HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE Are Not Verbose by Default (94554)


The information in this article applies to:
    • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.0
    • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.2
    • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.21
    • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.22
This article was previously published under Q94554

SUMMARY

In Microsoft MS-DOS version 6.0 and 6.2, HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE do not display any initialization information by default. When you start your computer, no information is displayed by either device driver as CONFIG.SYS is processed. To show data such as A20 handling switches and upper memory area (UMA) information, you must add the /VERBOSE (/V) switch to each device driver statement in the CONFIG.SYS file. For example: 
   DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS /V
   DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS X=D000-D7FF /V

MORE INFORMATION

You can also display startup information by pressing the ALT key while your computer is starting. This is useful for a one-time status check of these drivers.

If either device driver finds an error during initialization, it automatically switches to verbose mode, displaying both the error and its normal startup information.

HIMEM.SYS requires a forward slash before the word VERBOSE (or V); EMM386.EXE does not. Omitting the forward slash on HIMEM.SYS causes the following message (although the verbose information is displayed):

Warning: Invalid parameter ignored: V
Modification Type: Major Last Reviewed: 11/19/1999
Keywords: KB94554
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