Re: Memory issues

["J. R. Fox" jr_fox@xxxxxxxxxx]

Patricia M Godfrey wrote:

> This ISN'T off topic, because memory--conventional memory--is a key issue
> in running Xy and any DOS app. I have just discovered that my nice new
> system loads the power-management drivers (an essential part of the ATX
> mobo spec) into conventional memory

The ATX motherboards I've had -- at least through the last couple of system
builds --
were not exactly current issue, but they still offered Power Mgt. features.
However,
mostly due to sloth and neglect, I never bothered using them . . . even
though OS/2
does offer support for them. These features have been available to me, but
*not* enabled
in the system BIOS. Therefore, I have not had to deal with this memory
issue.

Alarmingly, many MB BIOSes seem to be getting considerably dumbed down in
recent
years, providing you with far less control over hardware options. I always
scribbled all
this stuff down early-on, as a reference safeguard, because Print Screen was
not operational
for me at this pre-boot level (at least on the MBs I had), and I couldn't
find some nice
utility that would query, capture, and save it. Anyway, on the last full
round of hardware
upgrades (I have an excellent mid-tower case, so I've been replacing all the
guts every couple
years instead of buying a new computer, since '97 when the system was first
built), my BIOS
Settings notes dropped from around 4 double-sided pages to barely 2. That's
all there was left !
(Some of this is understandable, given modern system standardization, and the
fact that most
"legacy" hardware, such as Serial devices and Parallel ports, is going away.)

So, you may or may not still be able to turn API Off in your BIOS, assuming
you are willing to
do without the Power Mgt. features. Other than that, I'm afraid you may be
stuck.

Jordan