trying to dual boot win98se & winXP with more than 512MB RAM (1GB) - please help

I've been googling on this for a while but no luck. Arrrgh!!!

My Win98SE system was very stable with 512MB RAM.
Then, I decided to install WinXP Pro for a dual boot system.
Both OSes are very stable with 512MB RAM.

The problem is when I add another 512MB for a total of 1GB of RAM.
Then, Win98SE will no longer boot up even after
adding the following three name/value pairs to "system.ini" ...

[386Enh]
MaxPhysPage=1FEFF
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1

[vcache]
MaxFileCache=512000

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Delete the first set of changes you made to the system.ini.

Read this info: Over 512 mb or more of ram:

"Out of Memory" Errors with Large Amounts of RAM Installed [Q253912]
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;EN-US;Q253912

This article contains instructions which basically say: add this line in
system.ini, under [vcache]: MaxFileCache=512000
***************************

1 gb or more of ram:

Error Message: Insufficient Memory to Initialize Windows [Q184447]
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;EN-US;Q184447
***********

I don't know if this will work but give it a try. Temporarily remove 512
mb. Boot W98. Run: msconfig and click the advanced button. Use the
memory limit setting. OK your way out, close the PC, replace the ram and
try booting.


--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"Adam" wrote in message
...
I've been googling on this for a while but no luck. Arrrgh!!!

My Win98SE system was very stable with 512MB RAM.
Then, I decided to install WinXP Pro for a dual boot system.
Both OSes are very stable with 512MB RAM.

The problem is when I add another 512MB for a total of 1GB of RAM.
Then, Win98SE will no longer boot up even after
adding the following three name/value pairs to "system.ini" ...

[386Enh]
MaxPhysPage=1FEFF
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1

[vcache]
MaxFileCache=512000

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Also, something else that I've noticed is that
WinXP Pro runs less stably with 1GB than with 512MB.


"Adam" wrote in message
...
I've been googling on this for a while but no luck. Arrrgh!!!

My Win98SE system was very stable with 512MB RAM.
Then, I decided to install WinXP Pro for a dual boot system.
Both OSes are very stable with 512MB RAM.

The problem is when I add another 512MB for a total of 1GB of RAM.
Then, Win98SE will no longer boot up even after
adding the following three name/value pairs to "system.ini" ...

[386Enh]
MaxPhysPage=1FEFF
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1

[vcache]
MaxFileCache=512000

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Firstly, thanks for your response.

In addition to your links, I had also found the following links,
which lead me to my resolution attempts without success ...

I have more than 512MB RAM. Why does Windows say I'm out of memory?
http://www.memorystock.com/windows-memory.html

Windows 98 & WinME Memory Management
http://aumha.org/win4/a/memmgmt.php

System Configuration Utility Advanced Troubleshooting Settings
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/181966/EN-US/

According to this last link from MS, which says ...

"Limit Memory to x MB:

This setting limits memory usage on your computer to the first x MB, where x
is a number of megabytes. This setting adds the "MaxPhysPage=nnn" line to the
System.ini file, where nnn is a hexidecimal value of the amount of memory to
be used. If this setting is too low (16 MB or lower), it may prevent Windows 98
from starting normally."

setting "Limit memory to x MB" in "msconfig" is another way of
setting "MaxPhysPage=h" in "system.ini".

And, I did us this GUI method to limit memory to 511MB,
which caused the system to enter "MaxPhysPage=1FEFF" into "system.ini".

For 1GB of RAM, should I limit memory to
"MaxPhysPage=30000" (or 768MB) instead?


"Ron Badour" wrote in message
...
Delete the first set of changes you made to the system.ini.

