Batch to check for TOTAL RAM

[Dias de verano]

I once made a boot CD that created a RAM disk and then copied a lot of utilities into it. The idea was to have a user menu for the different utilities and having them on the RAM disk would make them load quicker than they would off the CD. This turned out to be a "solution" that created more problems than it solved. The main drawbacks were that creating the RAM disk and copying stuff into it off the CD took quite a long time, causing a tedious wait before you could do anything, and also that the RAM disk was created in extended memory and some programs (Ghost 8 in particular) like to have exclusive access to EMS, and refuse to run otherwise.

However, all the solutions I have come up with so far require the batch file to have access to a writable medium of some sort.

Other problems that I wonder about are: The version of DOS used to prepare the bootable disk - the MEM in some versions of DOS cannot detect RAM above 64 Mb and report all amounts equal to or greater than that as 64 MB. (My bootable pen drive uses DOS 7 that comes with Windows 98SE and reports 1 Gb of RAM correctly) and the slightly differing output formats of different MEM versions.

[jdogherman]

Im just so suprised that there isnt any other method to getting the amount of ram in a system.

does anyone know how to do it with simple programming to create a self contained executable?

[jdogherman]

Any Ideas?

[Dias de verano]

The problem is that MS-DOS was designed a long time ago and uses 16 bit arithmetic; it is possible in theory to read the memory size from the CMOS memory using assembly language but this method runs out of steam at 64 Mb and reports all sizes over that as 64 Mb.

How many machines are you responsible for, and how many have under 512 Mb?

[jdogherman]

I belive this may run off of a msdos built around win 98 recovery disc.

Does anyone know of a way to write a program .exe that could do the job of the batch easier?

I am working on this project to try and improve the current configuration. We own/manage thousands of computers at remote locations. Try are we may to keep them updated and to not send image cd to a low memory computer it still happens.

Do you know of any other image methods other than what I am using that could make this easier? GHOST 8.0. It must be fool proof as our end user is not very computer savvy.

Thanks

[jdogherman]

alright...

What about a new boot system? placing the ghost.exe in a live disc. would that work? then in this new environment I could run a memory check.

Any one have experience with this?

[Dias de verano]

Do the PCs have floppy drives?

[jdogherman]

nope

some have dvd but all have cds