================================================================================ USING RAMDRIVE WITH WINDOWS ================================================================================ First, follow the installation instructions provided by your extended memory board manufacturer. Next, copy the file, RAMDRIVE.SYS, from the Utilities Disk to your fixed disk. Then add the following command line to your CONFIG.SYS file: device=[drive:][path]RAMDRIVE.SYS [bbbb] [ssss] [dddd] [/E or /A or /U] Note that only one of /E, /A, or /U may be specified. If you do not specify one of these three, then RAMDrive will use system memory for RAMDrives. It is almost always a bad idea to use conventional memory for a ramdrive as it will significantly reduce the performance of Windows. Running ramdrive in extended (/E), expanded (/A), or on an AT&T 6300 Plus (/U) is much preferred. Following is an explanation of the parameters: NOTE: Information in a RAMDrive will be lost when you re-boot. This is due to the fact that the bootstrap code clears this memory. [bbbb] The first numeric argument, if present, is the amount of memory in kilobytes to be used as your RAMDrive. If no numeric arguments are specified, then the default value is 64K. The minimum amount of memory needed is 16K; the maximum amount of memory possible is 4096K. [ssss] The second numeric argument, if present, is the sector size in bytes. If a second numeric argument is not specified, the default is 512 bytes. The four possible values are 128, 256, 512, and 1024 bytes. NOTE: With IBM PC-DOS or Olivetti DOS the maximum value allowed is 512 bytes. With MS-DOS 1024 bytes is the maximum value. [dddd] The third numeric argument, if present, is the number of root directory entries. If no third numeric argument is specified, then the default is 64. The minimum number of entries needed is 2; the maximum number allowed is 1024. NOTES: The value is rounded up to the nearest sector size boundary. In the event that there is not enough memory to create the RAMDrive volume, RAMDrive will try to make a DOS volume with 16 directory entries. This may result in a volume with a different number of entries than was specified. /E Specifies that extended memory is to be used for the RAMDrive. /A Specifies that expanded memory is to be used for the RAMDrive. In this case, you must have your memory board configured for expanded memory and the appropriate driver software (such as EMM.SYS, REMM.SYS, AEMM.SYS, etc.) must be loaded BEFORE the RAMDrive software. See the readme file for your expanded memory board for more information. /U Specifies that some or all of the 384K of upper extended memory on the AT&T 6300 PLUS motherboard is to be used as an extra RAMDrive. You may only specify this parameter with an AT&T 6300 PLUS. There is 1K of RAMDrive overhead. Only 383K is available for RAMDrives. This overhead is constant; it does not depend on the number of RAMDrives installed. ================================================================================ ERROR MESSAGES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: RAMDrive: Computer must be PC-AT, or PC-AT compatible Explanation: The /E switch was specified on a computer other than an IBM PC AT ( or 100% compatible ), AT&T 6300 PLUS, or a 386 with extended memory. Result: RAMDRIVE.SYS was not installed. Solution: Remove the /E parameter. Try installing RAMDrive in system memory. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: RAMDrive: No extended memory available Explanation: Your computer has no memory available for RAMDrives. Result: RAMDRIVE.SYS was not installed. Solution: Free some extended memory or obtain more memory. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: RAMDrive: Insufficient memory Explanation: Your computer has some memory available, but not enough to set up a RAMDrive. Result: RAMDRIVE.SYS was not installed. Solution: Free some extended memory or obtain more memory. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: RAMDrive: Invalid parameter Explanation: The parameters you specified in your CONFIG.SYS entry for RAMDRIVE.SYS are not correct. Result: RAMDRIVE.SYS was not installed. Solution: Check to see if you specified too many parameters, if one of your numeric parameters is not valid, if you specified conflicting switches ( i.e. only one of /E /A or /U may be specified ), or if you specified too many switches. Change the RAMDRIVE.SYS command line in your CONFIG.SYS file to conform to the usage described above. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: RAMDrive: Incorrect DOS version Explanation: RAMDrive requires DOS 2.X or DOS 3.X. Windows 2.0 requires DOS 3.0 or higher. Result: RAMDRIVE.SYS was not installed. Solution: Upgrade to DOS 3.0 or higher. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: RAMDrive: I/O error accessing drive memory Explanation: During the set up of the RAMDrive, an error was detected in the memory being accessed for RAMDrive. Result: RAMDRIVE.SYS was not installed. Solution: Run the memory test for the memory on which you were attempting to install a RAMDrive. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: RAMDrive: Expanded Memory Manager not present Explanation: You included the /A switch in the RAMDrive command line, but RAMDrive could not find the expanded memory manager because your CONFIG.SYS file does not contain the appropriate information. Result: RAMDRIVE.SYS was not installed. Solution: Consult your expanded memory card documentation for correct installation instructions. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: RAMDrive: Expanded Memory Status shows error Explanation: DOS detected an error in your expanded memory adapter while trying to install RAMDrive. Result: RAMDRIVE.SYS was not installed. Solution: Consult your expanded memory adapter documentation on memory errors. ================================================================================ OTHER MESSAGES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: Microsoft RAMDrive version Y.YY virtual disk [drive:] Explanation: RAMDrive Header message. Y.YY is the version of RAMDrive; [drive:] is the DOS drive letter assigned to this RAMDrive. NOTE: On DOS 2.X the "virtual disk d:" part of this message will not be printed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: Disk size: x k Sector size: x bytes Allocation unit: x sectors Directory entries: x Explanation: This message tells how many kilobytes of memory were assigned to the RAMDrive, how many bytes there are in a sector, how many sectors there are in an allocation unit, and how many root directory entries there are (including the volume label). ================================================================================ END OF RAMDRIVE.TXT ================================================================================