aurgathor Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I have Win98SE on an Athlon mobo with KM266 chipset, 768 meg of memory, and a Diamond FireGL 1000 Pro AGP graphics card. To get it to boot, I had to add:MaxPhysPage=10000 // tried 18000 first, but "protection error" MaxFileCache=393216 I'm a very heavy user of Ghost and I just discovered that it no longer works in DOS I can get to after "Restart in MS-DOS mode". Norton Ghost just doesn't start (nothing happens) and I have to use a DOS boot floppy to be able to use Ghost. Any idea on how to undo the effect of those two settings when exiting to DOS? I can use a floppy if I absolutely have to, but it's a royal PITA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sfor Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 If the MaxFileCache is too big, the DOS related applications stop running. Yo should try to decrease the MaxFileCache.In my case on 1GB RAM the MaxFileCache setting above 800000 prevents DOS applications from running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurgathor Posted April 25, 2012 Author Share Posted April 25, 2012 (edited) I changed the max cache to 256 meg, 128 meg, then 64 meg, and lastly, took it completely out, but to no avail -- Ghost would not run. That leaves MaxPhysPage, but I have a bad feeling about that....Edit: Had some time to test out various MaxPhysPage settings:1) Over 11,000 : just protection error in all cases I've tried 2) 10,001 to 11,000: 1001 ways Win98 can crash, and it was almost funny 3) 1580 to 10,000: Win98 normally boots fine, though at the lower end (under 80 meg or so) it may blue screen at some point for no apparent reason, Ghost does not work when restarting to DOS mode 4) 1579 and less -- Ghost works!! (1000 = 16 meg is the lowest I've tried, though) However, because of the amount of memory (~22 meg) Win98SE itself is somewhat unstable. Does anyone has an explanation, or at least a theory why this is the case?TIA Edited April 25, 2012 by aurgathor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
submix8c Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 ?I've used a Ghost v8 Bootable Floppy (PC-DOS version) with >1gb RAM and had no trouble. What version Ghost are you using?BTW, you said "Restart in MS-DOS mode" - that's not the same as "Pressing F8 -> Select Command Prompt Only) (and you'll need some "patched" files, AFAICR). Have you applied ANY patches suggested on MSFN, other than those you mentioned? There's also a "SYSTEM.CB" for Safe Mode... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurgathor Posted April 25, 2012 Author Share Posted April 25, 2012 Once I install W2K (which is currently blocked ) I think I may no longer have the option to boot W98 into command mode because F8 will bring up the boot menu for W2K, not for Win98, although there may be a way to add a 3rd entry for the boot menu, a command mode only Win98, which could bypass this issue. (never tried it, so I don't know if it's possible) Normally, after W2K is installed, I just boot into Win98, then restart into DOS mode to do the ghosting. As I've mentioned in the 1st post, when booting from a floppy, Ghost works fine regardless of the amount of memory. Aside from the standard MS stuff, the only 'patches' I currently have are: MD IE6SP1 and U98SESP3 (the last one is blocked due to blue screens) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
submix8c Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Did you look into the reply I gave in your other topic?Grub4DOS may do the F8 trick (unsure). And you may be able to immediately press F8 after selecting 98SE from the Boot Menu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sfor Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 I just do not get it. The MaxPhysPage and MaxFileCache should not affect a pure DOS application, when GUI is not runnig.As for the Windows 98 boot menu. Instalation of Windows 2000 does not mean there will be no windows 98 boot menu. In normal circumstances the Windows 98 boot menu appears after Windows 2000 boot menu. It just could be a bit difficult to hit F8 when necesary. In my case I do have Windows 98 menu forced through config.sys. But there is BootMenu=1 setting possibility in the msdos.sys, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dencorso Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 The correct MaxPhysPage for 736 MiB is 2E000, but you *do NOT* need to set it, because you've got less than 1100 MiB. What you do have is a memory-greedy Video card, which is eating up most of your System Arena. This subject has been beaten to death recently here, but there are *numerous* other posts about it from before those, all around the 9x/ME forum, but they're almost all in the threads listed in the 1st post of that thread I just gave you a link to. Moreover, Ghost itself is a memory greedy program, the DOS version of it is made to be run under pure DOS (with just himem.sys loaded from the config.sys), not from what you reach after using "Restart in MS-DOS Mode", which is near, but not exactly pure DOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurgathor Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 The correct MaxPhysPage for 736 MiB is 2E000, but you *do NOT* need to set it, because you've got less than 1100 MiB. That is incorrect. I determined by trial and error that I *do* need to set MaxPhysPage. But I did run another set of tests with the following settings, and got these - "results":not set - CONFIGMG: 2E000 - CONFIGMG:2C000 - CONFIGMG:2A000 - CONFIGMG:29000 - CONFIGMG27000 - CONFIGMG23000 - 0E @ 0167:BFF8180421000 - 0E @ 0167:BFF818041E000 - CONFIGMG: 1C000 - CONFIGMG:1B000 - hang in loop, then IOS:1A000 - hang in loop, then IOS:19000 - hang in loop, then IOS:18000 - hang in loop, then IOS:17000 - hang in loop, then IOS:16000 - hang in loop, then IOS:15000 - hang in loop, then IOS:14000 - CONFIGMG:13000 - hang in loop, then IOS:12000 - hang in