Day-to-day running Win 9x/ME with more than 1 GiB RAM

[dencorso 1,348]

Notice: This thread has been reorganized to enhance its reference value, so that the Links Index is now here on post #1.

If you want the User's Configurations List itself, it is now located on post #2, below.

====================================================

All MSFN threads relevant to running Win 9x/ME with more than 1 GiB RAM:

====================================================

• Win9x: More than 512 MB of RAM? (obsolete, link provided in view of historic value only)
• 512 RAM, Can I install more than 512 MB of RAM? (obsolete, has only historical value)
• 512 MB RAM and above?, Myth or Fact? (relevant only from tscharlii's post #20 onwards)
• "Not Enough Memory" error discussion, Possible fix found...
• Puzzling Registry Size Issue
• VCACHE fix attempt
• Help I need to Get 2GB installed RAM working in Win98SE
• Windows 98SE 2GB RAM Out of memory when opening DOS command prompt
• 1.5GB and some trouble with them..., another few bugs discovered and descripted
• How to install Windows 98 in modern motherboards using more than 1 GB (Tutorial)
• Is this Win98SE patch for 4GB use a scam?
• Okay, I have win98se working mostly great on a 2GB P4
• Problem reinstalling me/xp
• Physical Adress Extension and Windows 9x
• Guide to running Me above RAM memory limit?
• Windows 95 2.1GHz CPU Limit BROKEN!
• Optimal Swap file size, etc.
• Unusual memory issue
• More than 1 GiB in Win9x safe mode? (*Do read this:* it's Usher's Method)
• Using more than 512mb ram Update Fix?
• RLoew's non-XMS Ramdisk and related Software (*Do read this:* it's the most up-to-date)

=================================

Noteworthy specific posts inside MSFN threads:

=================================

Igor Leyko's Article (in English, translated by GreyPhound) and also Igor Leyko's Article (in Russian, the original text)

cluberti on 32bit Windows not seeing all 4GB of RAM

dencorso on how to remove ACPI and APM

diskless on the relationship among XMSDSK, MaxFileCache and the number of simultaneous DOS boxes

xRayeR on HIMEMX and xRayeR on accessing Safe Mode with more than 1 GiB RAM

RLoew on XMSDSK's limitations (I) and (II), RLoew on HIMEMX's limitations and RLoew on SwapFile limitations (I) and (II) *Do read these 5 linked posts!*

Multibooter on software which is buggy/unreliable with 2GB RAM *Do read this!*

Offler on MaxPhysPage

Dave-H on solving the Registry Size Limitation Issue using the RAM Limitation Patch v. 6.0

dencorso on ramdisk performance tests

Usher on accessing Safe Mode without any patched files with more than 1 GiB RAM

============================

Landmark thread elsewhere from 2005:

============================

Andrew Aronoff's (13 May 2005 02:11 GMT): Post #5, in "Can't start up with 2 GB RAM".
First known report of successfully running Win 98SE with 2 GiB RAM!
Alternate link for full thread at: GNT. Attached is a .pdf version of it, too.

==================================================

MSKB articles relevant to running Win 9x/ME with more than 1 GiB RAM:

==================================================

Q108079 - 32-Bit File Access Maximum Cache Size

Q125691 - INFO: Overview of the Windows 95 Virtual Address Space Layout

Q181594 - Windows 95 Can Access Up to Two GB of RAM **

Q181862 - Specifying Amount of RAM Available to Windows Using MaxPhysPage

Q181966 - System Configuration Utility Advanced Troubleshooting Settings

Q184447 - Error Message: Insufficient Memory to Initialize Windows

Q223294 - INFO: The Windows 98 PageFile_Call_Async_Manager Service

Q253912 - "Out of Memory" Error Messages with Large Amounts of RAM Installed

Q304943 - Computer May Reboot Continuously with More Than 1.5 GB of RAM *

Q311871 - A blue screen appears when you start a computer with 1 GB or more of RAM *

* These latter two articles are misleading in that they include the statement: "Windows Me and Windows 98 are not designed to handle more than 1 GB of RAM", which simply is not true. Q311871 is included here just for the sake of completeness, and ought to be disregarded, as Igor Leyko, in 2005, had already pointed out.

** Likewise Q181594 is also misleading (see this post) and is included here just for the sake of completeness, since it gives the impression that Win 95 can use more than 1 GiB of RAM without any patching, which is not true.

==================================================

Software files relevant to running Win 9x/ME with more than 1 GiB RAM:

==================================================

LAST - FREE - Frank Uberto's XMSDSK v. 1.9I Ramdrive (direct download)

ONGD - FREE - Japheth's HIMEMX.EXE Homepage

LAST - FREE - Japheth's excellent VWin32 Memory Monitor Homepage (direct download)

ONGD - $$$$ - RLoew's Software Homepage, where one finds the RAM Limitation Patch

and the (beta) RAMDISKs, among other useful and unique software.

ONGD - FREE - Xeno86's modified VCACHE.VXD

====================================================

Maximum_Number_of_MS_DOS_Boxes.PDF

Igor_Leyko_Figs.7z

xRayeR_IO.SYS_Patcher.7z

Andrew_Aronoff_Cannot_start_up_with_2_GB_RAM.pdf

MSKB_Win9x_ME_with_more_than_512M_RAM.PDF

[dencorso 1,348]

As of Aug 17, 2016, there are 61 machines, owned by 37 members, running Win 9x/ME with more than 1 GiB RAM.
Of these, 35 machines are multiboot setups and 24 machines use the RAM Limitation Patch.

This list is sorted by amount of onboard RAM, then by member username in alphabetic order. An arabic numeral in parentheses beside the member username indicates machine number, for members having more than one machine in the list. Similarly, a roman numeral beside the member name denotes another configuration of the same machine, different enough to warrant another entry in the list. Since the aim of this list is to provide examples of working configurations, I see no point in removing a configuration proven to work just because the user found another, even better, working configuration (but such different configurations count as one machine only, of course, in the tally at the top of this post).

=====
64 GiB
=====

ragnargd (3)
========

OS: W98SE (SP 3.0d), Windows XP Pro 32bit, Windows 10 64bit Home, Multiboot
Memory: 32 GiB RAM (DDR3-1333 - 4x 8 GiB), of which W98SE sees 1GiB, XP sees 3,4 GiB, W10 sees 32GiB)
MB: ASRock 970 Pro3 R2.0 (with RLoew Interrupt-Fix for NVidia Driver)
CPU: AMD Opteron 3280 (8-core) 65W, passive cooling
GPU1: EVGA GeForce 7900 GTX 512 MB, AGP, 82.69 with RLoew Shutdown-/RAM-Fix (via VGA by W98SE)
GPU2: MSI GeForce GTX 950 (used by XP and W10 via DVI-D on same Monitor as above)
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
IO.SYS with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode
system.ini: ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1 ; MaxPhysPage=40000 ; MaxFileCache=393216 ; ChunkSize=4096