Read this info: Over 512 mb or more of ram:

"Out of Memory" Errors with Large Amounts of RAM Installed [Q253912]
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;EN-US;Q253912

This article contains instructions which basically say: add this line in
system.ini, under [vcache]: MaxFileCache=512000
***************************

1 gb or more of ram:

Error Message: Insufficient Memory to Initialize Windows [Q184447]
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;EN-US;Q184447
***********

I don't know if this will work but give it a try. Temporarily remove 512
mb. Boot W98. Run: msconfig and click the advanced button. Use the
memory limit setting. OK your way out, close the PC, replace the ram and
try booting.


--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"Adam" wrote in message
...
I've been googling on this for a while but no luck. Arrrgh!!!

My Win98SE system was very stable with 512MB RAM.
Then, I decided to install WinXP Pro for a dual boot system.
Both OSes are very stable with 512MB RAM.

The problem is when I add another 512MB for a total of 1GB of RAM.
Then, Win98SE will no longer boot up even after
adding the following three name/value pairs to "system.ini" ...

[386Enh]
MaxPhysPage=1FEFF
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1

[vcache]
MaxFileCache=512000

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

"Adam" wrote in message
et...
Also, something else that I've noticed is that
WinXP Pro runs less stably with 1GB than with 512MB.



Must be a RAM problem as XP can easily handle over 1 gig

I'm not sure why that method is not working for me.

After installing more RAM, I get as far as the following message ...

"DOSKey Installed"

on a black screen when booting up. This happens after
the Windows 98 logo screen (or whatever it's called).
Could it be that the new RAM is not compatible with the old RAM?
The new RAM is from the same manufacturer (www.crucial.com),
who scanned my system and recommended the RAM.


"Dave" wrote in message
...
I used the msconfig method. Limited RAM to 512MB before installing more
RAM. Worked fine in 98SE and ME.

--
Noncompliant

Money don't wag the dog's tail.

"Adam" wrote in message
t...
Firstly, thanks for your response.

In addition to your links, I had also found the following links,
which lead me to my resolution attempts without success ...

I have more than 512MB RAM. Why does Windows say I'm out of memory?
http://www.memorystock.com/windows-memory.html

Windows 98 & WinME Memory Management
http://aumha.org/win4/a/memmgmt.php

System Configuration Utility Advanced Troubleshooting Settings
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/181966/EN-US/

According to this last link from MS, which says ...

"Limit Memory to x MB:

This setting limits memory usage on your computer to the first x MB,
where x
is a number of megabytes. This setting adds the "MaxPhysPage=nnn" line
to the
System.ini file, where nnn is a hexidecimal value of the amount of
memory to
be used. If this setting is too low (16 MB or lower), it may prevent
Windows 98
from starting normally."

setting "Limit memory to x MB" in "msconfig" is another way of
setting "MaxPhysPage=h" in "system.ini".

And, I did use this GUI method to limit memory to 511MB,
which caused the system to enter "MaxPhysPage=1FEFF" into "system.ini".

For 1GB of RAM, should I limit memory to
"MaxPhysPage=30000" (or 768MB) instead?


"Ron Badour" wrote in message
...
Delete the first set of changes you made to the system.ini.

Read this info: Over 512 mb or more of ram:

"Out of Memory" Errors with Large Amounts of RAM Installed [Q253912]
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;EN-US;Q253912

This article contains instructions which basically say: add this line in
system.ini, under [vcache]: MaxFileCache=512000
***************************

1 gb or more of ram:

Error Message: Insufficient Memory to Initialize Windows [Q184447]
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;EN-US;Q184447
***********

I don't know if this will work but give it a try. Temporarily remove 512
mb. Boot W98. Run: msconfig and click the advanced button. Use the
memory limit setting. OK your way out, close the PC, replace the ram and
try booting.


--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"Adam" wrote in message
...
I've been googling on this for a while but no luck. Arrrgh!!!

My Win98SE system was very stable with 512MB RAM.
Then, I decided to install WinXP Pro for a dual boot system.
Both OSes are very stable with 512MB RAM.

The problem is when I add another 512MB for a total of 1GB of RAM.
Then, Win98SE will no longer boot up even after
adding the following three name/value pairs to "system.ini" ...

