DC.D f+s+h---K^K a-$-m d++WL++ Fr^L12m BW e+g--i--!U!
ksj ^--^ ____________________________________________________________
jack
>
> You can omit the last line if you're running short of conventional
> memory, but I find it helps load and save games faster.
>
> Hope that helps!
> ____________________________________________________________
Hopefully win95 will not sneakily and inexplicably be loading drvspace
on you without telling you... you won't have enough memory if it does.
Andrew Charlton
jack <jac...@telegram.infi.net> writes:
To avoid that, add
DOS=NOAUTO
to your config.sys
Or course, if your boot drive, or the drive the game is on are compressed,
then you won't be able to access them.
--
____/\___ Erraticus
___/__\__) -==(UDIC)==-
(__/ \__ \\//
/ \ \/
Georg Borchorst
jack <jac...@telegram.infi.net> skrev i artiklen
<34638E06...@telegram.infi.net>...
> I just don't think it works with Win95. I could not get u7 to work in
> any situation where win95 was involved, not dos mode or anything... even
> if the win95 *partition* was *merely visible* (!) running an old dos
> disk, it didn't work. I'll explain.
I never had much of a problem.
From Win95 you should open the folder w. U7, right-click and drag the
program icon to the desktop (shortcut!), right-click the icon and select
properties -> program.
Type in config.sys:
Himem.sys
DOS=high
Files=40
and Autoexec.bat:
[Path]\mouse
- and if you have a soundblaster, select IRQ 5
during installation. You can change sound
configuration with the \U7\Setup.exe - program,
in that way you dont have to install over again.
Arcana Dragon
-==(UDOC)==-
arc...@danbbs.dk
http://www.danbbs.dk/~arcana/ultima/index.htm
Liang Yin
[Note: Posted to newsgroups and emailed to original author]
On Fri, 7 Nov 1997, jack wrote:
> My Advice: Try running an old version of DOS.
Actually, the real(?) OS under that Windows 4.0 (95) GUI is still MS-DOS,
v7.0. I have never encountered any DOS game that didn't work under that.
The simplest way to get to that is to hit F8 during bootup (when the
'Starting Win95' message appear) and then select 'Command Prompt only'. Of
course you'll need to get and configure DOS drivers (sound, CD-ROM, etc)
for your system in autoexec.bat and config.sys.
The easiest way to set it up on a permanent basis (what i did) is to set
up a multi-config bootup..
Basically, I
- Modified msdos.sys with a coupla extra flags ( BOOTGUI=0 was one of em)
- Added multi-config to config.sys and autoexec.bat
- No drivers loaded for the Win95 option (if you got 32-bit Win95 drivers)
- DOS drivers for each of your DOS options..
(e.g. I have a 'No CD' Option, and one with EMS)
You can run Win95 by typing 'win' like the good old days (since c:\windows
is pbly in your path)
And for the extra point, add 'DOS=NOAUTO' to config.sys which doesn't load
'ifshlp.sys' in DOS mode. (Of course, you'll have to load that in
config.sys in your Win95 multi-config option or Win95 won't run)
(I'll post my msdos.sys, config.sys, and autoexec.bat if anyone wants em)
So now, whenever I boot up, a menu appears with several options. If I do
nothing for bout 5 seconds, Win95 boots up. Else I could choose one of
the DOS options I set up. In pure DOS 7 mode, with mouse and CD-ROM and
sound card drivers (loaded into upper mem as much as possible), I get an
amazing 617KB (I'm 99% sure of this figure, too lazy to reboot and find
out for sure) free conventional, enough to run any DOS game. In Win95,
mem/c reports 584KB free conventional.
All this without buying one of those silly memory optimizers like QEMM..
and you actually learn a thing or two about the OS..
> I originally ran the game on my old 50mhz 486.... with a boot disk.
> When I started playing again recently on a pentium/win95, I had
> problems.
>
> I just don't think it works with Win95. I could not get u7 to work in
> any situation where win95 was involved, not dos mode or anything... even
> if the win95 *partition* was *merely visible* (!) running an old dos
> disk, it didn't work. I'll explain.
>
> I have a multi-boot congifuration, where drive C is either 1:Dos6.2
> 2:win95. They're not the same partition, they just have the same letter
> depending on which is active. So when Win95 is active, the other C drive
> is completely invisible, inaccessible, it doesn't exist. And vice versa.
Heh. That sounds like a bad hack. I still don't think an old DOS version
is necessary at all.
> I tried configuring a dos mode setup for u7, typing in the Autoexec and
> Config in that little dialog box. It didn't work.. u7 said I didn't have
> enough memory. I wondered, why is this? I'm using only minimum configs:
> just himem and mouse for god's sake!
I think that dialog box is for setting up a '.pif' which is basically a
DOS shell inside the Win95 GUI. Which means the Win95 is still running in
the back. Unless the system reboots everytime to use the new config, that
config is not in a pure DOS mode.