=====
32 GiB
=====

ragnargd (4) and (5)
=============
OS: W98SE (SP 3.0d), Windows XP Pro 32bit, Windows 10 64bit Home, Multiboot
Memory: 32 GB RAM (DDR3-1333 - 4x 8 GB), of which W98SE sees 1GB, XP sees 3,4 GB, W10 sees 32GB)
MB(4): GigaByte GA-870A-USB3 Rev. 3.1
MB(5): ASRock 890FX-Deluxe5 (with RLoew Interrupt-Fix for NVidia Driver)
CPU: AMD Opteron 3280 (8-core) 65W, passive cooling
GPU1: EVGA GeForce 7900 GTX 512 MB, AGP, 82.69 with RLoew Shutdown-/RAM-Fix (via VGA by W98SE)
GPU2: MSI GeForce GTX 950 (used by XP and W10 via DVI-D on same Monitor as above)
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
IO.SYS with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode
system.ini: ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1 ; MaxPhysPage=40000 ; MaxFileCache=393216 ; ChunkSize=4096

RLoew (9)
=======
OSes: Windows 98SE / MSDOS 7.10 / Windows Me / Windows 7 (32-Bit MBR, 64-Bit MBR and 64-Bit UEFI) / Windows 8 (64-Bit MBR and 64-Bit UEFI) /  UBUNTU Linux 14.04.1 (32-Bit MBR and 64-Bit UEFI).
RFDISK Extended Multi-Boot Profile MBR + GPT.
Memory: 32 GiB (4x 8 GiB DDR3 DIMMs; 3464 MiB available to Win 98SE; 29182 MiB available to RAMDISKs and 64-Bit Memory SDK)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41
CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K Eight Core
Video: Default VGA Only at present
Sound: None at present
Ethernet Card: RTL8111E (buggy Tenda Driver)
3 Removable SATA Trays
4TB SATA Hard Drive currently installed
SATA Blu-Ray Writer
TBPLUS Disk Package
CONFIG.SYS:
DEVICE=C:\HIMEMEX.SYS /S /V ; used with RAMDSK64 and 64-Bit Memory SDK.
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=64
AUTOEXEC.BAT:
SPLIT8MB
RAMDSK64 T: 6000000 (6GB non-XMS RAMDISK For Internet Temporaries)
Remaining 64-Bit RAM reserved for 64-Bit RAM and Multi-Core SDKs.
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd: 4.10.0.2222, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2226 with RAM Limitation Patch 7.1 (with /M and /P Options plus SPLIT8MB)
 
RLoew (8)
=======
OSes: Windows 98SE + Windows 95, ME, 3.11 and XP SP3 + MSDOS 7.10, using RFDISK Multi-Boot Profile MBR
Memory: 32 GiB (4x 8 GiB DDR3 DIMMs; 3069 MiB available to Win 98SE; 29692 MiB available to RAMDISKs and 64-Bit Memory SDK)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 (onboard Ethernet and Sound Disabled: No Win 9x Drivers); USB 3 (XP Only)
CPU: AMD FX-8120 Eight Core
Video Card: NVIDIA 7200GS PCI-E (with 81.98 Driver, with shutdown problem)
Sound Card: Envy24
Ethernet Card: RTL8139
2 Removable SATA Trays
1TB SATA Hard Drive currently installed
Blu-Ray Writer
TBPLUS Disk Package
CONFIG.SYS:
DEVICE=C:\HIMEMEX.SYS /S /V ; used with RAMDSK64 and 64-Bit Memory SDK.
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=64
AUTOEXEC.BAT:
RAMDSK64 R: 6000000 (6GB non-XMS RAMDISK For Internet Temporaries)
Remaining 64-Bit RAM reserved for 64-Bit RAM and Multi-Core SDKs.
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd: 4.10.0.2222, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2226 with RAM Limitation Patch 7.1 (with /M and /P Options)

=====
16 GiB
=====

ragnargd (2)
========
OS: Windows 98SE (German with 3.0d) , Windows XP Pro 64bit, Dualboot
Memory: 16 GiB RAM (DDRII-800 - 4x 4 GB), of which 98SE sees 1GB and , and XP64 sees 15,4 GB
Motherboard: Asrock AliveDual-eSATA2
CPU: Phenom II X4 910e (passive cooling)
GPU1: GigaByte GeForce 7600 256 MB, PCIe, passive cooling, 82.69 with RLoew Shutdown-Fix
GPU2: FoxxCon GeForce 7600 256 MB, AGP, passive cooling, 82.69 with RLoew Shutdown-Fix
(ex GPU: MSI GeForce 7950 GT 256 MB AGP, passive cooling, 82.69 with RLoew Shutdown-Fix)
(ex GPU: NoName GeForce 6200 256 MB AGP, passive cooling, 77.72)
98SE runs from IDE-HDD Samsung 80GB
XPx64 runs from SATAII-HDD Samsung 160GB
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
system.ini:
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
MaxPhysPage=40000 ; 1 GiB
MaxFileCache=393216
ChunkSize=4096
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd inside), VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226
IO.SYS with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode

RLoew (2)
=======
OSes: Windows 98SE + Windows 95, ME, 3.11 and XP SP3 + MSDOS 7.10, using RFDISK Multi-Boot Profile MBR
Memory: 16 GiB (4x 4 GiB DIMMs; 3070 MiB available to Win 98SE; 13312 MiB available to RAMDISKs and 64-Bit Memory SDK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H
CPU: AMD ATHLON X2 6000+
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6200 256MB PCI (with 77.72 Driver, without the shutdown problem)
Sound Card: CMI8738
Motherboard Ethernet: RTL8111
4x 2TB SATA Hard Drives
DVD Writer and Blu-Ray Writer
TBPLUS Disk Package
CONFIG.SYS:
DEVICE=C:\HIMEMEX.SYS /S /V ; used with RAMDSK64 and 64-Bit Memory SDK.
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=64
AUTOEXEC.BAT:
RAMDSK64 R: 2000000 (non-XMS RAMDISK For Internet Temporaries)
Remaining 64-Bit RAM reserved for 64-Bit RAM and Multi-Core SDKs.
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd: 4.10.0.2222, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2226 with RAM Limitation Patch 7.1 (with /M and /P Options)

=====
8 GiB
=====

Dave-H (2)
=======
OSes: Windows 98SE SP2.1a + Windows XP Pro SP3 + Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit MultiBoot
Memory: 8 GiB (4 x 2 GiB FB-DIMMs; 3071 MiB available for Win 98SE)
Motherboard: Supermicro X7DAL-E
CPUs: Two Quad Core 3.16 GHz X5460 Rev E0 Xeons
Video cards: PCI-e x16 ATI Radeon X600, with 256MB memory + PCI-e x4 nVidia Quadro 2000 with 1GB of memory (cannot be used on Windows 98SE)
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 7.0 (with /M Option)
* swapfile set to zero size *

ragnargd (6)
========
OS: W98SE (SP 3.0d), Windows XP Pro 32bit, Windows 10 64bit Pro, Multiboot
Memory: 8 GB RAM (DDRII-800 - 4x 2 GB), of which 98SE sees 1GB, XP sees 3,4 GB, and W10 sees 7,9 GB
MB: GigaByte GA-EP35-DS3R Rev 2.1
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550S 65W, passive cooling
GPU: EVGA GeForce 7900 GTX 512 MB, AGP, 82.69 with RLoew Shutdown-/RAM-Fix)
N.B.: onboard SATA must be off during W98SE installation
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
IO.SYS with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode
system.ini: ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1 ; MaxPhysPage=40000 ; MaxFileCache=393216 ; ChunkSize=4096

