               HOW TO GIVE YOUR COMPUTER MORE CONVENTIONAL MEMORY

   The most common question we receive at ImagiSOFT is "I have eight megabytes
   of memory in my computer, why does your program say that there isn't enough
   conventional memory to run it?" When running our products from Windows the
   ambiguous message, "The KB Required value is too large.  Decrease PIF KB
   required."  also refers to insufficient conventional memory.  To adequately
   answer this question you need to know that your computer has several types
   of memory:

   Conventional Memory, the first 640K
   Upper Memory, the next 384K between 640K and 1 megabyte
   Extended Memory (XMS), memory above 1 megabyte (defined with EMM386.EXE)
   Expanded Memory (EMS), memory above 1 megabyte (defined with EMM386.EXE)

   Sound confusing? It is.  The primary thing to you need to know is that
   ImagiSOFT's DOS products run primarily in Conventional Memory.
   Conventional Memory is your computer's most precious resource--without it,
   few programs can run--even if you have eight megabytes of memory!  To check
   how your computer is using its memory, enter the command MEM /C and look
   for the column titled Conventional Memory. If it says you have less than
   550K free, your computer probably is not be configured properly.

   In 1983 the primary reason DOS 5.0 was so successful was that it came with
   a good memory management utility called HIMEM.SYS for 286 and 386
   computers. The purpose of HIMEM.SYS is to "Load High" into upper memory
   major portions of DOS, and other programs when you turn your computer on.

   MEMMAKER
   DOS 6.0 and DOS 6.2 now come with a host of useful DOS utilities including
   SCANDISK, DEFRAG, and a functional backup program. One of the most useful
   utilities is a memory optimization utility called MEMMAKER which, for most
   people, takes care of their memory woes. Enter the command MEMMAKER at your
   DOS prompt, and just press ENTER if you don't understand the questions as
   they appear on your screen. Your problems with insufficient conventional
   memory will likely disappear, and memory hungry programs such as Windows
   will run better.

   ADVANCED USERS
   If you have DOS 5.0 or if you are interested in learning what MEMMAKER is
   does to your computer, enter the command EDIT CONFIG.SYS at your C\> DOS
   prompt. If you have a 386 class computer, your CONFIG.SYS file should look
   similar to the following (upper or lower case isn't important):

   buffers=20 (number can vary)
   files=60 (number can vary)
   device=c:\dos\himem.sys (always include this line)
   device=c:\dos\emm386.exe noems (if you have 2 megs or more and a 386+)
   dos=high,umb (always include this line (no umb on 286))

   To optimize your memory, precede all memory resident .SYS, .EXE, and .COM
   programs in this file with "devicehigh = " instead of just "device =." For
   example, replace
   device = mouse.sys       with
   devicehigh = mouse.sys.
   In most cases, following these few steps will increase your memory
   dramatically by putting these programs in upper memory instead of
   conventional memory.

   After you are done editing CONFIG.SYS, EDIT AUTOEXEC.BAT.  Your
   AUTOEXEC.BAT file will usually have something similar to the following:
   verify on (optional)
   set home = c:\bingo (optional)
   prompt $p$g (could be different)
   path \dos;c:\util (probably much longer)
   loadhigh \dos\mouse.com (mouse driver)

   The important thing to remember with AUTOEXEC.BAT is to use the loadhigh
   command on all resident .EXE and .COM programs to put these programs into
   upper memory. For example, instead of loading the mouse into conventional
   memory with the command:
   \dos\mouse.com,
   loadhigh \dos\mouse.com
   puts the mouse driver into upper memory.

   When you are done making changes to CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT, reboot
   your computer. Enter the command MEM /C again, and you should see that your
   computer has much more conventional memory available. If these simple
   changes don't help, try changing the order in which these programs are
   loaded "high" to fill any "holes" you see in your memory map listed on the
   screen by the MEM utility.

   DESPERATION
   If you still need more Conventional Memory, your last option is to remove
   some of your memory resident programs with the "rem" statement. EDIT
   CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT again and insert REM in front of the .COM,
   .SYS, and .EXE files which you may not need. For most users a good start is
   changing:

   devicehigh = c:\dos\setver.exe to
   rem devicehigh = c:\dos\setver.exe

   The purpose of the SETVER utility is to make older DOS programs which must
   be run on a particular version of DOS, such as version 3.3. Few programs
   need this utility, and inserting the letters "rem" in front of this command
   removes it from your computer's memory. If you discover that you need this
   program later, EDIT CONFIG.SYS again and remove the "rem" from the
   beginning of the statement. Removing SETVER will give you about 2K
   additional conventional  memory.

   If you do not understand what the function of a .SYS or .COM program is,
   use the "When in doubt, take it out" philosophy.  Your computer will tell
   you if you remove something that it needs, such as a sound card driver or
   CD-ROM driver. You might get lucky and remove an old driver that you no
   longer need!

   SMARTDRV takes about 40K of conventional memory, and for many people,
   removing this program from memory makes sense.  SMARTDRV speeds up your
   hard disk access by using part of  your memory for temporary storage.
   Remove it, and if you discover that some programs are much slower than they
   were before, especially Windows, put it back.

                                 ImagiSOFT, Inc.
                                  PO Box 13208
                          Albuquerque, NM   87192-3208
                             (505) 275-1920 Support
                              (800) 767-1978 Orders
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