DOS ain't dead - UIDE/UIDEJR version 2009-10-06 available

UIDE/UIDEJR version 2009-10-06 available (Announce)

posted by rr , Berlin, Germany, 08.10.2009, 17:07

Here's Jack's longer version of the latest changes:
The latest 6-Oct-2009 update to UIDE and UIDEJR was required due to a proven
problem in the V7.10 MS-DOS kernel, which many people still use.

Lucho on occasion runs a "DOS Extender". Running it with UIDE gave crashes
that "went away" using the 7-Sep-09 UIDE but "reoccurred" using the 3-Oct-09
UIDE. Both of Lucho's 6K-byte UIDE2 variants from those dates (that he may
put on future "boot" diskettes) worked successfully with his "DOS Extender".
If he also tried the failing 3-Oct-09 UIDE with /R (use no HMA), NO crashes!

In 2007, when UIDE could still put its binary-search table in the HMA, I had
to limit its maximum HMA usage to 9136 bytes, as V7.10 MS-DOS would CRASH if
UIDE used the actual "free HMA" value reported by the kernel! I suspected
Lucho's new crashes were similar, so I asked him to try a test: Re-assemble
the failing 3-Oct-09 UIDE with 16 extra bytes of zeros at its end, making it
EXACTLY the same size as the 7-Sep-09 UIDE, and test it again. NO crashes!

If loading the same driver logic into exactly the same memory addresses, but
with a slightly-larger "final size", gives NO crash (same as using /R), then
I believe Lucho's "DOS Extender" problems ARE NOT caused by UIDE! An ERROR
in the V7.10 MS-DOS kernel, when it reports "free HMA", is likely at fault!

So that UIDE and UIDEJR remain SAFE for all users, including those who still
have V7.10 MS-DOS, I have updated the drivers so they do not "automatically"
use any HMA space. The /R switch is now deleted and the drivers will again
default to loading in upper-memory or 640K "DOS memory".

Those who still want to use the HMA can request this with the new /H switch.
So far, no crashes such as Lucho experienced have been seen on V6.22 MS-DOS,
FreeDOS, nor any other DOS systems now in use. But, Gates & Co.'s wretched
HMA logic may have been "copied" in other DOS kernels! Thus, as I note in
the driver README file, specifying /H shall have to be "at the user's risk!"
from now on.

I am in fact DISGUSTED at having to make this change, but it is required due
to uncorrected Gates & Co. ERRORS, that never-WILL be corrected as they have
totally abandoned all support for MS-DOS!!

---
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Complete thread:

UIDE update (30. Aug 2009) - Japheth, 01.09.2009, 12:37 (Announce)
- UIDE update (30. Aug 2009) - rr, 01.09.2009, 14:25
  - UIDE update (30. Aug 2009) - Laaca, 05.09.2009, 22:58
    - 2 More Driver Updates. - rr, 06.09.2009, 17:19
- Another BAD Error Fixed in UIDE! - rr, 08.09.2009, 20:44
  - UIDE: Oct. 3 (fixed handling of XMS cache errors) - Rugxulo, 06.10.2009, 05:38
- UIDE/UIDEJR version 2009-10-06 available - rr, 08.10.2009, 17:07