RLoew (7)
=======
OSes: Windows 98SE + Windows ME + MSDOS 7.10, using RFDISK Multi-Boot Profile MBR
Memory: 8 GiB (4x 2GiB DIMMs; 3327 MiB available to Win 98SE; 4736 MiB available to RAMDISKs and 64-Bit Memory SDK; 128 MiB for Video)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2HP
CPU: AMD PHENOM 8650 Triple Core
Video Card: NVIDIA FX5200 (with 81.98 Driver, without the shutdown problem)
AGP aperture: 128 MiB
Ethernet: RTL8168C/8111C
CONFIG.SYS:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=64
DEVICE=C:\HIMEMEX.SYS /S /V ; used with RAMDSK64 and 64-Bit Memory SDK.
AUTOEXEC.BAT:
RAMDSK64 P: 786432 (Maximum SWAP File size in this configuration); one of RLoew's non-XMS RAMDISKs
RAMDSK64 X: 2056320 (2GB FAT16 Partition); one of RLoew's non-XMS RAMDISKs
RAMDSK64 Y: 2056320 (2GB FAT16 Partition); one of RLoew's non-XMS RAMDISKs
Remaining 64-Bit RAM reserved for 64-Bit RAM and Multi-Core SDKs.
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 6.2 (with /M and /P Options)
Swapfile set to P: (RAMDISK)

=====
4 GiB
=====

cooksy (1)
=======
OS: Windows 98SE (German with SP2.1d)
Memory: 4 GiB RAM (DDRII-1066 - 2x 2 GiB Corsair Dominator XM2)
Motherboard: Asrock AliveDual-SataII
CPU: Phenom 940
Video card: Leadtek 7950gt (256 MB; PCIe)
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
MaxPhysPage=40000 ; 1 GiB
MaxFileCache=393216
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd inside), VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226, IO.SYS: with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode

Dave-H (1)
=======
OSes: Windows 98SE SP2.1a + Windows XP Pro SP3 MultiBoot
Memory: 4 GiB (4x 1 GiB DIMMs; 3071 MiB available for Win 98SE)
Motherboard: Supermicro X5DAE
CPUs: Two Xeons, both 3.2 GHz
Video card: XFX branded nVidia GeForce 7950GT AGP with 512 MiB VRAM
AGP aperture: 128 MiB
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 7.0 (with /M Option)
* swapfile set to zero size *

loblo (II)
======
OS: Windows ME
Memory: 4 GiB RAM (4x 1GiB OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Platinum; 3456 MiB available to Windows)
Motherboard: ASUS A8V Deluxe (BIOS 1018 Beta 2)*
CPU: AMD Opteron 154 (2.8Ghz)
Video card: XFX GeForce 7950 GT 512 MiB AGP (Aperture=64 MiB; with unofficial 82.69 drivers)**
Audio Card: ESI Juli@ ***
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MinFileCache=512
MinPagingFileSize=102400
MaxPagingFileSize=102400
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd: 4.90.0.3000, vmm.vxd: 4.90.0.3000 with RAM Limitation Patch 7.1 (with /A Option)
---------
* Hardware Memory Hole must be enabled in BIOS otherwise system won't boot.
** With 32 MiB AGP Aperture only 3328 MiB are (strangely) available to Windows and with 128 or 256 MiB system won't boot.
*** Previously, a Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS was installed but refused to work unless the RAM was limited to 2054 MiB (i.e.: MaxPhysPage=80700).

MatureTech
========
OSes: Windows 98SE (among others) MultiBoot
Memory: 4 GiB DDR PC-3200 (4x 1 GiB Corsair Value Select)
Motherboard: MSI 865PE Neo3-F
CPU: Pentium 4 540 3.2 GHz (Prescott)
Video card: eVGA GeForce 6800 GT (256 MiB; AGP 8x)
AGP aperture: 256 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEMX.EXE
autoexec.bat: empty
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=40000 ; (1 GiB)
MaxFileCache=131072 ; (128 MiB)
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside)

ragnargd (1)
========
OS: Windows 98SE (German with SP2.1d) , Windows XP Pro 32bit, Windows 10 64bit Home, Multiboot
Memory: 4 GiB RAM (DDRII-677 - 2x 2 GB), of which 98SE sees 1GB and XP/W7 see 3,3 GB
Motherboard: ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 R2.0, with beta-bios-patch for 4GB (3.3GB) Ram
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 95W (passive cooling)
Video card: MSI GeForce 7950 GT 256 MB, AGP (passive), 82.69 with RLoew Shutdown-Fix
98SE runs from Transcend SSD320 32 GB IDE-SSD
XP runs from Super Talent Ultradrive GX MLC 32GB SATA-SSD
W10 runs from Super Talent Ultradrive GX MLC 128GB SATA-SSD
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
system.ini:
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
MaxPhysPage=40000 ; 1 GiB
MaxFileCache=393216
ChunkSize=4096
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd inside), VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226
IO.SYS with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode

RLoew (1)
=======
OS: Windows 98SE
Memory: 4 GiB RAM (3647 MiB available to Win 98SE; IO Space Bottom 31:24 set to E4)
Motherboard: ECS GeForce 6100SM-M
CPU: AMD Sempron 3400+
Video card: Radeon HD 2600 Pro (No Win9x Driver - Used Standard VGA) 512 MiB
Frame Buffer: 64 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS
autoexec.bat and system.ini: no relevant entries
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 5.0
motherboard drivers not available for Win9X

========
3.5 GiB
========

Tommy (2)
=======
OS: Windows 98 SE with uSP3 and KernelEx 4.52
Memory: 3.5 GiB RAM
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-965GM-S2 Revision 2.0
CPU: Pentium Dual Core E2220 @ 2.4GHz
HDD: Maxtor 80 GB (using Rloew's SATA patch)
Video card: nVIDIA Quadro FX 1500
Sound: Creative SoundBlaster Audigy LS
config.sys no relevant entries
autoexec.bat C:\NTFS\NTFSCHK.EXE /F /S
system.ini and system.cb no relevant entries
vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd and vmm32.vxd with Rloew's RAM Patch v7.1

=====
3 GiB
=====

dencorso (II)
=========
OSes: Windows 98SE (w/98SE2ME) + Windows XP SP3, MSDOS 7.10, Slax 2.1.6 & TinHat Linux MultiBoot
Memory: 3 GiB RAM (PC3200 - Kingston 3x 1 GiB @256 MHz, timings 2.5-3-3-7, 2T)
Motherboard: ASUS A7V600-X
CPU: Athlon XP-M 2800+ @2333 MHz
Video card: MSI MS-8817 V1 nVidia GeForce2 MX400 PRO32S (32 MiB; AGP 4x)
AGP aperture: 64 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEMEX.SYS /S /A:180000 /V ; part of RAMDISK3, must be 1st entry, before HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:ON /EISA /V
INSTALL=RAMDISK3.COM N: 1572864 ; one of RLoew's non-XMS (beta) RAMDISKs
autoexec.bat:
LABEL N: MS-RAMDRIVE
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=5FF000 ; 1535 MiB
ChunkSize=2048
VCACHE.VxD: Xeno86's (4.10.0.2223), VMM.VXD (4.10.0.2226) and VMM32.VXD (real mode) both with RAM Limitation Patch 6.0 (with /M Option)

Kwibus
=====
OSes: Windows 98SE & Widows 2k MultiBoot
Memory: 3 GiB DDR PC-3200 (2x 512 MB and 2x 1 GiB @ 167 MHz)
Motherboard: A8n-E (with nForce 4 ultra chipset)
CPU: Athlon 64 X2 3800+
Video card: Gforce 6800 PCI-e (256 MiB)
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=48000; (Windows sees 1150 MiB)
vmm.vxd: plain vanilla 4.10.0.2222; vmm32.vxd (real mode) and vcache.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch Demo 6.0 (with /M Option -- Without these patches the graphics card appeared to have more than 2 GiB RAM to dxdiag and directx 9 stopped working.)

