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Service Hints & Tips |
Document ID: YAST-3G8U7S |
Aptiva - Tips on lockups with DOS or Windows games
Applicable to: World-Wide
There are many different factors that can cause a lockup in a DOS or Windows game. Here are the most common reasons:
1. There is insufficient conventional or expanded memory.
2. A TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) program is running which is incompatible with the game.
3. Some DOS games cannot be run while Windows is running.
4. The Smart Energy System causes games using Quicktime for Windows to freeze.
5. Some games have bugs (programming errors) that will cause the game to freeze even if nothing else is wrong with the system.
In almost all cases, the problem can be fixed so that the game will run on your computer. Even in the case of bugs, there is usually a solution from the game manufacturer that will fix the problem.
1. Insufficient conventional or expanded memory
All DOS games are dependent on the amount of free conventional memory. On any computer running DOS, the conventional memory is 640KB, although some of that memory is used by DOS and driver software. At the DOS prompt, type the following command to see information about the computer memory:
MEM /C |MORE
This command will tell you how much memory is free. It will also list the programs that are loaded into conventional memory and the upper memory blocks. In most cases, most of your driver software should be loaded into the upper memory blocks, as this increases the amount of free conventional memory. If you have insufficient conventional memory, you can edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files and change the way the computer loads the software drivers. Often, the game manufacturer will include suggestions on what to change in the technical supplement that comes with the game. Insufficient conventional memory can NOT be fixed by adding more RAM to your system, as the amount of conventional memory is always fixed at 640KB. Adding memory will increase your extended memory.
Expanded memory is required by many DOS games, but it was originally disabled on PS/1 and Aptiva computers. Expanded memory can be enabled by editing the CONFIG.SYS file. Find the line that looks like this:
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE HIGHSCAN NOEMS I=E800-EFFF (other parameters)
To enable expanded memory, remove the NOEMS parameter from this line, and add RAM 2048 in its place to provide 2MB of expanded memory. Here is an example of the line with expanded memory enabled:
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE HIGHSCAN RAM 2048 I=E800-EFFF
Enabling expanded memory may cause a decrease in conventional memory. Expanded memory uses a 64KB block of upper memory as a page frame, and this leaves less space in upper memory for other software drivers.
2. Incompatible TSR programs
Terminate and Stay Resident programs include CD-ROM drivers, mouse drivers, the SMARTDRV disk cache, EMM386.EXE, and other programs loaded in the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS. Games will run fine with the mouse driver and CD-ROM drivers (many games require them to be loaded), but some games do not run well if EMM386.EXE or SMARTDRV.EXE are used. The best place to look for information on incompatible TSR programs is the game's instruction manual.
If a game is not compatible with programs like EMM386.EXE or SMARTDRV.EXE, the game manual will often suggest using a boot disk. The manual will often list a recommended AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS for the boot disk. The boot disk will include the settings that are best for the game, but these settings are often not best for general use and may not work with the rest of your software.
3. Running DOS games in Windows
In general, it is best to exit Windows first before running DOS games. Many DOS games will run fine in Windows, but some games will cause problems. Here are two of the problems that might be caused by running a DOS game under Windows:
A. The game could lock up at random.
After exiting the game and returning to Windows, you may lose sound if you have a sound card. Windows would give you the error message that the sound card is being used by another application. What happened is that the DOS game used the sound card and failed to return control of the sound card to Windows. The only way to get the sound back is to exit Windows and then restart Windows.
B. Windows might give you an error message saying that the game has violated system integrity.
If you want to run your DOS game in Windows, and you are having these problems, you should try contacting the game manufacturer for suggestions on how to run the game in Windows. In most cases, the game manufacturer will recommend running the game outside of Windows.
4. The Smart Energy System and Quicktime for Windows
Many PS/1 and Aptiva owners had problems with the game Myst freezing while playing video animation. The cause of this lockup is an incompatibility between the Smart Energy System and Quicktime for Windows drivers. The solution to this problem is to disable the APM (Advanced Power Management) BIOS in the Configuration Utility. To enter the Configuration Utility, turn on your computer and press [F1] when you see the box with ~~~~~~ characters at the top right corner of your screen.
As long as the APM BIOS Mode is disabled, you would not be able to use the Rapid Resume or Stand By features of your computer. Once you have finished playing the games, you can return to the Configuration Utility and re-enable the APM BIOS, and then Rapid Resume and Stand By would work as before.
5. Some games have bugs
In some cases, there are errors left in the game code. These errors could cause the game to lockup at random, or after a certain series of events. In most cases, the game manufacturer will have found the bugs, and will release a patch file that updates the game software to remove them.
Sometimes a boot diskette will help. A boot diskette will allow you to run the startup files for your system from a floppy diskette. This keeps most of the TSR's and memory managers from loading into conventional memory, thus freeing up more memory. For information on how to create a boot disk that will work with a specific game, contact the game manufacturer.
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Hint Category |
DOS/Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Lock-up/Hang | |
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Date Created |
18-04-97 | |
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Last Updated |
09-03-99 | |
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Revision Date |
09-03-2000 | |
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Brand |
IBM Aptiva | |
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Product Family |
Aptiva, PS/1 | |
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Machine Type |
2134, 2136, 2137, 2138, 2139, 2140, 2142, 2144, 2153, 2159, 2161, 2162, 2168, 2176, 2011, 2121, 2123, 2133, 2155 | |
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