We recommend that you remove all but 512mb of memory from your computer and then start it normally. Oct, 2017 microsofts windows 95 was a huge leap from windows 3. Besides using little conventional or upper memory space it caches cdroms and networked drives which smartcache didnt do. Use the maxfilecache setting in the i file to reduce the maximum amount of memory that vcache uses to 512 megabytes 524,288 kb or less. Vxd, will work for most every device driver commonly found in the msdos config. Minfilecache1024 maxfilecache8192 this setting is for 32mb ram these values limit the size of the vcache in kilobytes, so that windows is prevented from using more of your available ram for the vcache. I have an old age old computer that had windows 98 on it.
Vcache replaces the smartdrive system used in older versions of windows. I had no luck there, but with more searching i found an easier fix instead, just limit the amount of memory that windows 95 will initialize. Vcache can dynamically change depending on the available disk space and memory an application requires. Im trying to install windows95,98se,me and xp but in order of do that i need run windows 95, the problem is that i dont know how reduce the amount of ram to a minimum 16mb without need of change ram sticks. This principle is excellent, but its implementation in windows 95 98 is suitable only for systems with oodles of ram. Computer hardware help usb mouse on windows 95, how. Above 512 mb, adjustments to vcache settings in i are recommended.
Feb 14, 2020 how to enable or disable disk write caching in windows 10 disk write caching is a feature that improves system performance by using fast volatile memory ram to collect write commands sent to data storage devices and cache them until the slower storage device ex. As windows needs more ram, it takes away from the cache and viceversa. But it still enables use of 2gb of ram under another os in a dual boot setup. Windows 95 wont work on modern pc hardware, but you can still install it in a virtual machine and relive those glory days. The maximum for windows 95 is 512 mb, though windows 98 can go up to 1154 mb and windows me can go up to 1995 mb. In general, most users say that a maxfilecache maximum file cache setting of up to 9mb works best for them, even if they have more ram available. Computer dictionary definition for what vcache means including related links. The problem is, limiting vcache size does not cure the real memory problem. Under windows 95, the swap file can reside on a compressed drive if a protectedmode driver that is. Vcache then reserves enough memory addresses to permit it to access a cache of the maximum size so that it can increase the cache to that size if needed.
Windows 95, 98 and millenium edition support for memory configurations greater than 512mb use of memory configurations greater than 512mb in windows 95, 98 and windows millennium edition there have been numerous questions that have arisen since the release of windows 95 regarding memory limitations in windows 9x. Whereas smartdrive is a 16bit driver, vcache is a 32bit driver. Windows 9xme does not install some vxd files in your system directory by default, adding them manually has proven to help for a healthy setup with less crashes. Windows 98 with 2gb of ram retrocomputing stack exchange. If you install more than 512 mb of ram in a system running windows 9x thats any version of windows 95, 98, 98se, or me, you get weird out of memory errors. Virtual cache vcache this is the disk cache replacement for smartdrive, not to confuse with virtual memory.
Windows 95 troubleshooting, stop windows 95 disk thrashing. Please start by including hardware you have on your system that you can confirm works with win9x. These virtual device drivers, which have the extension. Compatible hardware with windows 9x windows 9xme msfn. Vcache can dynamically change the size of the disk cache depending on available disk space and application requirements.
Another big improvement in vcache over smartdrive is that the memory pool used for the cache is dynamic and is based on the amount of available free system memory. Setting up proper caching and performance enhancement. There is a bug in the original windows 95 and windows 95a with the network server setting. In the default setting, windows decides on how much is needed. Programme, oder entfernen sie dienstprogramme aus config. Jan 10, 2011 a lot of people talk about tuning the vcache as itll initialize far too big, and not leave enough memory for windows 95 to actually operate. Desktop themes and utilities offered with microsoft plus. Make sure that there are no spaces in the statement and the capitals are a must. The vcache that comes with windows 95 is quite different from that which comes with windows 3. There is not enough memory available to run this program. You can also add maxfilecache524288 under vcache in i to ensure that windows 98. Heres how to get around those memory limitations to make windows 95 and windows 98 work with 2 gb of ram.
It was released on the 15th of august 1995, but support for it ended on the 31st of december 2001. The reason is that windows allocates most of the available ram to its virtual disk cache. No image his explanation its so the file that was released inside ubcd running any windows 9x in parallels. Oct 17, 2017 windows 95 machines have been known to have issues with memory above 48 mb because of how the memory is handled with vcache. Change the vcache settings as necessary, shut down, and then reinstall your remaining ram.
Tweaking virtual memory for win95, win98, and winme. Oct 02, 2007 for me, it is useless to have more than 384mb of the cache, even 256 or 128 is too much. The minfilecache minimum file cache setting prevents windows 95 from shrinking the cache below 1024kb. Use of memory configurations greater than 512mb in windows 95, 98 and. However, windows 95 can also use a permanent windows 3. Vcache minfilecache10240 maxfilecache30720 this also did nothing for me. Insufficient memory to initialize windows win95 dell. There are a number of settings that you can change in windows that are factory.