StarRiver
======
OSes: Windows 98 SE & Windows XP MultiBoot
Memory: 3 GiB (PC3200 2x 512 MiB and 2x 1 GiB)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE 8IPE1000-G
CPU: Intel Pentium4 Prescott 3.5 GHz
Video card: Gainward Nvidia 6800Ultra (256 MiB; AGP 8x)
AGP aperture: 256 MB
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEMX.EXE
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
MaxPhysPage=48000 ; 1152 MiB (Windows sees 1150 MiB)
MaxFileCache=65535 ; 64 MiB
ChunkSize=1024
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside)

[dencorso 1,348]

=====
2 GiB
=====

aleksej
=====

OS: Windows 98SE (Russian with MDCU Service Pack)
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (DDR PC3200 - 2x 1 GiB Kingston)
Motherboard: Soltek SL-XP865G-3IG
CPU: Pentium IV 3.4 Ghz Northwood S478 @ 3.4 Ghz
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra 256mb AGP
config.sys, autoexec.bat and system.ini: no relevant entries
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 7.0 (with /M Option)

cooksy (2)
=======

OS: Windows 98SE (German with SP2.1d)
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (DDRII-800 - 2x 1 GiB Corsair Dominator)
Motherboard: Asrock 4coreDual-Sata2 R2.0
CPU: Pentium Dual Core 5200 @ 220 MHz/2.75 GHz
Video card: nvidia 7900gs noname (256 MiB; PCI-e)
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
MaxPhysPage=40000 ; 1 GiB
MaxFileCache=393216
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd inside), VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226, IO.SYS: with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode

cooksy (3)
=======

OS: Windows 98SE German with SP2.1d
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (DDR-400 - 4x 512 MiB from different suppliers)
Motherboard: Dell GX270
CPU: Pentium 4 3.4 GHz Prescott
Video card: nvidia 7900gt noname (256 MB; AGP; 700 MHz)
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
MaxPhysPage=40000 ; 1 GiB
MaxFileCache=393216
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd inside), VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226, IO.SYS: with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode

Cyker
====

OSes: Windows 98SE+SP2.1a (D:), Windows 2000+SP4 (W:),DOS 6.22 (C:), Gentoo Linux (sde2) MultiBoot
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (4x 512 MiB DDR-PC2700 DIMMs)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-K8NSC-939
CPU: AMD Athlon64 939 4000+
Video cards: (1)Sapphire Atlantis ATI Radeon 9200SE PCI 128 MiB, (2)nVidia GeForce 7950GT AGP 512 MiB
and (3,4) [Creative Labs & Orchid] Voodoo2 PCI 128 MiB SLI
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
EMMExclude=C000-CFFF
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 6.1

frankminek
=======

OSes: Windows ME & Windows XP SP3 MultiBoot
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (PC3200 - Kingston 2 x 1 GiB)
Motherboard: MSI 865PE Neo3-V
CPU: Pentium 4
Video card: MSI FX5500 TD128LF 128 MB
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=7CB00 ; 1995 MiB
MaxFileCache=504192 ; 492 MiB
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.90.0.3000 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside)

geoc
===

OSes: Windows 98SE (with 98SE2ME) & Windows XP SP2 MultiBoot
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (DDR2 Kingston Dual-Channel 667 MHz)
Motherboard: Asrock 4COREDUAL-SATA2
CPU: P4 631 3GHz
Video card: Nvidia Geforce FX5200 (128 MiB)
AGP aperture: 32 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /METHOD:FAST /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
STACKS=0,0
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=40000
EMMExclude=C000-CFFF
VCACHE.VxD: Xeno86's 4.10.0.2223, vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vmm.vxd inside), IO.SYS: with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode

glocK_94
======

OSes: Windows 98SE & Windows XP SP2 MultiBoot
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (2x 1 GiB)
Motherboard: Asrock 4CoreDual-Sata 2
CPU: Intel Core2Quad Q6600 @2.40Ghz
AGP card: Nvidia GeForce 6200 128 VRAM
AGP aperture: 64 MiB
PCI-e card: Nvidia Geforce 8800 GT OC 512 VRAM
config.sys: device=himem.sys
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini: no relevant entries
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 5.0

halohalo (1)
========

OSes: Windows 98SE & Windows 2000 SP4 Multiboot
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (2x 1 GiB)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-8I865PE775-G-RH (rev. 4.9)
CPU: Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5300 @ 2.6Ghz
Video card: ATI Radeon X800PRO 256MiB
AGP aperture: 128 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /MAX=1048576 /NUMHANDLES=64 /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=48000
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
MaxFileCache=400000
Chunksize=4096
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside), IO.SYS: with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode

halohalo (2)
========

OSes: Windows 98SE & Windows 2000 SP4 Multiboot
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (2x 1 GiB)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-K8A480M-9
CPU: AMD Opteron 154}
Video card: ATI Radeon X850XT (256 MiB; PCIe)
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /MAX=1048576 /NUMHANDLES=64 /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=48000
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
MaxFileCache=400000
Chunksize=4096
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside), IO.SYS: with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode

Jolaes
====

OSes: Windows 98SE (w/98SE2ME)
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (2 x 1 GiB Corsair XMS DDR RAM @ 500 MHz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte K8NSC-939
CPU: Opteron 170 @ 2.6 Ghz
AGP card: Nvidia GeForce 7600GS AGP 256 MiB
AGP aperture: 256 MiB
config.sys:
device=HIMEM.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /V
install=split8mb.exe
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
Chunksize=512
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 7.0 (with /A /M Options)

krelian
=====

OSes: Windows 98SE & Windows XP & Ubuntu 8.04 Multiboot
Memory 2 GiB RAM (DDRII-800 - 2x 2 GiB Corsair XMS2)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P31-ES3G
CPU: Pentium Dual E6500
Video card: Ati Radeon X550 (256 MB; PCIe)
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=48000 ; 1150 MB
system.cb:
MaxPhysPage=48000 ; 1150 MB
VCACHE.VxD: Xeno86's 4.10.0.2223, VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226

