I have monitored many online discussions (or arguments) on the memory management of MS/PC-DOS systems that left me more confused than edified. In this text, the authors have produced a reference text that clarifies many of the obscure memory management issues. The first part of the book is tutorial in nature, explaining the fundamental concepts of memory management and multitasking for 80x86 systems. The second part is intended as a reference, giving detailed information about various operating environments and applications.

Each chapter contains a summary, detailed explanations including screen images of the programs under discussion, and a short conclusion. There is no question-and-answer section for use in classroom environments.

Part 1, “Basic Concepts,” begins with chapter 1, “Meet the Hardware.” This chapter contains a review of the history of PC systems, the evolution of the hardware, and an overview of the components that make up a PC. It discusses the differences among 8088, 80286, 80386, and 80486 machines and the types of software they will run. It also covers the basic memory components and other system peripherals.

Chapter 2, “Taking Stock of Your System,” addresses such questions as, What is the current state of your PC? What hardware is installed? What software are you using? and How much memory is available? This chapter includes a discussion of various diagnostic tools, CMOS setup options, and commercially available system inventory packages.

DOS divides the first megabyte of RAM into 640K of conventional memory and 384K of reserved memory. Chapter3, “How DOS Uses Memory,” discusses how DOS works with PC hardware components to use the various types of memory that are available. It discusses disk cache software, print spoolers, and RAM disk software packages.

Different methods of adding memory to PC systems have been developed over the years. In chapter 4, “Extended and Expanded Memory,” the authors clearly show the evolution of the two primary methods of memory expansion and their strengths and weaknesses. Examples of how to effectively use upper memory blocks (UMB), high memory area (HMA), and extended memory blocks (EMB) are given along with a discussion of the various tradeoffs involved.

Chapter 5 covers “Ins and Outs of Memory Hardware.” Starting with the solid advice to “choose your software first,” the authors present a detailed discussion of the various upgrade alternatives available to PC users today. These choices range from completely replacing a system, to replacing the motherboard or installing an accelerator card, to simply adding more memory. Recommendations are based on an analysis of your current system’s configuration and the requirements of the application programs that you desire to use.

The performance of your system can be optimized in many ways. In Part 2, “Operating Strategies,” the authors discuss various strategies available, based on the operating environment. These range from the juggling of TSRs and device drivers, to modifying system configuration files and changing application configurations, to balancing the application needs against available resources. This section contains six chapters: chapter 6, “Software Strategies for Improving Performance,” chapter 7, “Managing Memory with MS-DOS 5.0,” chapter 8, “Third-party Memory Management,” chapter 9, “Multitasking with Microsoft Windows,” chapter 10, “Using DESQview,” and chapter 11, “Multitasking with OS/2.”

Appendix A contains Quarterdeck technical notes. Appendix B discusses network considerations with Helix’s NETROOM. Appendix C is a shareware utilities disk: a 1.2 MByte collection of public domain and shareware programs and files is included with the book on a 5.25-inch floppy. This collection includes some classic utilities and diagnostics packages, such as PMAP, HDTEST, and Hyperdisk. Appendix D lists public bulletin board systems. Inclusion of a multipage listing of BBSs in a reference book is always a risky business, as they come and go in an unpredictable manner. The last appendix is a vendor address list. The book ends with an index.

My systems operate under MS-DOS 5.0 with Windows 3.1 on 80386 and 80486 computers. This text allowed me to review the current memory configuration and balance some options that I was not even aware existed. Chapter 9 pointed out aspects and features for configuring Windows 3.1 that I found difficult to locate in the Windows reference manual. I did not identify any errors in the text and was able to verify the accuracy of many of the items that I did not recognize.

Because it discusses the interaction between hardware and software, and balancing software packages from multiple vendors, I would recommend this book as part of any PC reference collection. It is especially valuable if, like me, you run your system at its memory limits.