More than 128 MB SDRAM under Win 98

[Guest]

Hi folks,
first off greetings to all out there.

It is known, that Win98 doesn't benefit much from more than 128 MB RAM. Does anybody know a .ini file or something else i can edit, so that Win(dumb) 98 takes more profit from my 256 MB RAM?

Thx, Leywalker

Why doesn't a penguin fly?
What doesn't fly can't crash!

 

[Guest]

Hey. i dont have that file that you need. if i did id give it to you. Windows 98 does suck ass. Ram is so cheap these days that i wanted to get more. i have 128 PC-100. Windows 98 doesnt utelize 256 ram cause back in the day 128 MG was the most. half of the ram in your comp is useless. id take it out cause windows wont utulize it well. hope this is helpful.

 

[Toejam31]

There is a persistant rumor going around that Win98SE cannot utilize more than 128MB of RAM. IT IS FALSE.

The truth is that there is a substantial performance increase when upgrading from 64MB to 128MB. Adding more RAM than that DOES increase system performance, but not nearly to the same extent. This is the source of the rumor.

Many programs run substantially better with more than 128MB of RAM, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Corel Draw ... and many newer games can take advantage of the additional RAM.

So ... there is no reason, as previously described, to take out that extra stick of RAM.

If you would like to increase your system performance, I can offer several lines that can be added to the System.ini file.

In the [386Enh] section, add this line, directly under ebios=*ebios: 32BitDiskAccess=ON.

Make this the third line: pagebuffers=32

Increase your DMA buffer size to "64" (without the quotes.)

And a last line to the [386Ehn] section:

ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1

Now, scroll down to the [vcache] section. Add these two lines directly underneath (or change the values if they already exist).

MinFileCache=0
MaxFileCache=6144

This should be sufficient, since you have more than 128MB of RAM installed.

I would also recommend that you make a custom swap file of 448MB, minumum and maximum.

These changes will do wonders for your system performance. After rebooting, your whole system should feel livelier.

Remember, before making any changes to the Registry or .ini files ... backup. The biggest mistake an average user tends to make is to change something without backing up ... first.


I hope you find this informative ..

Toejam31

 

[yoda271828]

Toejam31 is right. Windows can use more than 128MB of memory, it just can't use it well. However photo/sound/video editing software, CAD/3D-rendering programs, and most games (I'm sure there's more software too) will all take advantage of the extra RAM. And maybe someday Microsoft will learn how to manage memory correctly.

 

[Guest]

I too am sick of hearing win98 can't use more than 128mb of ram. Or even that it just can't use it well. Imagine if you had a giant fridge in your kitchen. Most of the time it'll be half empty and not really of any benefit. But when you throw a party everything will fit in it and you won't have to wast time walking out to the garage.

 

[Arrow]

Gaming and heavy applications (e.g. Photoshop) are all memory eaters.

Rob
Please visit <b><A HREF="http://www.ncix.com/shop/index.cfm?affiliateid=319048" target="_new">http://www.ncix.com/shop/index.cfm?affiliateid=319048</A></b>

 

[Guest]

Photoshop can eat all your memory and ask for more. NT and Windows 2000 will manage your memory more efficiently than Windows 98 however.

 

[seanmcne]

FALSE I have 256 and use 98 it works better than 128mb. Especially if you tweak your virtual memory. I just upgraded to win2k and that seems to work better. Just food for thought! Good luck!
-=-Sean-=-

 

[Mahimahi]

Hoy Toejam,
Can you please give me the best Win98SE parameter settings for 512MB RAM?
I am building a new system, usage:
ACAD, Photoshop and On-line Gaming

CASE: LIAN-LI PC60 Alu. With 450 Watt power supply
MOBO: Asus A7V133
CPU: Thunderbird 1.2GHz
COOLER: FAA7VX2 HEAT-KILLER with FA6025-S Thermistor-Controlled Fan
RAM: 2x Muskin 256MB PC133 CAS2 SDRAM
VIDEO: Hercules 3D Prophet 2 GTS Ultra 64MB
SOUND : Soundblaster Live - value
HD: 2X IBM Deskstar 45Giga ATA100 7200rpm
JAZ-drive 2 GIGA (recup from existent PC)
Adaptec SCSI card for JAZ and Scanner
CD-RW: Plextor PX-W1210TA CD ReWriter 12xW10xRW32xR int. IDE
CDR: Acer 16x 40x DVD ( With PowerDVD software)
LAN: recup from existing PC, not sure of the Brand (placed by the cable company)
FLOPPY: 1.44 Mb

Thanks in advance
Roger

 

[scarecrow]

Can you explain what some of these entries are for. And I can't seem to find the line with DMA buffer size. Thanks.

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[scarecrow]

Cane someone explaine what some of those entries do?

<A HREF="http://www.seti.tomshardware.com" target="_new">Join The Tom's Hardware SETI@Home Team</A>

 

[Guest]

I hate to beat a dead horse, but I found this info on the ASUS web site:

Windows may not start even if my computer has 1 Gigabyte (GB) or more memory installed. Also, if I tried to start the computer, I will receive an error message, Insufficient memory to initialize Windows". What is wrong?

Answer:
It is a limitation of Win9x, please check detailed information from Microsoft Web Site:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q184/4/47.asp.

The info from this link follows:

Error Message: Insufficient Memory to Initialize Windows

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 95
Microsoft Windows 98

SYMPTOMS
If your computer has 1 gigabyte (GB) or more of random-access memory (RAM) installed, Windows may not start. Also, when you try to start your computer, you may receive the following error message:

Insufficient memory to initialize Windows. Quit one or more memory-resident programs or remove unnecessary utilities from your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files, and restart your computer.

This behavior may also occur during Windows Setup, or when you try to start Windows for the first time.

RESOLUTION
To work around this issue, add the following line to the [386enh] section of the System.ini file:

MaxPhysPage=30000

This limits the amount of physical RAM that Windows can access to 768 MB. To do so, use the following steps:

1.Use any text editor (such as Notepad) to edit the System.ini file.

2.Add the following line in the [386Enh] section of the file

MaxPhysPage=30000

3.Save the file, and then restart your computer.



If this problem occurs during Windows Setup, use the following steps to resolve the issue:

1.Restart your computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then choose Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.

For Windows 98, restart your computer, press and hold down the CTRL key until the Startup menu appears, and then choose Command Prompt Only.

2.Change to the folder into which you are attempting to install Windows.

3.Edit the System.ini file. To do so, type edit system.ini, and then press ENTER.

4.Add the following line in the [386Enh] section of the file

MaxPhysPage=30000

5.Save the file, and then restart your computer. Windows Setup should continue.

Hope this helps.

 

[Guest]

try http://www.tweak3d.net/tweak/quickspeed/