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BlueCreeper
Contributor
Contributor

MS-DOS is stuck on "HIMEM is testing extended memory"

Recently I upgraded to macOS Big Sur and I tried to start up my Windows 3.1 VM which used MS-DOS, problem is MS-DOS would load but it would always get stuck at "HIMEM is testing extended memory" I even tried to create a fresh DOS VM and the problem persisted, I've left everything at default settings, 16MB of RAM, 2GB hard drive.

12 Replies
gringley
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

I have the same problem with the "Windows 3.1 with Bob" that was published by The Register a while back.

I take it back, the VM started after hanging on HIMEM for a few minutes.

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BlueCreeper
Contributor
Contributor

So, waiting a few minutes helped for you?

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gringley
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

I tried it again just now and DOS prompt came up after 65 seconds.  I am finding I cannot run Bob though.  GPF in VGA.DRV this time around.

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BlueCreeper
Contributor
Contributor

So after leaving it for a while, the DOS prompt does indeed come up but it took WAY more than 65 seconds to actually reach the proper prompt, and it does this every time it reboots or starts up, it's quite annoying to say the least.

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MelvinLusk
Contributor
Contributor

I'm having the same exact issue since upgrading to Big Sur.  I'm running VMWare Fusion 12.1.0.  My VM runs DOS 6.22.

It takes about 5 minutes for the HIMEM memory test, but it eventually does finish.

 

 

 

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ColoradoMarmot
Champion
Champion

How much memory did you give the VM?  Make sure it's MB and not GB 🙂

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brown131
Contributor
Contributor

I have the same problem. My memory is set to the recommended 16MB.

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wila
Immortal
Immortal

Hi,

This does not appear to work for everyone, but down here I've set the virtual hardware to version 6 (Settings -> Compatibility) instead of version 18 and now my Himem testing is only a few seconds instead of a long excruciating time.

(Host OS macOS Big Sur 11.3 b3, VMware Fusion 12.1.0)

--
Wil

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
brown131
Contributor
Contributor

Downgrading the hardware version to 6 in Compatibility worked for me. Thanks,

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Rotechh
Contributor
Contributor

  1. Hey, so I'm trying to change the compatibility from hardware version 18 to 6 but it's saying I need to download a specific VMware Tools or something like that. It's also telling me to go to a website on the official VMware site but it's saying the page is not there. What should I do?
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iFrog
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Hey guys, I had the same issue.  I was able to get the version down to 10 and have DOS boot normally.

VMWare Fusion 12.2.1 on Monterey, late 2015, 27" iMac.  What I noticed was the boot time increased drastically after removing virtual Camera support.  Possibly the changes Apple made to the OS on how to handle privacy and permissions effect DOS because it's too old to know what to do with those things compared to a modern OS.

 

Give it a shot and see if running at Version 10 works, at least you'll have printer support if you need it.  Version 6 doesn't have a lot of stuff that might actually benefit even a DOS user today.  Then to make sure the VM stays on that setting, uncheck allow upgrading of this virtual machine at the bottom.

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anonpoet
Contributor
Contributor

Edit CONFIG.SYS and insert/update this line to disable the memory testing:

DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF