WINDOWS 95/98/SE/ME RAM LIMITATION PATCH Version 7.1 03/09/2012 Copyright (C) 2007-2012 By Rudolph R. Loew The Windows 95/98/SE/ME RAM Limitation Patch Program patches Windows 95, 98, 98SE or ME to support Computers with more than 512MB of RAM. Unmodified Windows 95, 98, 98SE or ME can malfunction or crash when more than 512MB of RAM is present. This Patch extracts the Windows Memory Manager (VMM.VXD) and the Disk Cache Manager (VCACHE.VXD) contained within the VMM32.VXD File in the Windows SYSTEM Directory, if necessary. The Patch then Updates all three of them. NOTE: Computers having more than 3GB of RAM frequently limit RAM available to 32-Bit Software, to as little as 3GB. Any additional Memory is reserved for 64-Bit Software. REQUIREMENTS Windows 95, 98, 98SE or ME. 2.5MB of Space on the Hard Drive containing the Windows Directory. CONTENTS PATCHMEM.EXE Windows 95/98/SE/ME RAM Limitation Patch Program Version 7.1 SPLIT8MB.EXE Low Memory Splitter README.TXT Overview MANUAL.TXT Users Manual LICENSE.TXT License terms and conditions HISTORY.TXT Revision History NOTE: The name of the Patch program in the Full Versions is PATCHMEM.EXE while the name in the Demo Versions is PATCHM.EXE. PATCH INSTALLATION 1. Download and UnZip the Program to a known location. 2. Open a MS-DOS Box or Boot into DOS. 3. Go to the Directory where the program is located. 4. Run PATCHMEM to install the patch. 5. The Patch will take effect the next time Windows is Booted. Windows 95 users may want to use the following command in step 4: PATCHMEM /M NOTE: If Computer crashes during Boot after Installing Patch, see LOW MEMORY REQUIREMENTS Section Below. UNINSTALL PATCH (See WARNING Section Below) 1. Download and UnZip the Program to a known location (if necessary). 2. Open a MS-DOS Box or Boot into DOS. 3. Go to the Directory where the program is located. 4. Run PATCHMEM. 5. Type Yes to the Uninstall request to uninstall the Patch. FIRST 16MB OF RAM MEMORY REQUIREMENTS Some Devices, especially many Gigabit Ethernet Controllers, require space in the first 16MB of Physical RAM. Low Physical RAM is also used by Windows 95, 98 or 98SE for Memory Tables. If there is not enough Free Low Physical Memory, the most common symptoms are Windows crashing during Bootup. Rebooting, going to a Blank Screen, or reporting a VFAT Error. Having a very large Registry can cause this problem as well, and increasing RAM reduces Low Physical RAM further, increasing the likelihood of this problem appearing. If Windows 95, 98 or 98SE crashes do the following to increase Low Physical Memory. 1. Run PATCHMEM to Uninstall the Patch. 2. Run the following to ReInstall the Patch: PATCHMEM /M 3. Reboot. If Windows still crashes, perform the following steps: 4. Copy SPLIT8MB.EXE to your Windows Folder. 5. Add the following line to your C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SPLIT8MB 6. Reboot Windows 95 users who already used the /M option (see PATCH INSTALLATION above) can skip to step 4. OTHER PROGRAMS, PATCHES, DRIVERS AND UPDATES Reinstalling, Repairing or Upgrading Windows, or Adding/Removing Windows Components may overwrite the Patched files. If an Updated VMM.VXD and/or VCACHE.VXD file is added to the Windows SYSTEM\VMM32 Directory, the Patched VMM.VXD and/or VCACHE.VXD Module will be overwritten. Reinstalling the Patch will be needed to RePatch these files. Unfortunately there is no way to determine what effect other programs will have until they are installed. If Windows cannot be rebooted after an Installation, reduce the amount of RAM to 512MB or less or select the "Command prompt only" option in the Windows Startup menu. Go to the Directory where the PATCHMEM Program is located. Run the PATCHMEM Program to Reinstall the Patch. If the PATCHMEM Program asks to Uninstall the Patch, say Yes to Uninstall, then Rerun the PATCHMEM Program to Reinstall the Patch. If the PATCHMEM Program prints a message indicating that a File has been Updated by another Program press 'Y' and 'ENTER' to Continue, repeat as needed. If it says "Incomplete Installation Detected", press 'C' and 'ENTER' to continue. Windows 95 users who Install the USB Supplement (USBSUPP and USBUPD2) will need to Repatch before each Reboot. 