[386Enh]
MaxPhysPage=1FEFF
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1

[vcache]
MaxFileCache=512000

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

I used the msconfig method. Limited RAM to 512MB before installing more
RAM. Worked fine in 98SE and ME.

--
Noncompliant

Money don't wag the dog's tail.

"Adam" wrote in message
t...
Firstly, thanks for your response.

In addition to your links, I had also found the following links,
which lead me to my resolution attempts without success ...

I have more than 512MB RAM. Why does Windows say I'm out of memory?
http://www.memorystock.com/windows-memory.html

Windows 98 & WinME Memory Management
http://aumha.org/win4/a/memmgmt.php

System Configuration Utility Advanced Troubleshooting Settings
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/181966/EN-US/

According to this last link from MS, which says ...

"Limit Memory to x MB:

This setting limits memory usage on your computer to the first x MB,
where x
is a number of megabytes. This setting adds the "MaxPhysPage=nnn" line
to the
System.ini file, where nnn is a hexidecimal value of the amount of
memory to
be used. If this setting is too low (16 MB or lower), it may prevent
Windows 98
from starting normally."

setting "Limit memory to x MB" in "msconfig" is another way of
setting "MaxPhysPage=h" in "system.ini".

And, I did us this GUI method to limit memory to 511MB,
which caused the system to enter "MaxPhysPage=1FEFF" into "system.ini".

For 1GB of RAM, should I limit memory to
"MaxPhysPage=30000" (or 768MB) instead?


"Ron Badour" wrote in message
...
Delete the first set of changes you made to the system.ini.

Read this info: Over 512 mb or more of ram:

"Out of Memory" Errors with Large Amounts of RAM Installed [Q253912]
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;EN-US;Q253912

This article contains instructions which basically say: add this line in
system.ini, under [vcache]: MaxFileCache=512000
***************************

1 gb or more of ram:

Error Message: Insufficient Memory to Initialize Windows [Q184447]
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;EN-US;Q184447
***********

I don't know if this will work but give it a try. Temporarily remove 512
mb. Boot W98. Run: msconfig and click the advanced button. Use the
memory limit setting. OK your way out, close the PC, replace the ram and
try booting.


--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"Adam" wrote in message
...
I've been googling on this for a while but no luck. Arrrgh!!!

My Win98SE system was very stable with 512MB RAM.
Then, I decided to install WinXP Pro for a dual boot system.
Both OSes are very stable with 512MB RAM.

The problem is when I add another 512MB for a total of 1GB of RAM.
Then, Win98SE will no longer boot up even after
adding the following three name/value pairs to "system.ini" ...

[386Enh]
MaxPhysPage=1FEFF
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1

[vcache]
MaxFileCache=512000

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

"philo" wrote in message
...

"Adam" wrote in message
et...
Also, something else that I've noticed is that
WinXP Pro runs less stably with 1GB than with 512MB.



Must be a RAM problem as XP can easily handle over 1 gig


Not sure if it matters, but I did an upgrade install of
Windows XP Pro over Windows 98 SE.

Might try a clean install of Windows XP Pro later.

"philo" wrote in message
...

"Adam" wrote in message
et...
Also, something else that I've noticed is that
WinXP Pro runs less stably with 1GB than with 512MB.



Must be a RAM problem as XP can easily handle over 1 gig


Not sure if it matters, but I did an upgrade install of
Windows XP Pro over Windows 98 SE.

"philo" wrote in message
...

"Adam" wrote in message
et...
Also, something else that I've noticed is that
WinXP Pro runs less stably with 1GB than with 512MB.


Must be a RAM problem as XP can easily handle over 1 gig


WinXP does recognize the new RAM. It's just much more stable without it.

Not sure if it matters, but I did an upgrade install of
Windows XP Pro over Windows 98 SE.

Might try a clean install of Windows XP Pro later.