> I did a test to see what was going on. I decided to just make a boot
> disk despite the inconvenience. I used the old boot disk from when I
> first played, with an old version of DOS (it was left in my u7 box.) So
> i just modified the startup and stuff, and I knew there was enough
> memory for that on the old machine. so I thought it would work.
>
> No! Still not enough memory. So I ran "mem/c" to get a readout on what's
> loaded. Surprise!! **Win95's DriveSpace** taking up 100K of low
> memory!!!! I made no such attempt in my configs or autoexec to load it,
> so it should not be there. I don't even have any compressed drives!
> Inexplicably it was in memory! Then I realized: the win95 partition is
> visible. Perhaps something was going on.
Are you using disk compression? If not, make sure to disable it. Same
thing happened to me. I never used disk compression before.. my guess is
that installing Windows95 Plus! Pack's system agent did something..
Solution: all i did was make sure that disk compression was disabled and
then deleted a file (or two) out of my root directory.. (pbly a hidden
file, pbly something like drvspace.xxx). Also check your win.ini and
system.ini et al to make sure something like Load=drvspace.sys isn't
there. I got my memory right back.
> So I rebooted into dos62 to make win95's disk hidden, and then rebooted
> again to my boot floppy *with no changes to the floppy.* DrvSPace did
> not load, and the game runs fine. However, I always have to reboot
> twice. :-(
>
> I don't know how, but the mere *visibility* of Win95's partition caused
> it to load drvspace which I did not need. And because I wasn't loading
> it explicitly, how could I set it to load high?
> And so far I have not found any way to erase drivespace from my system.
Try what I did above.. it worked for me..
> These experiments led me to a re-affirmation of the things I really hate
> about win95 "configuration" (if you can call it that.)
>
> 1. Win95 does things you don't want it to do, even if you explicitly
> tell it not to.
> 2. It does things you haven't told it to, without telling you it has
> done so.
> 3. You can't turn off the things you don't like.
> 4. It still doesn't work. :-(
Well, you can modify Win95 quite a bit.. just takes more work. Seems
like most GUI'd OS's are dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. I
think that the command line should be tightly integrated into any GUI-OS,
since it is still the fastest & most powerful method for many tasks. If it
weren't for games, I'd pbly be running some UNIX variant with some
X-windows variant GUI.
> Did anyone notice how well os/2 warp's dos box worked? You could modify
> *every* little thing pertaining to a dos game, like timer access ports,
> a billion little troubleshooting settings.
Never tried OS/2 before.. it's too bad that Microsoft has the marketing
power to dictate a lot of things.. I think Win95 is an improvement over
Win 3.x, but is still a pretty shitty OS. MacOS and most others I've seen
are just as bad IMHO.
> Just my overall disappointment with win95 after having used os2 for a
> while. Why do I use it? I want to play games. ;-(
Yup. My OS will be one that supports the most & best games, at the
highest quality possible. I'll have to make do with my 2-yr old P133.. I
think it's cryin for a 3dfx card =) (hmm.. should I wait for Voodoo2, or
just go with the Voodoo now? decisions, decisions..)
Liang Yin
jack
> I never had much of a problem.
> From Win95 you should open the folder w. U7, right-click and drag the
> program icon to the desktop (shortcut!), right-click the icon and select
> properties -> program.
>
> Type in config.sys:
> Himem.sys
> DOS=high
> Files=40
>
> and Autoexec.bat:
> [Path]\mouse
>
> - and if you have a soundblaster, select IRQ 5
> during installation. You can change sound
> configuration with the \U7\Setup.exe - program,
> in that way you dont have to install over again.
>
That's what I did!
jack
> > I tried configuring a dos mode setup for u7, typing in the Autoexec and
> > Config in that little dialog box. It didn't work.. u7 said I didn't have
> > enough memory. I wondered, why is this? I'm using only minimum configs:
> > just himem and mouse for god's sake!
>
> I think that dialog box is for setting up a '.pif' which is basically a
> DOS shell inside the Win95 GUI. Which means the Win95 is still running in
> the back. Unless the system reboots everytime to use the new config, that
> config is not in a pure DOS mode.
If you select 'MSDOS Mode' it is really rebooting. On my machine, it
goes back to the BIOS screen and then Boot Manager, so I know it's
really rebooting. Whether or not win95 is then absent I have no idea.
> Try what I did above.. it worked for me..
That's the problem.... irreproducible results! I had no luck.
Where does it allow you to disable drivespace? I have no compressed
drives anywhere. I can't find the option!
Robert S. Gregg
jack wrote in message <34678524...@telegram.infi.net>...