2.75GB OR MORE OF RAM If you have more than 2.75GB of available RAM in your Computer, Programs that use XMS Memory may exhaust the default supply of Handles offered by HIMEM.SYS. Add the following line to your CONFIG.SYS file before any program that might use XMS Memory to prevent this problem: DEVICE=\HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=64 is the path to your HIMEM.SYS file, usually C:\WINDOWS If you already have a line installing HIMEM.SYS, add the NUMHANDLES option. if you are already using the NUMHANDLES setting, make sure it is at least 64. This is a DOS issue rather than a Windows issue, but a malfunctioning DOS Program can cause Windows to malfunction or not boot. PROGRAM COMPATABILITY Some Programs, especially Programs that manage RAM Memory, may not operate or not operate properly with large amounts of RAM. If specific Programs are vital to operation of your system, it is recommended that they be tested with the Demo Version before purchase. If a Program stops working when RAM is added, please contact Author. Known problems are listed below. The following issue has been identified: EMM386.EXE will lockup all memory if more than approximately 2800MB of RAM is present. If you are using EMM386.EXE with more than 2800MB of RAM, you must add the /NUMHANDLES option described in the "2.75GB OR MORE OF RAM" Section above. The following Drivers need to be updated to the latest Version: 3Com 905C (Update to 5.4) Related Drivers may need to be updated The following Program will fail with large amounts of RAM: FASTDEFRAG 2.3 (fails at approximately 1280MB) WARNING THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR DATA LOSS TO OCCUR DUE TO ERRORS IN THE PATCH OR IF THE PATCHED PROGRAMS ARE BYPASSED OR OVERWRITTEN. DO NOT USE IN CRITICAL SYSTEMS OR WHERE HUMAN SAFETY IS INVOLVED. Please E-Mail any Bug Reports to RLoew@hotmail.com. PROGRAM OPERATION The VMM.VXD and VCACHE.VXD Files are extracted from the VMM32.VXD file if they do not already exist. The three Files are renamed to provide Backup Files before the Patched Files are written. The Backup Files have the same name as the Original Files but the extension is changed to .BAK provided the File's Name has an extension. If not, a .BAK extension is added. If an earlier Version of the Patch is found, or a Demo Version, it is Uninstalled. NOTE: Patch Versions 4.0, or earlier, cannot be Uninstalled by this Patch. You must Uninstall it first using the original Patch Program. The Patched Files are deleted and the Backup Files are renamed back if the Patch is Uninstalled. If the Backup Files are not present, the Patch cannot be Uninstalled. OPTIONS The Program automatically examines the Computer to locate the necessary Files. The Program can be redirected to Patch specific Files by specifying File Names as follows: PATCHMEM [Options] [VMM32File VMMFile VCACHEFile] VMM32File is the name of the VMM32.VXD file to extract from and to be updated. VMMFile is the name of the VMM.VXD file to be updated. VCACHEFile is the name of the VCACHE.VXD file to be updated. Entering "-" for a Filename will prevent the file from being accessed or updated. Entering "*" for a Filename will revert to the Default System File. If you specify any Filenames, you must specify all three. Use "*" as placeholders for Filenames you are not specifying, and "-" for files you do not wish to access or modify. You must enable the VMM32File update if the VMMFile and/or VCACHEFile need to be extracted. Only use DOS 8.3 Format Filenames. If the default Filenames for all three files to be Patched are used, use the following syntax: PATCHMEM [Options] Options: /A Move AGP and Unfixed Tables >=128MB to Shared Arena /C:# Set Absolute Max File Cache (MB) /I Install Only /M Move VXD