However, you will still gain some modest improvement in performance by changing these settings. Probleme mit zuviel arbeitsspeicher bei windows winfaq. Ginny, vcache is a 32bit protectedmode dynamic cache which in windows 95 replaced the 16bit realmode smartdrive. Windows 95, 98 and millenium edition support for memory. Improvements in win98me vcache windows support center. Sys unless windows 95 does not have a builtin protectedmode driver for a particular device. Windows 95 would be a close second as to what would be microsofts most significant software, as it brought 32bit computing to the masses, along with a completely different user interface, one that remains popular to this day with the start button. How to optimize the vcache settings to ensure that windows 95 and winnt if it is different uses as much installed ram as possible without resorting to virtual memory. Below is a list of compatible hardware that works on windows 9x systems and or have suitable driversespecially of interest is newer hardware that supports or still supports win9x.
The vcache driver also manages the cache pool for the universal disk format file system udf and the 32bit network redirectors provided with windows 95. Windows 95 is a closed source operating system aimed at home users. And anyone that has ever installed 9x should know this by now. Mar 27, 2010 i get a black screen on first boot after installing windows 3. It does not need to load device drivers from config. Windows 98 and windows me users can also improve their performance by also modifying the vcache. Windows 95 machines have been known to have issues with memory above 48 mb because of how the memory is handled with vcache. Jun 20, 2006 another microsoft kb article said to add a line in the vcache section limiting the cache size. Limiting ram to 1gb with himemx seems like a stable fix, but i couldnt get the 2gb. If you do not have this value, then feel free to enter it as the above. It needs to be tamed windows 95 98 will gladly expand this cache size instead of sending the files to vm. Apr 21, 2004 cause the windows 32bit protectedmode cache driver vcache determines the maximum cache size based on the amount of ram that is present when windows starts. Taming windows 959898seme out of memory errors the.
Unfortunately some precious ram is no longer available for running programs. Windows didnt need to use a large cache a cache is a buffer, memory set. Taming windows 959898seme out of memory errors the silicon. The side effect of setting vcache is if you are running one app that does a lot of file io, but is not timecritical searching a database, or processingcreating a lot of files, say there will be free memory that windows could have used to try to optimize the file io. The big difference is that the cache is sized dynamically. Windows 95 machines have been known to have issues with memory. Scroll down to the section titled vcache and add these two lines. Jun 19, 2002 windows 95 98 me has a limitation for how much memory they can handle, actual if having 1 gbyte 1024 mbyte or more, then it might keep win9x from starting at all. The windows 95 gui is a protectedmode overlay of the msdos 7 shell. And give messages like these or reboot continuously. Minfilecache1024 maxfilecache524288 if youre using 1 gb of ram, you may want to set maxfilecache to 262144 instead. In this case, the file cannot shrink below the permanent size set for it in windows 3. The problem is windows 95 and 98 werent designed for those amounts of memory.
Can anyone give me some advice as to what is preventing windows 95 from starting up. Insufficient memory to initialize windows win95 i just purchased a latitude d520 and repartitioned the hard drive so that i can load multiple operating systems windows 95 and windows xp. Loew the windows 95 98seme ram limitation patch program patches windows 95, 98, 98se or me to support computers with more than 512mb. Windows 98 should now only have 1gb of ram althought 2gb are installed and it should still be stable. The vcache setting always needs to be modified, otherwise win 9x will crash out simply by installing a driver half of the time, but that is not a direct memory related fix, its simply windows cache setting. Tuning the vcache settings, in addition to eliminating the out of memory errors, improves performance. Vcache fix attempt windows 9x member projects msfn.
It limites the memory that vcache uses, but not allocation issue. Windows 95 machines have been known to have issues with. Some users only use a maximum setting, others a maximum and minimum setting. Jul 10, 2010 the vcache setting always needs to be modified, otherwise win 9x will crash out simply by installing a driver half of the time, but that is not a direct memory related fix, its simply windows cache setting. Disable writebehind caching for all drives by clicking start, settings, control. Oct 28, 2018 originally available separately or as part of windows 95 osr 2. Use the maxfilecache setting in the i file to reduce the maximum amount of memory that vcache uses to 512 megabytes 524,288 kb. From a developers standpoint, the ideal way to run drivers is in protected mode in windows 95.
How to modify caching behavior in internet explorer 10. Foremost among the improvements in win98me memory management are the changes in vcache. May 05, 2005 this setting has windows set the local drivers into upper memory leaving more conventional ram open for windows itself. For windows 95, press the f8 key when you see the starting windows 95 message, and then choose stepbystep confirmation from the startup menu. Simply put, the vcache is used among other functions to store previously used code and data that windows thinks might be needed again. Mar 01, 2011 i am trying to run windows 98 on a windows xp system but i keep getting system protectiuon windows ndis error which i understand is caused by a the use of a faster cpu with win 98 microsoft have wahed their hands and i am wondering if anyone out.