DOS ain't dead

JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem (Announce)

posted by bretjohn  , Rio Rancho, NM, 12.03.2026, 23:35

> OK, DOS=HIGH,UMB is the 1st line (before JEMM), I'll try...

FWIW (For What It's Worth), CONFIG.SYS isn't strictly processed sequentially. CONFIG.SYS is processed in "subgroups", and only within each subgroup are things processed sequentially. In addition, different DOS's don't necessarily process subgroups in the same order (e.g., I know FreeDOS and MS-DOS do things differently).

You can test this by single-stepping through the boot process by pressing F8 (at least in MS- and FreeDOS) as things are first starting. Compare the order the lines are processed by single-stepping to the order they are in the actual CONFIG.SYS file and you will probably see they are different. For example, the DOS=HIGH,UMB line is the first thing processed in MS-DOS (at least in the version I tested) even though it isn't the first line in my CONFIG.SYS file, and the first thing processed in FreeDOS is the SHELL= line even though it isn't first line in the CONFIG.SYS file, either.

AUTOEXEC.BAT, like all batch files, is processed sequentially, but CONFIG.SYS is not.

Complete thread:

• AweMidi - a Dos32Awe alternative - Japheth, 18.02.2026, 08:38 (Announce)
  • AweMidi - a Dos32Awe alternative - Japheth, 23.02.2026, 08:13
  • AweMidi - a Dos32Awe alternative - RayeR, 02.03.2026, 06:45
    • AweMidi - a Dos32Awe alternative - Japheth, 02.03.2026, 14:34
      • AweMidi - a Dos32Awe alternative - RayeR, 02.03.2026, 18:32
  • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - RayeR, 09.03.2026, 04:28
    • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - Japheth, 09.03.2026, 12:54
      • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - RayeR, 09.03.2026, 15:00
      • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - RayeR, 10.03.2026, 02:12
        • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - Japheth, 10.03.2026, 08:44
          • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - RayeR, 10.03.2026, 14:20
            • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - RayeR, 11.03.2026, 03:44
              • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - Japheth, 11.03.2026, 07:51
                • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - RayeR, 12.03.2026, 01:54
                  • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - Japheth, 12.03.2026, 08:11
                    • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - RayeR, 12.03.2026, 14:03
                      • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - Japheth, 12.03.2026, 15:18
                        • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - RayeR, 12.03.2026, 16:36
                          • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - bretjohn, 12.03.2026, 23:35
                        • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - RayeR, 13.03.2026, 02:30
                          • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - Japheth, 13.03.2026, 08:43
                          • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - Japheth, 13.03.2026, 15:07
                            • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - RayeR, 14.03.2026, 02:47
                              • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - Japheth, 14.03.2026, 03:57
                                • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - RayeR, 16.03.2026, 21:57
                                  • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - Japheth, 17.03.2026, 12:05
                                    • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - RayeR, 17.03.2026, 13:39
                                      • JEMM(EX) and too much XMSHANDLES problem - Japheth, 17.03.2026, 17:46