loop, then IOS:11000 - Windows protection error.10000 - boots and works F000 - boots and works [...] CONFIGMG: "While initializing device CONFIGMG:Windows protection error. You need to restart your computer." IOS:"While initializing device IOS:Windows protection error. You need to restart your computer." hang in loop = boot display stuck on for 3 mins or more before hitting Ctrl-Alt-Del What you do have is a memory-greedy Video card, which is eating up most of your System Arena. What do you mean by memory greedy? I have a Diamond FireGL 1000 Pro with either 8 or 16 megs of memory, and AGP aperture set to 16 megs. The onboard video (32 meg) is disabled. (it *sucks*) This subject has been beaten to death recently here, but there are *numerous* other posts about it from before those, all around the 9x/ME forum, but they're almost all in the threads listed in the 1st post of that thread I just gave you a link to. I'll look into those threads, but if I remember correctly, chipset does make a difference in this respect, and some will allow more memory than others. Moreover, Ghost itself is a memory greedy program, the DOS version of it is made to be run under pure DOS (with just himem.sys loaded from the config.sys), not from what you reach after using "Restart in MS-DOS Mode", which is near, but not exactly pure DOS. That is mostly irrelevant. Ghost runs just fine:1) if there's 512 meg or less physical memory in the system 2) with MaxPhysPage of 1000 to 1579 (and perhaps some other values) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurgathor Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 I just do not get it. The MaxPhysPage and MaxFileCache should not affect a pure DOS application, when GUI is not runnig. I think Ghost actually runs in graphics mode. As for the Windows 98 boot menu. Instalation of Windows 2000 does not mean there will be no windows 98 boot menu. In normal circumstances the Windows 98 boot menu appears after Windows 2000 boot menu. It just could be a bit difficult to hit F8 when necesary. In my case I do have Windows 98 menu forced through config.sys. But there is BootMenu=1 setting possibility in the msdos.sys, as well. I'll look into the boot menu issues later on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurgathor Posted April 27, 2012 Author Share Posted April 27, 2012 Aurgathor, would you try some simple tests for my hipothesis? Does your motherboard have onboard video or, if not, can you get hold of a nVidia GeForce 2 or later, but up to 4?I'm pretty sure all your problems stem from how your video card uses memory in the System Arena.I'm replying here since this is not really SP3 related. I removed the FireGL 1000 Pro and enabled the onboard S3 Prosavage with 16 meg of memory. 11000 - Windows protection error 12000 - hang in boot loop, then IOS13000 - hang in boot loop, then IOS14000 - hang in boot loop, then IOS15000 - hang in boot loop, then IOS16000 - hang in boot loop, then IOS18000 - hang in boot loop, then IOS 1A000 - hang in boot loop, then IOS 1C000 - just hang in boot (*no* loop) 1E000 - hang in boot loop, then IOS20000 - hang in boot loop, then IOS23000 - CONFIGMG27000 - CONFIGMGSo the errors are definitely slightly different, but with respect to usability, the video card didn't make any difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dencorso Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Thanks for testing! So, the Diamond FireGL 1000 Pro can be put back in.Next possibility is the ethernet card.What ethernet card do you have in the machine? Or is it onboard? If so, then what's the motherboard's southbridge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rloew Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 How big are your Registry files SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT?Is your Ethernet Gigabit capable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurgathor Posted April 27, 2012 Author Share Posted April 27, 2012 (edited) The Ethernet is an on-board VIA Rhine II (VT6103) and it is not gigabit capable.The Southbridge is a VT8235. System.dat: 5,885,984 bytesUser.dat: 286,752 bytes Why, and how would they matter? Major specs from http://download.asrock.com/manual/K7VM2.pdf1.2 SpecificationsPlatform: Micro ATX form factor (9.6" x 9.6")CPU: Socket A (462 pins) for AMD AthlonTM / AthlonTM XP / DuronTM processorChipsets: North Bridge: VIA KM266, FSB@200/266 MHz, AGP4XSouth Bridge: Supports USB 2.0, ATA 133Clock Generator: 100 MHz - 200MHzMemory: 2 slots for DDR: DIMM1 and DIMM2 (PC1600/ PC2100) Max. 2GB2 slots for SDR: DIMM3 and DIMM4 (PC100/ PC133) Max. 2GBIDE: IDE1: ATA 133 / Ultra DMA Mode 4IDE2: ATA 133 / Ultra DMA Mode 4Can connect up to 4 IDE devicesFloppy Port: Supports floppy disk driveAudio: 2 channels AC’97 AudioLAN: Speed: 802.3u (10/100 Ethernet), supports Wake-On-LANApparently, which I didn't realize for a while, the removal of the Diamond FireGL did fix the isue with Ghost, which now runs just fine when I exit to DOS, regardless of the MaxPhysPage setting!! Of course the memory limit was unchanged and still sucks, though I'm not using it for anything right now that would really benefit from the potential extra RAM. Edited April 27, 2012 by aurgathor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dencorso Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Apparently, which I didn't realize for a while, the removal of the Diamond FireGL did fix the isue with Ghost, which now runs just fine when I exit to DOS, regardless of the MaxPhysPage setting!! A-ha! I bet the Diamond FireGL uses too much of the first 16 MiB of RAM, when it's in. Now let's move on to the problem with the RAM:Get memtest86+, create either the floppy or the bootable CD, boot from it and let it run 24h, no less. After that, take a pic of the screen before getting out of memtest86+ and post it here, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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