Data above 16MB /P Install PROTHOOK The Move AGP Option (/A) will force AGP amd Unfixed Memory Allocation Requests for the SYSTEM Arena to the SHARED Arena. This will reduce the demand for the limited SYSTEM Arena that can fill up with large AGP Graphics Cards. The Absolute Maximum File Cache Size is the largest File Cache Size that can be allocated under any circumstances. The Maximum File Cache Size can still be lowered, in Normal Mode only, by adding the MaxFileCache option to the SYSTEM.INI File. The Default MAXCACHE is 512MB. Settings above 750MB are likely to cause problems, especially with 16-Bit Programs. Settings below 128MB may conflict with Minimum File Cache Requirements, especially in Computers with a lot of RAM. If setting MAXCACHE to 512MB, the MAXCACHE option is not needed. To set the Absolute Max File Cache to 256 MB use /C:256. The Install Only Option (/I) will only allow the Patch to be Installed. If the Patch is already present, the Program will exit immediately. The Move VXD Option (/M) will add code to the VMM32.VXD file to place the VXD files within it into RAM Memory above 16MB. This frees up memory below 16MB which may be needed for other purposes. See "FIRST 16MB OF RAM MEMORY REQUIREMENTS" above. The PROTHOOK Option (/P) adds code for the PROTHOOK method used by HIMEMEX. This elimiantes the need to Install the PROTHOOK VXD when using HIMEMEX. HIMEMEX is used by the NON-XMS RAMDISKs. NEW WINDOWS INSTALLATIONS If you are doing a clean install of Windows into a Computer having more than 512MB of RAM, you will need to Install the Patch before Windows runs. If you can reduce the amount of RAM to 512MB or less, you can install Windows normally, run the PATCHMEM Patch Program, then restore the additional RAM. If you need to Install Windows in a system with more than 512MB of RAM present, you can do so as follows: 1. Place the Patch Program on a DOS Floppy Disk or on a Formatted Partition. 2. Perform the Windows installation until the FIRST reboot. Do not leave the Computer unattended in case Windows reboots without prompting. 3. Reboot and holds the CTRL key to get the Windows Startup Menu. NOTE: If Windows starts without the Startup Menu, it may crash. If so, press RESET and wait for the Windows Startup Menu. You may need to turn Power back on if it shuts off. 4. Select the "Command prompt only" option and press ENTER. 5. Run the WININIT Command. 6. Go to the Floppy Disk or Partition where the PATCHMEM Program is located. 7. Run the PATCHMEM Program. 8. Remove the Floppy Disk if present. 9. Press the Reset Button or CTRL-ALT-DEL. 10. Continue the Windows Installation. Windows 95 and 95A users must replace step 3 with the following: 3. Reboot and wait until Windows crashes. Press RESET and wait for the Windows Startup Menu. You may need to turn Power back on if it shuts off. Continue to step 4. NOTE: The Demo Version of this Patch cannot be used to Install Windows as it will freeze 10 Minutes after Bootup. If you have a CD Burner or you install Windows from files placed on the hard drive, you can purchase pre-patched Installation Cabinet Files for your version of Windows. By replacing the original Cabinet Files in the Installation CD or Folder you can install Windows without further patching. This will also protect you from having the Patches removed if you Reinstall, Repair or Add/Remove Components to Windows using this CD or Folder. This will not protect you if an update replaces the Patched Files or corrupts them. MULTIPLE BOOT WITH OTHER OPERATING SYSTEMS The Patch is compatable with multiple boot systems. Each separate Windows 95/98/98SE/ME System must be Patched individually. RELATED PRODUCTS WINXX.CAB Windows Cabinet File with Patch already applied. RAMDSK32 Non-XMS RAMDISK supports large amounts of RAM. RAMDSK64 64-Bit RAMDISK uses RAM above 3GB not available to Windows 9x. CONTACT INFORMATION Rudolph R. Loew 506 Bieling Rd. Elmont, NY 11003 1-516-352-9078 RLoew@hotmail.com Website: http://rloew1.no-ip.com