Hi, I want to use PXELINUX to load a DOS disk image which I currently use for Win2K/XP unattended installs. I want to move away from reliance on specific NDIS2 drivers and use the 3Com UNDIS3C driver instead. I have used this successfully to start the MSClient, but the problem is that the UNDI and PXE layer take about 90K of base memory, which means that WINNT.EXE has insufficent memory to run after networking is started. I have already performed all the base memory saving tricks I can (including reclaiming 32K from the VGA BIOS area, loading DOS high, using loadhigh for most things) but still this is not enough. My question is - do I really need both the UNDI layer and PXE stack to stay resident for this UNDIS3C to function or could I get away with just keeping the UNDI layer? Currently PXELINUX only allows both to stay resident. Is there a way to reduce this memory overhead? Thanks, Patrick (apologies for the earlier post in HTML)
"Moore, Patrick J" <patrick.moore at imperial.ac.uk> writes:> My question is - do I really need both the UNDI layer and PXE stack > to stay resident for this UNDIS3C to function or could I get away > with just keeping the UNDI layer?I believe you need both, because UNDI is built on PXE. However, my unattended installation system uses exactly this approach (pxelinux + memdisk + MSCLIENT + winnt.exe), and it works fine. It supports both 2k and XP installs: http://unattended.sourceforge.net/ If nothing else, you can try comparing my boot disk to your own. (Or see if mine works for you; if not, I would like to hear about it.) - Pat
> If nothing else, you can try comparing my boot disk to your own.You're using the basic MSClient redirector - I need the full one for domain logons which needs more RAM. I also use a UK keyboard driver since people use symbols in their domain passwords. This is enough to swing the balance unfortunately... -----Original Message----- From: Patrick J. LoPresti [mailto:patl at users.sourceforge.net] Sent: 20 June 2003 22:04 To: Moore, Patrick J Cc: syslinux at zytor.com Subject: Re: [syslinux] PXELINUX keeppxe mem footprint "Moore, Patrick J" <patrick.moore at imperial.ac.uk> writes:> My question is - do I really need both the UNDI layer and PXE stack to > stay resident for this UNDIS3C to function or could I get away with > just keeping the UNDI layer?I believe you need both, because UNDI is built on PXE. However, my unattended installation system uses exactly this approach (pxelinux + memdisk + MSCLIENT + winnt.exe), and it works fine. It supports both 2k and XP installs: http://unattended.sourceforge.net/ If nothing else, you can try comparing my boot disk to your own. (Or see if mine works for you; if not, I would like to hear about it.) - Pat
I have no idea about the unattended-site 's bootdisk, or yours, but at http://www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/network/ there's a network diskette section. sorry this turns into an DOS discussion this way, but optimising is very well possible. for example, replace himem.sys by fdxms.sys (from the FreeDOS project), and if possible, emm386 by UMBPCI.sys http://www.uwe-sieber.de/umbpci_e.html MEM /C /P is your friend in this case.. some other things beneficial to you might be replacing command.com by FreeDOS's one (FreeCOM 0.82patchlevel2), and the kernel by FreeDOS's one (kernel 2030). However this could have consequences (especially kernel..as many programs react different to it due to nondocumentend msdos API's/interrupts etc..) ofcourse the usual LH/DEVICEHIGH stuff is also useful. regards, Bernd Blaauw
I have tried all that (I've been maintaining it for a few years) so I've tested, and used many of those techniques. I have not yet come across a single machine for which UMBPCI.SYS can beat "device=\dos\emm386.exe noems notr h=128 i=b000-b7ff /v". Without keeppxe I have approx 400K base RAM left after starting the full redirector. The 90K hit of keeping PXE loaded is just too much. Is there any way of shunting this to XMS I wonder? The 7K required for keyboard.sys (loaded high in any case) is pretty insignificant compared to this. Anyway, as hpa said it is possible to unload PXE but keep UNDI, he just hasn't implemented it yet. Patrick -----Original Message----- From: Blaauw,Bernd B. [mailto:B.Blaauw at student.fontys.nl] Sent: 21 June 2003 01:54 To: syslinux at zytor.com Subject: RE: [syslinux] PXELINUX keeppxe mem footprint I have no idea about the unattended-site 's bootdisk, or yours, but at http://www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/network/ there's a network diskette section. sorry this turns into an DOS discussion this way, but optimising is very well possible. for example, replace himem.sys by fdxms.sys (from the FreeDOS project), and if possible, emm386 by UMBPCI.sys http://www.uwe-sieber.de/umbpci_e.html MEM /C /P is your friend in this case.. some other things beneficial to you might be replacing command.com by FreeDOS's one (FreeCOM 0.82patchlevel2), and the kernel by FreeDOS's one (kernel 2030). However this could have consequences (especially kernel..as many programs react different to it due to nondocumentend msdos API's/interrupts etc..) ofcourse the usual LH/DEVICEHIGH stuff is also useful. regards, Bernd Blaauw _______________________________________________ SYSLINUX mailing list Submissions to SYSLINUX at zytor.com Unsubscribe or set options at: http://www.zytor.com/mailman/listinfo/syslinux Please do not send private replies to mailing list traffic.