Getting the Most from MS-DOS 6 

                              Jeff Prosise
     Author of:
     PC Magazine DOS 6 Memory Management with Utilities
     PC Magazine DOS 6 Techniques and Utilities 


     
     MS-DOS 6 contains a treasure trove of new features for new and 
     advanced users alike. Here are ten tips for getting the most from 
     MS-DOS 6 once it's up and running on your PC.

     1. Create Long PATH Strings

     In previous versions of DOS, PATH strings were limited to 122 
     characters because DOS commands were limited to 127 characters. 
     The 127-character limit still holds, but you can now create long 
     PATH strings using SET commands in CONFIG.SYS. To do so, add a 
     command of the form

     SET PATH=...

     to your CONFIG.SYS file. DOS 6 supports SET commands in CONFIG.SYS, 
     and CONFIG.SYS commands are not limited to 127 characters.

     2. Zap Protected Files with One Command

     The new DELTREE command deletes subdirectories and their contents. 
     The manual doesn't mention it, but DELTREE also deletes files that 
     are protected from deletion by hidden, system, or read-only 
     attributes. The command

     DELTREE WINA20.386

     deletes the WINA20.386 file that the DOS 6 setup program places in 
     your hard disk's root directory. If you don't want to be prompted 
     for confirmation, add a /Y switch, as in

     DELTREE /Y WINA20.386

     Better yet, create a ZAP macro that deletes protected files by 
     adding the command

     DOSKEY ZAP=DELTREE /Y $1

     to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

     3. Use MemMaker -- Really!

     Use MemMaker to optimize your memory configuration, even if you're 
     a memory management guru who would prefer to do it by hand. MemMaker 
     does a few things that are difficult (sometimes impossible) to do 
     manually, including detecting late-activated adapter RAMs, 
     determining the optimum load addresses for TSRs and device drivers, 
     and maximizing RAM for DOS apps run inside Windows.

     4. Optimize the Load Order to Load More TSRs and Device Drivers High

     If upper memory space is tight, you may be able to fit more TSRs and
     device drivers in upper memory by changing the order in which they 
     are loaded. To determine the optimum load order, examine the MaxSize 
     and FinalSize parameters for each TSR and device driver recorded in 
     MEMMAKER.STS, which MemMaker creates in the directory where 
     MEMMAKER.EXE is stored. Then, to the extent possible, rearrange the 
     load order so that programs exhibiting the greatest different 
     between MaxSize and FinalSize are loaded first.

     5. Maximize Upper Memory Space

     If upper memory space is still tight, use MSD (the Microsoft 
     Diagnostics utility shipped with DOS 6) to determine if segments 
     C000 through C5FF are devoid of RAM and ROM. If they are, add an 
     I=C000-C5FF switch to EMM386.EXE  to create another 24K of UMB RAM.

     If you ran MemMaker in Express Setup mode, or if you ran it in 
     Custom Setup mode but answered no to the question "Use monochrome 
     region (B000-B7FF) for running programs?", then there is space 
     reserved for your PC's video buffer that is currently going unused. 
     To compensate, add an I=B000-B7FF switch to EMM386.EXE if your PC is
     equipped with a color video adapter, or I=B800-BFFF if you use a 
     monochrome video adapter. This adds an additional 32K of UMB RAM. 
     Important: If Windows refuses to start after you make this 
     modification to CONFIG.SYS, add a DEVICE command to the [386Enh] 
     section of SYSTEM.INI loading the MONOUMB.386 driver supplied with 
     DOS.

     6. Expand Upper Memory by Loading EMM386.EXE Low

     If you lack just a few kilobytes in having enough memory to load one 
     more TSR or device driver high, add a NOHI switch to EMM386.EXE. This 
     will increase EMM386.EXE's footprint in conventional memory by about 
     5K, but it will also make 5K more UMB RAM available.

     7. Resolve "Out of Memory" Errors from DEFRAG

     If DEFRAG quits with an out of memory error, and if you're using 
     EMM386.EXE on a system with a color video adapter, add an 
     I=A000-B7FF switch to EMM386.EXE and reboot (I=A000-AFFF for 
     monochrome systems). This will give DEFRAG 96K (64K if you used 
     I=A000-AFFF) more conventional memory to work in. Note: This 
     procedure will not help DEFRAG if your PC contains an extended BIOS 
     data area.

     8. Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

     If you install EMM386.EXE with a RAM parameter because one or two 
     of the applications that you use utilize expanded memory, try
     installing EMM386.EXE with a FRAME=NONE switch. This configures 
     EMM386.EXE to provide expanded memory services without taking away 
     64K of UMB RAM to serve as an EMS page frame. Not all EMS-aware
     apps will work with EMM386.EXE set up this way, so try running those
     apps before you make this a permanent addition to CONFIG.SYS. Note: 
     The FRAME=NONE switch is also supported in DOS 5, though this fact 
     is undocumented.

     9. Tailor the Environment for DOS Apps Under Windows

     Use COMMAND.COM's new /K switch to auto-execute a batch file when 
     you open a DOS prompt window in Windows.

     10. Maximize Free Space on Compressed Disks

     By default, DoubleSpace leaves at least 2MB of space uncompressed on 
     every disk that it compresses. If you don't need that much 
     uncompressed space, you can increase the storage capacity of the 
     compressed drive by about 3MB by resizing the drive from the 
     DoubleSpace control panel.