>Where does it allow you to disable drivespace? I have no compressed
Go to the My Computer icon, and right-click on your hard drive. Select
Properties, then go to the Compression tab. You should be able to see the
compression options selected for your drives, and/or disable them if you have
enough free space to do so. Of course if some of the partitions aren't
visible to your Win95 system, then you won't be able to affect them. If none
of your drives are compressed, and you haven't specifically included any
DriveSpace drivers in your setup, yet DriveSpace is showing up in low memory
when you boot to DOS, then you should contact your computer manufacturer: you
have a problem.
Underworld Dragon
(remove 'devnull' from address to reply)
Liang Yin
Just want to make sure you are doing everything everyone suggested, so
here's a checklist:
1) Do the above (Right clicking on Hard Drive thru My Computer) and make
sure disk compression is disabled for all drives
2) Make sure you can view hidden, system, and read-only files, and true
DOS filename extensions. (This is _not_ enabled by defualt in Windows
Explorer (under View-Options, check view all files and uncheck the one
about hiding extensions) ) Or do a 'attrib c:' at a DOS shell.
Delete any file in your root directory that looks like 'drvspace.sys'
This file should really be there if DriveSpace is loading. If it is
not there (I'm 99% sure it was in the root), check your windows\ and
windows\system\ directories.
Check to make sure it is deleted. Might have to change the file to
non-system/non-read-only/non-hidden to delete. Check again.
3) Optional: Go to Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Install/
Uninstall Win95 Plus Setup, uninstall DriveSpace (3.0?). Might as well
save yourself some disk space if your not gonna use it. Plus, this
should guarantee that DriveSpace is not on your system.
4) Optional but Recommended: Check your win.ini, system.ini in your
c:\windows\ directory for any references to DriveSpace or
drvspace.sys..
I'm not responsible if you screw up your system.. but the same thing
happened to me and I fixed it. End of story for me. Item #2 from above
is the main thing. As I said in a previous post, my system did not come
like that. I believe installing Win95 Plus or using System Agent did
that. You do have Win95 Plus! installed?
And as I said before, certain drivers are loaded by default even if you do
not specify them in your config.sys/autoexec.bat. 'ifshlp.sys' is one of
them, and as i said before, you can get around that. My DOS7 boot config
does not load that. I don't use that Win95 DOS setup dialog crud.. but
try replacing the 'DOS=HIGH' line with 'DOS=UMB,HIGH,NOAUTO' (the noauto
one is the only key one here)
Liang Yin
Erinn
>Where does it allow you to disable drivespace? I have no compressed
On C root, the file msdos.sys
You can tell Win95 not to load DrvSpace or DblSpace by adding these lines
under [Options]
DblSpace=0
DrvSpace=0
This will, however, affect every boot. You don't wnat to do this if you
do have a doubled drive.
--
Erinnyes Dragon -==(UDIC)==-
http://fly.HiWAAY.net/~ssweargn/
UDIC d+++ e+ N++ T+ Om++ U1!2!3!4!5!6!7'!S'!8!AWML u+ uC+
uF- uG+++ uLB+ uA++ nC+ nH+ nP nI nPT nS++ nT xS a42
William Silly Dragon Wue(2xP)elma(2xN)
On Wed, 05 Nov 1997 13:03:22 -0800, Ng Ying Tat <exa...@sol.com.sg>
hypothesized:
<snip>
>> and when i try to run the game it tells me to run in dos mode (i
>> expected). but when i created a boot disk with a config.sys that loads
>> just device=c:\himem.sys dos=high files=20 and my autoexec just loads
>> my mouse driver, when i go to play the game from my serpent directory, it
>> never starts but comes back, in a different resolution (probably the
<snip>
>> when if i check
>> my mem, it tells me that i have 31meg free and 599 conventional free.
>> msdos is resident in high memory. i have no idea what to do. someone
>
>I have the same system as yours.
>This is what my config.sys contain:
>DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
>REM DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE RAM
>BUFERS=15,0
>FILES=40
>DOS=UMB
>LASTDRIVE=Z
>FCBS=4,0
>DOS=HIGH
>STACKS=9,256
>REM DEVICEHIGH=\PCAUDIO\SLCD.SYS /D:SONY_010 /B:300 /M:P /V /C
>REM DEVICEHIGH = C:\CDROM\WCD.SYS /D:WP_CDROM
I'm not sure if 20 file handles is enough for U7, that might be part
of the problem. You should really set it to about 60, unless 1000
bytes or so of conventional memory would make the difference between
being able to run the game or not. But in general, 60 handles should
be enough for most applications. 599Kb is enough conventional memory,
and the amount of extended memory is, for all intents and purposes,
irrelevant (so long as its more than 1Mb)
Incidentally, for the config file presented here, I'm not sure that
setting FCBs or stacks has any effect anymore. I thought FCBs went out
of style with DOS 1 or, maybe, 2, and you haven't had to allocate
stacks since DOS 4 or so.
-----------------------------------
The Silly Dragon
Reply-To: willy (at) magma (dot) ca
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