Hi, I am trying to run an old DOS game (Aladdin)and have managed to make the required 570k base memory free, but when I type the command to run I get a message saying "error not enough XMS memory allocated". The manual doesn't say how much I need. How do I allocate more please? I'm running PCDOS 6.3 & seem to remember that I used to type in something like "loadhigh=EMM386.EXE noems" followed by 4 parameters though obviously I can't remember what they were!

Thanks in advance,

Roger.

AAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!
(a) LOADHIGH is not a CONFIG.SYS command, DEVICEHIGH is.
(b) You can't load EMM386, or anything before it, high. It must be loaded low.
(c) You could get away probably with only HIMEM.SYS (I would recommend making a boot disk, add DOS=HIGH as the first line in CONFIG.SYS and DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS [assuming you're using Windows] as the 2nd line.) This will load DOS into the high memory area, saving you the 570K you need, and creating the XMS you also need. If you use disk compression like DoubleSpace or DriveSpace, I can guarantee this will flop.

Send me a message at mkirchho@iupui.edu and I'll get some info to help you out soon--some very good websites.

This question gets asked about every week or so (calm down Chris) *g*

config.sys

device=c:\windows\himem.sys
device=c:\windows\emm386.exe noems
dos=high,umb

If you're OS is DOS, the path will be different.

This is the basic configuration (there are variations)
After these lines are executed in config.sys, apps and devices can be loaded high either through devicehigh= statements later in config.sys, or by loadhigh (lh) statements in autoexec.bat or from the command line.
Loading high saves conventional mem.
Available conventional memory can be checked by:
mem

or

mem/c /p
for more details

Thanks for your patience guys - apologies if I asked what 100s of others have asked before me - I obviously didn't look properly. However, if I could slightly change my question - thanks to your suggestions I have made a boot floppy and with fiddling around I've made 595k of base memory. (DOS/Win3.1 system). When I do the mem /c command it tells me that I have 64MB of XMS memory available so I wouldn't seem to be lacking in that department! However, when I try to run my Aladdin game (DOS version of course) it still reports an error "XMS allocation error" . I wouldn't seem to be lacking in the amount of XMS memory available, nor the amount of base memory (it requires 570k and I have 595k).

I would seem to be needing a game-specific example of the config.sys/autoexec.bat for Aladdin. If anyone would be able to help out there it would end 5 years of trying (yes, 5 years! I used to play this game when my son was a baby as the music used to have a calming effect on him. Ever since I have tried running the game on my replacement machine and I can't get it to work!!) Please help if you can. And I do appreciate your patience - thanks guys!

Roger.

No need to apologize
No need for a boot floppy either, but whatever works. If you are running plain old DOS with Win31, prob'ly your system would have been more or less configured to manage memory.
Are you sure emm386.exe is loaded?
(of course you set the pathnames to point to \DOS)
If emm386.exe is loaded, and DOS is set to high and umb, then maybe this game wants expanded memory instead - it doesn't quite sound like it, but you never know.
To setup for both expanded (EMS) and extended (XMS) mem, change the parameter at the emm386 line in config.sys:

device=c:\dos\emm386.exe RAM

(caps not necessary)

You've got enough ram and enough conventional memory, but some of the older games like it configured a certain way.
If you're still having difficulties, post the relavent portions of your config.sys and autoexec.bat files and maybe something will 'jump out'
Sometimes these games will have setup examples buried in their documentation, although no doubt you've been through those already.
Post back with progress.

Good news! At last I've managed to get Aladdin going! Thanks for all your help - all I need to do now is set up my boot disk to include the stuff for my soundcard so I get the audio too.

Thanks again!

Roger.

Glad to hear it!
What did it take to satisfy the game's requirements?

I'm not sure, but I think you can have multiple configurations with PC-DOS 6.3 - I know MS-DOS 6.xx supports them (quite similar) - save you having to boot from a floppy.

Hi, perhaps I'd better whisper this (as it might be considered swearing in this forum!) but I retried running the game in a DOS box under WinME, only this time instead of leaving the DOS box memory properties all on AUTO I set the EMS memory to 1 meg and the XMS to 4 meg. I did try to set up the config.sys on my boot floppy to load emm386.exe (and also on my DOS/Win 3.1 partition) but no joy with the former and only Himem.sys would load in the latter case. I still have no sound under the WinME DOS-box but I'm going to work on that. I'd really like to conquer getting the game working under DOS on its own though. If I make any progress in that direction I'll post it here.

Thanks,

Roger.

Ok, always like to know what works.
Good luck.

Congrats to Roger for getting his version to work, unfornately I am stuck with the same problem and following everything that he's doing, I still can't get it to work.

I am currently running WinNT and I can't get it to work.

HELP!!!

Hello from Azerbaijan. I am also trying to get Aladdin working.
Can any1 tell me how I can set the certain memory for EMS ans XMS in DOS box? Roger, Jessica can you tell me,stupido :=), how u did it?
HELP.

Hi, I am trying to run an old DOS game (Aladdin) in Win ME
but I get a message EMS allocation error
please help me

Hi, I am trying to run an old DOS game (Aladdin)in Win Me (in windows mode not in DOS mode)and I get a message:
"EMS allocation error"
then I created boot disk and run the PC in DOS mode, and try to run the game again, but now it says:
"XMS allocation error"
I tried typing in c:\config.sys

dos=umb,high
device=c:\windows\himem.sys
device=c:\windows\emm386.exe ram

but still doesent work.
Can you help me?

I found the following link very usefull when I solved the problem running Aladdin.
http://www.oldskool.org/pc/help/oldonnew/03_tweaking.shtml

My config.sys entry is now:
dos=umb,high
device=c:\windows\himem.old
device=c:\windows\emm386.old 8192 ram

himem.old and emm386.old are versions from good old MS DOS 5.0

Hope that this helps you on

Hello,
my problem is that i installed Alldin game & when i started it from Windows (My OS is WIN98 SE)as i created shortcut it gives message EMS allocation error & when i started game from DOS mode error is XMS Allocation error.
as i can not find any solution please help me.
i know that something is to be written in CONFIG.SYS file but do not know that's that?
hope for reply
Thanks,
SIMIT