Lecco
====

OS: Windows 98SE
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (DDR2 Kingston Dual-Channel)
Motherboard: MSI P31 Neo V2
CPU: Intel Core2Duo E6850 (3.0 GHz, 1333 MHz, 4 MiB L2)
Video card: Nvidia Geforce 7900GS Extreme
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /MAX=1186816 /NUMHANDLES=64 /METHOD:FAST /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=46000 ; 1118 MiB
MaxFileCache=261120 ; 256 MiB
VCACHE.VxD: original 4.10.0.2222, vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vmm.vxd inside), IO.SYS: with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode

loblo (III)
======

OS: Windows ME
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (2x 1GiB OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Platinum)
Motherboard: ASUS A8V Deluxe (BIOS 1018 Beta 2)*
CPU: AMD Opteron 154 (2.8Ghz)
Video card: XFX GeForce 5200 512 MiB AGP (Aperture=64 MiB; with unofficial 82.69 drivers)**
Audio Card: ESI Juli@
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MinFileCache=512
MinPagingFileSize=102400
MaxPagingFileSize=102400
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd: 4.90.0.3000, vmm.vxd: 4.90.0.3000 with RAM Limitation Patch 7.1 (with /A Option)
---------
* Hardware Memory Hole must be enabled in BIOS otherwise system won't boot.
** With 32 MiB AGP Aperture only 3328 MiB are (strangely) available to Windows and with 128 or 256 MiB system won't boot.

loblo (I)
=====

OS: Windows ME
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (2x 1GiB OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Dual Channel Platinum)
Motherboard: ASUS A8V Deluxe (BIOS 1018 Beta 2)
CPU: AMD Opteron 154 (2.8Ghz)
Video card: XFX GeForce 7800 GS Extreme Edition 256MB (using unofficial 82.69 drivers)
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=7CB00 ; 1995 MiB
MaxFileCache=404294
MinPagingFileSize=102400
MaxPagingFileSize=102400
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.90.0.3000 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside)

LoneCrusader (1)
===========

OSes: Windows 98SE, Windows XP & RedHat Linux 9 Multiboot
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (PNY Optima DDR333 - 2x 1 GiB)
Motherboard: Soyo SY-P4I845PE-ISA
CPU: Pentium 4 3.06 GHz/512/533 with Hyper Threading
Video card: ATI Radeon 9800 XT 256 MiB AGP
AGP Aperture: 64 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS
autoexec.bat and system.ini: no relevant entries
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 7.0 (with /M Option)

LoneCrusader (2)
===========

OSes: Windows 98SE, Windows XP Pro SP3 (FAT32), Windows XP Pro SP3 (NTFS) & OpenSUSE 11.0 Multiboot
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (Kingston KVR333 - 1x 1 GiB, 2x 512 MiB)
Motherboard: Soyo SY-P4I845PE Lite
CPU: Pentium 4 2.8 GHz/512/533
Video card: ATI Radeon 7000 VE 64MB AGP
AGP Aperture: 64 MiB
autoexec.bat, config.sys and system.ini: no relevant entries
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 7.0

Multibooter
=======

OS: Windows 98SE & Windows XP MultiBoot
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (PC3200 2x 1 GiB)
Motherboard: ASUS P5PE-VM
CPU: Intel core 2 duo E4500 @ 2200 MHz (core 2 duo E2200 also worked Ok)
Video card: nVIDIA 7800 GS OC (256 MiB; AGP 8x)
* NO shutdown problems after fiddling with GeForce (77.72) driver *
AGP aperture: 128 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEMX.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /VERBOSE /LOG
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=48000 ; 1150 MiB
MaxFileCache=131072 ; 128 MiB
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside)

RetroWish
=======

OS: Windows 98SE (with Gape's uSP2.1)
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (2 x 1 GB PC3200 unbuffered non-ECC DDR DIMMs)
Motherboard: ASUS P4S800-MX
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz
Video card: SiS Real256E integrated graphics (onboard)
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEMX.EXE
INSTALL=C:\WINDOWS\XMSDSK.EXE 393216 /T
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini and system.cb (Usher's Method):
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
MaxPhysPage=48600 ; 1158 MiB
MaxFileCache=393216
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd inside), VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226.

risk_reversal
========

OSes: Windows 98SE & Windows XP Home SP1 MultiBoot
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (2x 1GiB DDR Dual Channel 400 MHz Corsair XMS)
Motherboard: Asus A8V DeLuxe Rev2.0, Via K8T800Pro
CPU: AMD 939 A64 4000+ [san Diego core]
Video card: nVidia BFG 6800GT OC AGP 256 MiB (370x1000)
AGP aperture: 64 MiB
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxFileCache=262144
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 7.0

rldelrosario
=======

OS: Windows ME
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (2x 1 GiB)
Motherboard: P4X333-8235
CPU: Intel P4 2.0GHz
Video card: nVidia GeForce FX5500 256 MB (AGP 4x)
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=48000 ; 1150 MiB
MaxFileCache=131072 ; 128 MiB
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.90.0.3000 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside)

RLoew (3)
=======

OS: Windows 98SE
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (A-Byte) (32MB Reserved)
Motherboard: Shuttle FN41
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 1800+
Video card: Built in nVIDIA nForce2 32 MiB
AGP aperture: 64 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS
autoexec.bat and system.ini: no relevant entries
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 5.0

RLoew (4)
=======

OS: Windows 98SE
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (64 MiB Reserved)
Motherboard: ECS K8M800-M2
CPU: AMD Sempron 3000+
Video card: Built in VIA/S3 Unichrome Pro IGP 64 MiB
AGP aperture: 128 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS
autoexec.bat and system.ini: no relevant entries
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 5.0
Video Drive incompatible with some MaxPhysPage settings

RLoew (5)
=======

OS: Windows 98
Memory: 2 GiB RAM
Motherboard: ABIT AK32V
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2400+
Video card: All-in-Wonder Radeon
AGP aperture: 64 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS
autoexec.bat and system.ini: no relevant entries
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.1998 with RAM Limitation Patch 5.0

submix8c (II)
========

OS: Windows 98SE, Windows 2k3 & Windows XP Multiboot
Memory: 2 GiB (DDR400 1 GiB PNY / 1GiB SuperTalent)
Motherboard: PC-Chips P23G (v1.0)
Chipset: Via P4M800 Pro / Via VT8237
CPU: Intel Celeron-D 3.33 Ghz Socket775 (25x133MHz)
Video: nVidia GeForce4 MX 440 Dual-Head (AGP 4x) / Dual Monitors
AGP aperture: 128 MiB
Monitors: Primary - NEC AccuSync 90 / Ext-Dual - Dell E770s
Drivers for 98: ForceWare 71.84
AGP aperture: 128 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
system.ini (xRayeR's defaults):
MaxPhysPage=40000
MinFileCache=32768
MaxFileCache=261120
ChunkSize=4096
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside) IO.SYS: plain vanilla (4.10.0.2222) (with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode)

TmEE (3)
======

OS: Win98SE (4.10.2222A + KernelEx 4.5.1 + RP9.7.2 + AutoPatcher + SP3.03b)
Memory: 2 GiB RAM of PC3200 (4x 512 MiB), 1161 MiB seen by Windows
Motherboard: BCMCOM BC875PLG
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 (3.2GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MBytes cache)
Video card: Ati Radeon X850XT PE with 256 MiB VRAM (using Catalyst 6.2 drivers)
AGP aperture: 256 MiB
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
config.sys:
DEVICEHIGH=HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=64
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=48900
MaxFileCache=131072 ; 128 MiB
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
Chunksize=1024
Paging=off
VCACHE.VxD: Xeno86's 4.10.0.2223, VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226

