SpartaDOS X Reference Manual

The Command Processor — Commands

Index

This command displays the current low memory limits of your system and the number of available banks of windowed RAM.
 

In the following example,

    Main: $0F6D,$1456
     Ext: $6123,$6455
    7 banks of RAM available

the installed drivers use memory from $700-$F6C and $4000-$6122, and the held-in-memory applications used reside in memory from $F6D-$1455 and $6123-$6454.

The held-in-memory applications are LOADed into memory and consist of files such as COMMAND.COM and X.COM. The drivers installed in memory are files such as SPARTA.SYS, ATARIDOS.SYS, RAMDISK.SYS, etc.

Normally the first and second numbers above will be the same. The OS variable MEMLO (at $2E7) contains the second number. If LOAD is executed with no parameters then all in-memory applications are abandoned and the second number is lowered to the first.

NOTE: If a permanently installed driver is installed after LOADing a held-in-memory application, both low memory values will be raised above it and any held-in-memory applications will become permanent.

Although there are two possible extended memory regions, only one may be used by SpartaDOS X. This is determined at bootup time and is dependent upon the CONFIG.SYS file and/or the computer you are using. (See "Technical Information" for a discussion on extended memory.) Note that although the MEM command does not explicitly say what memory extended memory range is in use, it can be inferred by the addresses listed in the "Ext:" field. The ranges are as follows

• $4000-$7FFF Banked RAM (130XE or extended RAM computer)
• $E400-$FFBF OS RAM (not available on the Atari 800 computer)

The "banks of RAM available" field indicates how many banks of RAM are still available for a RAMDISK driver and/or BASIC XE extended mode. Note that you must have at least 4 banks available for BASIC XE extended mode. Failure to pay attention to this fact may cause your system to crash (generally at the very worst time).

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