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SMARTDRV.EXE
SmartDrive (or SMARTDRV) is a disk caching program shipped with MS-DOS versions 4.01 through 6.22 and Windows 3.0 through Windows 3.11. It improves data transfer rates by storing frequently accessed data in random-access memory (RAM). Early versions of SmartDrive were loaded through a device driver named . Versions 4.0 and later were loaded through an executable file named , which could be run at user's discretion or at boot time via . However, also includes a double-buffering driver that should be loaded through . Version 4.0 also introduced 32-bit disk access and could reduce its footprint in conventional memory (the first 640 kilobytes of memory which was critical to DOS) by running in upper memory area (the 384 kilobytes of memory located beyond the conventional memory). A cloaked variant of SmartDrive utilizing the Helix Cloaking API was available from Helix Software. On Intel 80386 processors, it could run in protected mode to reduce its footprint in conventional m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conventional Memory
In DOS memory management, conventional memory, also called base memory, is the first 640 kilobytes of the memory on IBM PC or compatible systems. It is the read-write memory directly addressable by the processor for use by the operating system and application programs. As memory prices rapidly declined, this design decision became a limitation in the use of large memory capacities until the introduction of operating systems and processors that made it irrelevant. 640 KB barrier The 640 KB barrier is an architectural limitation of IBM PC compatible PCs. The Intel 8088 CPU, used in the original IBM PC, was able to address 1 MB (220 bytes), since the chip offered 20 address lines. In the design of the PC, the memory below 640 KB was for random-access memory on the motherboard or on expansion boards, and it was called the conventional memory area. The first memory segment (64 KB) of the conventional memory area is named lower memory or low memory are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