TmEE (4)
======

OS: Win98SE (4.10.2222A + KernelEx 4.5.2 + RP9.7.2 + SP3.1x) + WinXP Pro SP3 dualboot
Memory: 2 GiB RAM of PC2700 (2x 1024 MiB)
Motherboard: HP NX6125 Laptop
CPU: AMD Turion 64 ML-40 (2.2GHz)
Video card: Ati Radeon Xpress200M with 32 MiB borrowed from main RAM (using modifie Catalyst 6.2 drivers)
AGP aperture: unknown
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
config.sys : DEVICEHIGH=HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=64
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=48000
MaxFileCache=131072 ; 128 MiB
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
Chunksize=1024
Paging=off
VCACHE.VxD: Xeno86's 4.10.0.2223, VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226

TmEE (5)
======

OS: Win98SE (4.10.2222A + KernelEx 4.5.2 + RP9.7.2 + uSP3.33) and Windows XP Pro SP3 dualboot
Memory: 2 GiB RAM of DDR2-800 (2x 1024 MB), 1152 MiB seen by Windows
Motherboard: Portwell RUBY-9719VG2AR
CPU: Core2 Duo E7300 (2660MHz, 3MB cache, FSB 1066MHz)
Video card: PCI-E Ati Radeon X550 with 128 MB VRAM (using Catalyst 6.2 drivers)
AUTOEXEC.BAT : no relevant entries
CONFIG.SYS :
DEVICEHIGH=HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=64
SYSTEM.INI:
MaxPhysPage=48000
MinSPs=16
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
LocalLoadHigh=1
DMABufferSize=64
MinFileCache=131072
MaxFileCache=131072
WindowUpdateTime=20
EMMExclude=C000-CFFF
PageBuffers=32
Paging=off
VCACHE.VxD: Xeno86's 4.10.0.2223, VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226

Tommy (1)
=======

OS: Windows 98 SE with uSP3 and KernelEx 4.52
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (2x 1GiB Crucial)
Computer: Dell Dimension 2400 Series
Chipset: Intel Brookdale-G i845GEV / ICH4
CPU: Pentium 4 Northwood 2.8GHz @ 533MHz FSB
Video card: PNY NVidia GeForce 6200 (AGP, 256MiB onboard RAM)
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS
autoexec.bat and system.ini: no relevant entries
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd: 4.10.0.2222, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2226 with RAM Limitation Patch 7.1 (with the /M Option)

vick1111
======

OSes: Windows 98 SE, Windows XP, Linux Mepis & Linux Kubuntu MultiBoot
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (PC2-6400)
Motherboard: Asrock 4coredual-sata2
CPU: Intel core 2 quad processor
Video card: RADEON 9600 XT AGP (0x4152) 128 MiB (set to 1280 X 1024 16 bit)
AGP aperture: 64 MiB
2x 250 Gib PATA HDDs & 2x 250 Gib SATA HDDs
PATA HDDs partitioned so as to have only one (small) fat 32 partition at the beginning.
Just connecting one SATA HD causes pc to stop at boot when RAID is not activated.
No problems found with SATA HDDs once RAID is activated in BIOS.
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEMX.EXE
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
MaxPhysPage=44000
MaxFileCache=393216
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside)

xRayeR
=====

OS: Windows 98SE
Memory: 2 GiB RAM (PC2-6400 Corsair)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L
CPU: Intel core 2 duo E4500 @ 2200 MHz (core 2 duo E2200 also worked Ok)
Video card: Asus EN7600GS Silent/HTD 256 MiB DDR2 PCI-E
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEM.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /METHOD:FAST /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=46000 ; 1118 MiB
;MaxPhysPage=488FF ; absolute maximum but rather keeping a safety margin
MaxFileCache=261120 ; 256 MiB
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside), IO.SYS: with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode

========
1.75 GiB
========

eidenk
====

OS: Windows ME
Memory: 1.75 GiB RAM (PC3200 - Samsung 1x 256 MiB and 1x 512 MiB and Nanya 1x 1 GiB)
Motherboard: Abit NF7S V2
CPU: Athlon XP 2600 Thoroughbred 2.02 GHz
Video card: nVidia GeForce2 MX400 PRO32S (AGP 4x)
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxFileCache=504192 ; 492 MiB
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.90.0.3000 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside)

=======
1.5 GiB
=======

bristols
=====

OS: Windows 98SE (w/98SE2ME)
Memory: 1.5 GiB RAM (PC2700 - Kingston 1x 512 MiB, Micron Technology 2x 512 MiB, @166 MHz, timings 2.5-3-3-7)
Motherboard: GigaByte GA-7VT600 1394
CPU: Athlon XP Barton 2800+ @2086 MHz
Video card: nVidia GeForce FX 5500 (256 MiB; AGP 8x)
AGP aperture: 128 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS /M:1
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=48000 ; 1150 MiB
MaxFileCache=114688 ; 112 MiB
ChunkSize=2048
VCACHE.VxD: Xeno86's 4.10.0.2223, VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226

Cyberguy
=======

OS: Windows 98SE
Memory: 1.5 GiB RAM (Legend and Nanya)
Motherboard: ASUS P3V4X Slot-1 (with Asus slot1 to socket370 converter and Lin-Lin coppermine to tualatin adapter)
CPU: Pentium III 1.4Ghz Tualatin
Video card: Sparkle nVidia Fanless GeForce 6200 (256 MiB; AGP 4x/8x @ 4x)
AGP aperture: 128 MiB
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=3E6FF ; (this value is the result of setting "Limit memory to 999 MB" in MSCONFIG's Advanced tab)
MaxFileCache=128000; 128 MiB
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside)

dencorso (I)
=========

OS: Windows 98SE (w/98SE2ME)
Memory: 1.5 GiB RAM (PC3200 - Kingston 1x 1 GiB, 1x 512 MiB @344 MHz, timings 3-5-5-9, 2T)
Motherboard: ASUS A7V600-X
CPU: Athlon XP-M 2800+ @2410 MHz
Video card: MSI MS-8817 V1 nVidia GeForce2 MX400 PRO32S (32 MiB; AGP 4x)
AGP aperture: 64 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEMX.EXE /NUMHANDLES=80 /TESTMEM:ON
INSTALL=XMSDSK.EXE 387072 N: /C1 /T /Y
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=48600 ; 1158 MiB
MaxFileCache=114688 ; 112 MiB
ChunkSize=2048
VCACHE.VxD: Xeno86's 4.10.0.2223, VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226

