From: "Richard Adamson" To: opendos AT delorie DOT com Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 10:12:15 +0100 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Subject: Re: multitasking gives blank screen X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12b) Message-Id: <20010613091334.KVQT27981.mta3-svc.virgin.net@leo> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from Quoted-printable to 8bit by delorie.com id FAA22531 Reply-To: opendos AT delorie DOT com On 6 Jun 01, at 17:28, Matthias Paul wrote: > On 2001-06-04, Richard Adamson wrote: > > [...] > > |ISA :006F0000 AT 00110000 > > This means that the memory manager is using 6F0000h bytes of "ISA style" > extended memory at linear address 110000h. Letīs see: > > 8*1024 Kb (installed memory) - 1024 Kb (1st Mb) - 64 Kb (HMA) = > 7104 Kb = 7274496 bytes = 6F0000h bytes. OK > > 1024 Kb (1st Mb) + 64 Kb (HMA) = 1088 Kb = 1114112 bytes = > 110000h bytes. OK > > What does it say when you omit the /COMPAQ=OFF option? I get the additional line: CPQ :00040000 AT 00FA0000 > > Sorry, what I meant was e.g. I run the text editor and open a file, > > then using the hotkeys, I get the task swapper menu, and press INS > > to start a new task. As you would expect, I get the DOS prompt. > > But if I go back to the task swapping menu, theres only one task > > up there, so the first session has disappeared. Now if run the text > > editor and try to open that text file again, it says "Disk error - file > > already open" > I have never seen this occuring so far. > Has anyone else seen the behaviour Robert is describing? Maybe > we can find some trigger conditions. > > Im not using a 3rd party shell, exec=false, I have tried various > > combinations of hot keys, but made no difference so back to > > default since last re-installation. > But even if you use COMMAND.COM I would still be interested if > EXEC=TRUE makes a difference for you. TASKMGR will behave > differently when you create or delete tasks, you inheritation of batch > jobs works differently. You may see the difference as you are loading > TASKMGR from AUTOEXEC.BAT. No difference to the problem, and no apparent difference loading TASKMGR. > BTW. You donīt need to re-install DR-DOS when removing or > adding hardware components. It just seems easier to a novice experimenting off my own bat with so many variables to reformat and reinstall than to track every change. Im not reinstalling when following your instructions. > > Sorry I dont know how to answer or find out about the adapters. The VGA > > is a card, not on the motherboard. There is an (unused) sound card. There > > was a network card; Ive taken that out, and reinstalled since then. How stupid of me. The VGA is not a separate card. I was confusing another (286) machine Id been fiddling with, sorry. Everything else stands. > Ok, any other cards installed? What brand was the network card? I am > asking because SMC cards are known to use memory mapped I/O, while > original NE2000 cards, and all 3COM cards I know donīt use MMIO. Sorry again; the network card went into a shoebox full of network cards: either a Novell or a D-Link > > AUTOEXEC.BAT: > > ************* > > |PATH C:\DRDOS;C:\;c:\utils > > |KEYB dv,,dvorak.sys > > OK, this must be a MS-DOS or PC DOS KEYB. And > this is the only reason I can see, why you load SETVER > in CONFIG.SYS. yes and yes. I'll not load SETVER, as you suggest later. And therefore Ive taken out KEYB dv etc. . I havent bothered re-specifying KEYB at all. > > |SET TEMP=c:temp > > SET temp=c:\temp > SET tmp=%temp% > > > |NWCACHE 3584 1024 /LEND=ON /DELAY=OFF > > /DELAY=5000 will give you better performance, but you > should also change the VERIFY ON to VERIFY OFF, > otherwise NWCACHE cannot defer any writes. > > > |TASKMGR /s > > Please comment this out for now, and load TASKMGR > directly from the prompt, not from a batchjob. Ive made all the above changes. At this stage, no apparent change to problem. > > CONFIG.SYS: > > *********** > > Since you have MS-DOS or PC DOS anyway, I would like > to ask you to try the following: > > DEVICE?=c:\msdos\himem.sys > > The MS-DOS HIMEM.SYS supports a few more gate A20 > access methods, and using the MS driver we can check > if your Compaq would use a method unsupported by the > DR memory managers. You can still load the DR-DOS > EMM386 afterwards, but for troubleshooting also try > to only load HIMEM.SYS and no EMM386 (please try > all combinations). The TASKMGR should still work > as a task switcher than, but not as a multitasker. with ms-dos (6.22) himem.sys + drdos EMM386: -no change to problem. -emm386 changes its verbose report, viz: the ISA: and CPQ: heads both become XMS instead. -emm386 states that himem.sys is installed but not required. with ms-dos himem.sys only: -as you say, TASKMGR works as a task switcher. with ms-dos himem.sys + drdos EMM386 without exclusions: -same problem as usual without exclusions, ie, even task SWITCHER does not work. Whilst trying this out, I got an error reported. I suppose this is caused by the program I just tried to run--Im using a text editor and a file manager--(obviously, I havent been running these whilst experimenting, just starting them after each test in order to make changes to the configuration files, followed by a cold boot.) But since I cant determine whether or not this has any relevance, and since I might not be able to reproduce it, here 'tis. ************************************************************************** The system memory manager (EMM386.EXE) has detected an