Q62545: Information on RAMDRIVE.SYS and Error Messages
Article: Q62545
Product(s): See article
Version(s): 6.00
Operating System(s): MS-DOS
Keyword(s): ENDUSER | err msg | mspl13_c
Last Modified: 15-AUG-1990
The following information is taken from the Windows/286 and /386
version 2.11 RAMDRIVE.TXT document:
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 2 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 /U]
Note that either /E or /U may be specified, but not both. If you do
not specify one of these two, 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) memory, or on an AT&T 6300
Plus (/U), is much preferred. The following is an explanation of the
parameters:
Note: Information in a RAMDrive is lost when you reboot or restart
your computer.
[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.
Values are rounded up to the nearest sector size boundary.
[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.
Note: If there is too little memory to create the number of
root directory entries specified, then RAMDrive attempts to
create a RAMDrive with fewer root directory entries.
/E Specifies that extended memory is to be used for the
RAMDrive.
/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.
Note: 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: There is no extended memory available on your PC-AT or
compatible for RAMDrives.
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 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 2.10
requires DOS 3.00 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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).
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