Offler
====

OS: Windows 98SE
Memory: 1.5 GiB RAM (PQI SDR SDRam 133 CL3 @ 158 CL2)
Motherboard: Abit VH6-T model "Immolator" (Via Apollo Pro 133T chipset)
CPU: Intel Pentium III-S Tualatin 1.26 GHz
Video card: Asus Radeon x850xt (256 MiB; AGP 4x)
AGP aperture: 16 (64 works, but causes problems with graphics with AGP @ 82 MHz)
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=128 /HMAIN=64 /TESTMEM:OFF /Q
DEVICE=EMM386.EXE RAM NOTR
autoexec.bat:
c:\dos\xmsdsk\xmsdsk.exe 524288 K: /C1 /T /Y (swapfile in ramdrive)
UMBFILL.COM (used as a prevention for rebooting: without it 700 MiB RAM is the maximum that works, with it 1 GiB RAM is usable by the system)
system.ini:
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=0
PagingDrive=K:
MinPagingFileSize=513264
MaxPagingFileSize=513264
MaxFileCache=32768
MinFileCache=32768
ChunkSize=512
vmm32.vxd: self-recompiled (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside)

ragnargd (7)
========

OS: W98SE (SP 3.0d)
Memory: 1,5 GB (DDR400 - 512 MB + 1 GB)
MB: Asus K8V-MX/S
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ So. 754, passive cooling
GPU: ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 256MB AGP, passive cooling
(GPU also ran: GeForce 4200 Ti AGP 128MB, passive cooling)
HDD1-IDE: W98SE / IDE-SSD SuperTalent EX2 MLC 32GB
Sound: TerraTec XFire 1024 PCI (onboard sound switched off, because no EAX)
NIC: Intel Pro 1000 MT PCI (onboard LAN switched off, because too slow...)
USB2: Onboard

relayer
=====

OS: Windows 98SE + Autopatcher + SP2.1a + 98SE2ME / Windows XP SP3 (dual boot)
Memory: 1.5 GiB RAM (Kingston 3x 512 MiB SDRAM @133 MHz)(maxed)
Motherboard: Asus CUV4X/VIA Apollo Pro 133Z chipset
CPU: Pentium III (Coppermine) @866MHz / FSB 133MHz
Video card: ATI 9800 Pro AIW (AGP 4/8x; 128MiB) with Angel's Omega Drivers
AGP aperture: 64 MiB
Sound: Creative Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro
HDDs: 40 GB Maxtor system disk & 80 GB Maxtor (both PATA; UDMA/66)
CONFIG.SYS:
DEVICEHIGH=C:\Windows\HIMEM.sys/NUMHANDLES=48
DEVICEHIGH=C:\Windows\EMM386.exe I=B000-B7FF NOEMS
System.ini: Conservative Swap File=1
[via Cacheman]
MinFileCache=131072
MaxFileCache=131072
ChunkSize=2048
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 7.1

RetroOS
======

OS: Windows 98SE (w/98SE2ME)
Memory 1.5 GiB RAM (PC133 CL3 - Infineon 2x 512 MiB + Kingston 512 MiB)
Motherboard: MSI 694D Pro (MS-6321)
CPU: Dual Pentium III EB CopperMine 866 MHz
Video card: Palit FX5500 nVidia GeForce FX 5500 (256 MiB; 128 bit; AGP 8x)
AGP aperture: 128 MiB (256 MiB works with 1 GiB, but not 1.5 GiB)
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
MaxPhysPage=4953E ; 1173 MiB, 1.146 GiB
MaxFileCache=101376 ; 99 MiB
Chunksize=1024
VCACHE.VxD: original 4.10.0.2222, VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226, IO.SYS: with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode

RLoew (6)
=======

OS: Windows 98SE
Memory: 1.5 GiB RAM (32MB Reserved)
Motherboard: Soyo P4VGA
CPU: Intel Celeron 2.40 GHz
Video card: Built in S3 Prosavage DDR 32 MiB
AGP aperture: 64 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS
autoexec.bat and system.ini: no relevant entries
vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 5.0

sanszajnrege
=========

OS: Windows 98SE and XP SP3
Memory: 1.5 GiB RAM (1024 MiB + 512 MiB)
Motherboard: msi k8n neo
CPU: Athlon 64 3000+ 2.1 GHz
Video card: Radeon 9550
AGP aperture: 128 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEMX.EXE
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=48000
vcache.vxd: Xeno86's 4.10.0.2223, vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vmm.vxd inside)

submix8c (I)
========

OS: Windows 98SE, Windows 2k3 & Windows XP Multiboot
Memory: 1.5 GiB / 1504 MiB (DDR333 512MiB Samsung/1GiB SuperTalent)
Motherboard: GigaByte GA-7VM400M-RZ
Chipset: Via VT8378 UniChrome KM400 / Via VT8235
CPU: AMD Sempron 2200+ 1.5 GHz SocketA (9x166MHz)
Video (Integrated): Via S3G KM400 UniChrome (AGP 4x - 32MiB Shared)
AGP aperture: 128 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.EXE /NUMHANDLES=64 /VERBOSE
(HIMEM.EXE is a renamed HIMEMX.EXE, for use with xRayeR's Safe Mode patch)
system.ini (xRayeR's defaults):
MaxPhysPage=40000
MinFileCache=32768
MaxFileCache=261120
ChunkSize=4096
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside) IO.SYS: plain vanilla (4.10.0.2222) (with xRayeR's patch for Safe Mode)

TmEE (1)
======

OS: Windows 98SE
Memory: 1.5 GiB RAM (PC3200)
Motherboard: Abit KV7 (VIA KT600 chipset)
CPU: Sempron 2500+ @ 1766MHz
Video card: Ati Radeon 9250 PRO (128 MiB; AGP 8x)
AGP aperture: 256 MiB
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=48DCB ; 1164 MiB
MaxFileCache=131072 ; 128 MiB
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
ChunkSize=2048
VCACHE.VxD: Xeno86's 4.10.0.2223, VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226

tscharlii
=====

OS: Windows 98SE
Memory: 1.5 GiB RAM (Dual Channel, PC3200 @ 333 MHz, 2x 512 MiB, 2x 256 MiB)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-7N400-L
CPU: Athlon XP 2600+
Video card: Ati Radeon 9600XT onBoard (128 MiB; AGP 8x)
AGP aperture: 128 MiB
config.sys:
DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS
autoexec.bat:
XMSDSK.EXE 524288 G: /t /y
system.ini:
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=0
PagingDrive=G:
MaxPhysPage=40000
MaxFileCache=65536
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.10.0.2222 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside)

=======
1.25 GiB
=======

piikea
====

OS: Windows ME
Memory: 1.25 GiB RAM (RDRAM - 2x 512 MiB and 2x 128 MiB)
Motherboard: Dell Dimension 8100 System
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 CPU 1400MHz
Video card: nVidia GeForce3 (AGP 4x)
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxFileCache=393216 ; 384 MiB
vmm32.vxd: plain vanilla (with 4.90.0.3000 vcache.vxd and vmm.vxd inside)

TmEE (2)
======

OS: Windows 98SE
Memory: 1.25 GiB RAM (PC133 2x512 1x256))
Motherboard: DFI CA-64BC
CPU: Intel Pentium III (Tualatin) @ 1.4GHz
Video card: Ati Radeon 9600XT, 128MB VRAM
AGP aperture: 128 MiB
config.sys and autoexec.bat: no relevant entries
system.ini:
MaxPhysPage=48B5D ; 1161 MiB
MaxFileCache=131072 ; 128 MiB
RemovableIDE=1
Chunksize=1024
VCACHE.VxD: Xeno86's 4.10.0.2223, VMM.VXD: original 4.10.0.2226

==================================================

I thank very much all the listed members, without whose help the above list wouldn't have been possible.

N.B.: All those who are in the list and find anything wrongly reported, please PM me and I shall correct it.
 

[SlugFiller 0]

You know, I'm not sure it technically count as running with more than 1GB memory, if you're actually limiting the memory and not using it.

I'm not sure if it's possible to actually get more than 1GB memory used by 9x, I'm not even sure which file you'd have to patch (probably a vxd), but it would be pretty cool if someone ever found out.

[rloew 254]

I'm not sure if it's possible to actually get more than 1GB memory used by 9x, I'm not even sure which file you'd have to patch (probably a vxd), but it would be pretty cool if someone ever found out.