error caused by a fault in one of the device drivers or programs loaded in the system. Due to this fault the system is probably in an unstable state, and you are therefore recommended to reboot the computer immediately. If the problem persists, then try to isolate which program is at fault (if you have loaded several, then load them one at a time until the fault appears), then contact the technical support department for that program. Advanced technical information: General Protection Exception from Protected Mode Process: Root DS=0278 ES=0270 EAX=00000000 EBX=00002247 ECX=00000000 EDX=00000004 FS=0000 SS=0260 ESP=00000FDE EBP=00001E0C ESI=00000288 EDI=00002247 GS=0000 CS=0268 EIP=000004E1 EFLAGS=00013217 TR=0018 LDTR=0208 CR0=FFFFFFF1 CR2=00000000 CR3=00110000 CS:[EIP]=26 8B 03 A3 E0 01 D1 E3 26 C7 07 00 00 8B 0E C4 SS:[ESP]=062C 079D 0002 0260 0080 0000 0260 0717 0000 0B61 0001 02C0 Hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys and press Del to reboot, press any other key to just abort the current program... **************************************************************************** Ctrl-Alt-Del worked; nothing else would. > > |DEVICE=C:\DRDOS\EMM386.EXE MULTI DPMI=OFF > > FRAME=NONE /E=C000-FFFF verbose=debug compaq=off > > Ok, your MEM /A dump shows some unusual ROMs in the > UMB range. You can use MS-DOS MSD to find out whatīs > up with them. Alternatively you could do a F5 clean boot, > start DEBUG, and have a look at a memory dump at > > D C000:0000 > D > D E000:0000 > D > D F000:0000 > D > Q > > You should see some copyright strings there. What do they read? ?? -d c000:0000 U.0....M....s..8 ...3....C.....IB ME.s..!....@.&.? .u.......e...... ....@...2...u... ..........`..... t............I.. &.......>....c.. -d ......2...I..:.. c..&............ 2.......t....... C...2.......u6.. .B.J.....u)..... ... ............ %............... .............s.. -d e000:0000 U.0....M....s..8 ...3....C.....IB ME.s..!....@.&.? .u.......e...... ....@...2...u... ..........`..... t............I.. &.......>....c.. -d ......2...I..:.. c..&............ 2.......t....... C...2.......u6.. .B.J.....u)..... ... ............ %............... .............s.. -d f000:0000 ..V...p.Q.+./... ..$............. .@.@.@.......... .....P..`,..,-U. .PSQRVW......... .....U.;...u.3.3 ....u.I...Z..... .....U.;...uH... -d uC2...........;. t3+.;.r-........ .+.;.r.......u.. .3.....>B....u.. .........t...._^ ZY[X..]......... ......@.&...0... .&...2........&. > Can you send me (via private mail) memory dumps of C000-C7FF > and E000-FFFF? > Please pack them with PKZIP and send them to me for analysis purposes > (to one of the addresses stated in the signature). I need to know why the > memory managers classify two of the ROMs to be 24 Kb instead of > 32 Kb (this is not impossible, but it is at least unusual, so we should > track this down) OK > Also try > > DEVICE?=c:\drdos\emm386.exe /DPMI /MULTI /EXCLUDE=C000-C7FF,E000-FFFF OK. Task SWITCHER still WORKS, as it does with blanket exclusion, and dpmi off. Multitasking still hangs as usual. MS-DOS HIMEM.SYS makes no difference, loaded or not. > Please also try to temporarily add the /XBDA option, a MEM /A dump > should now show the Extended BIOS Data Area at a different position. apparently not. Still at 9FC0; 400h. You do mean literally just tag on /XBDA to the end of the device EMM386 line? Thats what Ive done. > > |DEVICE=C:\DRDOS\SETVER.EXE > > Please temporarily remove this along with MS KEYB. > I understand that you have added MS KEYB to the SETVER > list, didnīt you? Have you added other strings as well? > (SETVER without parameters will display a list of currently > assigned version faking info) well theres a stack of them in there, but I havent added any except the one to use MS KEYB, viz; KEYB.COM 6.22 > I usually have FILES=60. > I usually have FCBS=1,0 > > > |LASTDRIVE=C > > Not invalid, but at least unusual. Please change this to > LASTDRIVE=E for now. OK Ive followed these recommendations. > > > TASKMGR.INI > > *********** > > |[Drivers] > > |VXD=C:\DRDOS\VIPX.38 > > Probably a typo. I should say VIPX.386 Yes, sorry. Careless deleting of the text copy I posted. > > |[Disk] > > |SwapDir=c:swap > > It should say c:\temp, or if c:\swap exists, > c:\swap, otherwise this may cause problems > when swapping tasks. OK, changed to c:\swap > Is it really true that the DR-DOS SETUP > inserted this? I originally specified task SWAPPER when I ran SETUP. SETUP asks for the path to the swap file, and puts up a dialog box. I cant remember if there is a default path in there already, I think not, or I would have been less inclined to change it. Anyway "c:swap" will be exactly what I typed in the dialog box. Since it asked... its my preference that all temporary file directories are off the root. Setup created the directory alright. On an install where I specified multitasking straight away, I wasnt asked for a swapfile path, as I remember. > > |[Shell] > > |Idle=TRUE > > |Exec=FALSE > OK, try EXEC=TRUE as well. Youve mentioned that earlier, and Ive had EXEC=TRUE all through this session, as the second change I made. > > > C000:0000 -------- 6000h, 24,576 ------------- ROM --------------- > > E000:0000 -------- 6000h, 24,576 ------------- ROM --------------- > > E000:0000 -------- 20000h, 131,072 ------------- ROM --------------- > > > 9FC0:0000 -------- 400h, 1,024 Extended ROM BIOS data area > > FA00:0000 -------- 1000h, 4,096 ---------- Shadow ROM ----------- > > FD00:0000 -------- 1000h, 4,096 ---------- Shadow ROM ----------- Cheers, Richard Adamson.