Not enough maximum conventional memory.

I only have Windows 98. Sometimes I just use C:\command and sometimes I restart and then boot up with the step by step configuration (because some background files try to load even though there not in autoexec.bat) and just dont choose the windows shell to be booted.

He is using Windows 98.

Your right, you can drop EMM386.EXE from config.sys.

What is puzzling thought is the EMM386.EXE ON in the autoexec.bat. As far as I can recall, that wont run from there.

You may also edit msdos.sys under windows 98, and further optimize settings there. Its a flat text file.

That EMM386 ON thing is there because I put it there and youre right it doesnt work. Itll work if I run it in windows but when it boots up it says the file is missing or corrupt.

Ill have a look at that msdos.sys too see what I can do. I find it odd however that 56K is missing from memory but it is also 56K that is being used so im basically losing 112K of memory.
I cannot really think of anything that may be causing that, if I had the full amount of base memory and the 56K used up I would have plenty to play pretty much anything, Ive always had memory troubles but I had never before realised that DOS didnt recognise that I was abe to have a full 640K of base memory.

[Moderator]

DOSX and expanded memory are taking up some space. Look at those two. I don't know what DOSX is, and do you need expanded memory?

I have needed it on occasion. And I never once said DOSX, if I did it must have been a typo. But the real issue here is why DOS is seeing my maximum memory as 584K instead of 640K not how to free up memory.

[Moderator]

I agree Rippa, you should start with the 640K then it gets used up after that.
Could you have a faulty cpu I wonder?

Why would the CPU affect it? I just thought it might be a line of code in some DOS file gone wrong.

[Moderator]

Is the 640K conventional memory limitation a hardware of software thing?
I've always thought it was hardware (cpu).
Live & learn, I must do some research on this.  

[Moderator]

Conventional Memory

Conventional memory is contiguous memory directly used by applications running on any Intel 80x86 microprocessor that is running in real mode under unaugmented MS-DOS. Addressed from 0 to 640KB (up to 736KB with special device drivers and hardware). The original 8088 processor could address up to 1MB (220, 20 being the number of address lines which come out of the CPU) of memory directly; however, IBM chose to reserve the upper 384KB for ROM and other uses.

Another interesting read....
http://aroundcny.com/technofile/texts/pcmemdesign.htm

There is a sound manager out there called VDMSound.
http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewtopic.php?t=2071

This sound manager also manages DOS 640K memmory issues.

By the way. Did you ever try to adjust the properties of the shortcut running the DOS game under Windows?
Experiment with the memmory setting of the short-cut in question.

That's odd, I changed the memory settings in that right click properties menu and they all changed except conventional memory. I changed it to 640K but it went back to auto, that's interesting.