It is definitely possible. I have actually used 3647MB of RAM with Windows 98 SE using my Patch. It actually requires at least 2 vxd files to be patched. If you look at my entries in the list at the beginning of this thread, you will notice I am not setting any limit on memory usage.

[RetroOS 1]

You know, I'm not sure it technically count as running with more than 1GB memory, if you're actually limiting the memory and not using it.

I'm not sure if it's possible to actually get more than 1GB memory used by 9x, I'm not even sure which file you'd have to patch (probably a vxd), but it would be pretty cool if someone ever found out.

The point is that when you put more than 1GB of RAM in a PC with Windows 9x, problems start to occur even when limiting the amount of RAM by using MaxPhysPage.

Various other parameters or drivers are generally needed to become stable. The more RAM, the worse the problem...

I currently have 1176924KB (1149MB, 1.122GB) of actual usable Windows memory reported from Windows Properties without any special patches installed. I've never seen Windows work so fast!

My mobo has 1.5GB installed. The manufacturer says that you can use up to 2GB of PC100 (four modules), but at PC133 (which I'm using), it is only stable with 1.5GB...

So, sometimes it also depends on your mobo...

Edited June 4, 2008 by RetroOS

[SlugFiller 0]

If you look at my entries in the list at the beginning of this thread, you will notice I am not setting any limit on memory usage.

vmm32.vxd (real mode), vcache.vxd, vmm.vxd: 4.10.0.2222 with RAM Limitation Patch 5.0

Doesn't this qualify as a limit?

When I say "without limiting" I mean that you'd actually be able to open a program allocating 2GB of RAM or more, without resorting to swap-memory (e.g. with virtual memory disabled). A RAM limitation patch won't do that...

I would think a solution that would do that would at least require patching himem.sys or something... (sorry for the abuse of "would")

[rloew 254]

The point is that when you put more than 1GB of RAM in a PC with Windows 9x, problems start to occur even when limiting the amount of RAM by using MaxPhysPage.

Various other parameters or drivers are generally needed to become stable. The more RAM, the worse the problem...

So far, I know only one person who had a system that did not work stably with 2GB or RAM using my Patch. I rewrote my Demo so people could check first.

I currently have 1176924KB (1149MB, 1.122GB) of actual usable Windows memory reported from Windows Properties without any special patches installed. I've never seen Windows work so fast!

That is approximately where the first memory table overflow occurs. That limit varies slightly with configuration and use of Safe Mode.

My mobo has 1.5GB installed. The manufacturer says that you can use up to 2GB of PC100 (four modules), but at PC133 (which I'm using), it is only stable with 1.5GB...

So, sometimes it also depends on your mobo...

My Soyo P4VGA has this problem. With 2GB the computer either doesn't boot or fails my memory test program.

This has nothing to do with Windows of course.

Doesn't this qualify as a limit?

When I say "without limiting" I mean that you'd actually be able to open a program allocating 2GB of RAM or more, without resorting to swap-memory (e.g. with virtual memory disabled). A RAM limitation patch won't do that...

When I said FULL USE, I meant it. I allocated over 3GB of RAM without using Swap. A single Program is limited to 2GB so I needed 2 Programs running.

The Patch doesn't set a RAM limit, it eliminates the limitation.

I would think a solution that would do that would at least require patching himem.sys or something... (sorry for the abuse of "would")

My earlier version did patch HIMEM.SYS because there was a problem at 2.9GB of RAM. My current version does not need to patch HIMEM.SYS

[SlugFiller 0]

When I said FULL USE, I meant it. I allocated over 3GB of RAM without using Swap. A single Program is limited to 2GB so I needed 2 Programs running.

The Patch doesn't set a RAM limit, it eliminates the limitation.

Sounds nice.

Edited June 4, 2008 by SlugFiller

[RetroOS 1]

...

So far, I know only one person who had a system that did not work stably with 2GB or RAM using my Patch...

My point was, that without patching the Windows VMM, configuration gets somewhat tricky the more RAM above 1GB is installed.

However, this topic highlights that it is possible to use Windows 9x on a PC with more than 1GB of RAM with just public domain information and patches (and even get over 1GB available to Windows).

rloew, I think your work is outstanding... but your results are here for comparative purposes only and (Forum Rules 13) not for actual product promotion.

[Th3_uN1Qu3 1]

I'll give this a shot sometime...

@ RetroOS, why a dualie? I have a dual-PIII machine too and it's really nice, but you know 98 can only work with one CPU anyway...

[RetroOS 1]

...

@ RetroOS, why a dualie? I have a dual-PIII machine too and it's really nice, but you know 98 can only work with one CPU anyway...

I multiboot with Windows XP, so I get both PIIIs then.

Windows 98SE is my primary OS, and I only use Windows eXtra Problems for the odd task.

It's also handy to confirm hardware operation if I have a problem in 98SE with a new piece of hardware...

[Offler 0]

some specifications for my computer:

- adding swapfile to ramdisk helped with 3d performance - 12.5 percent improve in 3dmark2001

- this is quite high-end gaming machine - all the best for the MOBO and Win98

- its purpose is mostly gaming and multimedia - everything fueled with overclocking

[rloew 254]

I have run some tests on RAMDISKs and XMSDSK in particular.

Conventional RAMDISKs use XMS memory, displacing Windows from said memory.

Windows 98SE maps this memory into the System Arena in the last GB of Virtual memory. This memory is also used for File Caching and VMs.

The larger the RAMDISK, the less File Cache is available. Looking at the list Dencorso assembled, you can see that the people who used a large XMSDSK in their setup ended up with a much lower setting for MaxFileCache. This limits RAMDISKs to not much more than 512MB so they can't be used to support 2GB of RAM without using MaxPhysPage. Some people have had problems relying on MaxPhysPage to limit memory.

XMSDSK has a bug in it that makes it work improperly above 2GB of RAM when the /T option is used.

I am working on RAMDISKs that don't use XMS Memory. One should be able to use the 64-Bit Memory in AMD Computers having 4GB or more RAM.

Edited June 9, 2008 by rloew

[dencorso 1,348]

@RLoew: It is reassuring to see that your tests support my conclusions (in posts #21 and #25, here: link) from my own tests and also from those reported by diskless (link) on where Windows maps the memory it doesn't control and the consequences this has.

This amounts to stating that 1.5 GiB is about the maximum RAM that can be used fully by Win 98SE (without the RAM Limitation Patch) plus XMSDSK: 1158 MiB or a little less to VMM and 378 MiB or a little more to XMSDSK, because much more will leave no space for the File Cache and any DOS Boxes. It should be added that, all other things remaining the same, it is also a good idea to use HIMEMX.EXE instead of HIMEM.SYS, because this allows for more DOS Boxes (as found out by xRayeR and confirmed by vick1111, see posts #70-#82, here: link), for reasons that are still not totally clear.

Win ME probably can do better, in this respect, since it is able to detect about 2 GiB, so probably it may also accept a 512 MiB XMSDSK, to attain about 2.5 GiB of fully used RAM...

Of course, the list in post #1 of this thread shows clearly that to run Win 98Se with lots of RAM, with part of it unused, perhaps for a multibooting machine, not only is possible, but is actually being done in a day-to-day basis by some of us.

Edited February 11, 2010 by dencorso