| BUFFERS |
|
| Allocates memory for a specified number of disk buffers when your system |
| starts. You can use this command only in your CONFIG.SYS file. |
|
| Syntax |
|
| BUFFERS=n[,m] |
|
| Parameters |
|
| n |
| Specifies the number of disk buffers. The value of n must be in the |
| range 1 through 99. |
|
| m |
| Specifies the number of buffers in the secondary buffer cache. The value |
| of m must be in the range 0 through 8. |
|
| Default settings |
|
| The default setting for the number of disk buffers depends on the |
| configuration of your system, as shown in the following table: |
|
| Configuration Buffers Bytes |
| (n) |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
| 128K of RAM, 360K disk 2 -- |
|
| 128K of RAM, 360K 3 -- |
| disk |
|
| 128K to 255K of RAM 5 2672 |
|
| 256K to 511K of RAM 10 5328 |
|
| 512K to 640K of RAM 15 7984 |
|
| The default setting for the number of buffers in the secondary cache (m) is |
| 0 (no secondary cache buffers). |
|
| If you specify an invalid value for n or m, BUFFERS uses the default setting |
| of no secondary cache buffers. |
|
|
| BUFFERS--Notes |
|
| Using BUFFERS with DoubleSpace |
|
| If you are using DoubleSpace and SMARTDrive, and MS-DOS is loaded into the |
| HMA, set BUFFERS=10. This ensures that there will be enough room in the HMA |
| for MS-DOS, DoubleSpace, and all your buffers. (If BUFFERS is set to a value |
| higher than 10, there might not be enough room in the HMA for all your |
| buffers, and MS-DOS will place all the buffers into conventional memory.) If |
| you're using SMARTDrive, specifying more than 10 buffers will not speed up |
| your system much, but will use additional memory. |
|
| Using BUFFERS with SMARTDRV.EXE |
|
| If you are using SMARTDRV.EXE, either use a smaller value for BUFFERS, or do |
| not specify a BUFFERS command at all. |
|
| How MS-DOS uses buffers |
|
| MS-DOS uses the memory reserved for each disk buffer to hold data during |
| read and write operations. To achieve the best performance with programs |
| such as word processors, specify a value between 10 and 20 for n. If you |
| plan to create many subdirectories, you might want to increase the number of |
| buffers to 20 or 30. Each buffer requires approximately 532 bytes of memory. |
| Therefore, the more buffers you have, the less memory you have available for |
| programs. (To find out how much memory MS-DOS is using for disk buffers, use |
| the MEM /D /P command.) |
|
| If MS-DOS is loaded in the high memory area (HMA) and there is enough room |
| in the HMA to contain all the buffers, MS-DOS also places the buffers in the |
| HMA. If you specify more than 48 buffers, or if you are running DoubleSpace |
| and specify more than 10 buffers, there might not be enough room in the HMA |
| for all the buffers. In that case, MS-DOS places all of the buffers into |
| conventional memory. |
|
| Using the secondary buffer cache |
|
| Using the cache can speed up certain disk operations if you are using a |
| computer with an 8086 processor. If you are using a computer with a faster |
| processor, it is better to use SMARTDRV.EXE for a cache. |
|
|
| BUFFERS--Example |
|
| To create 20 disk buffers, include the following command in your CONFIG.SYS |
| file: |
|
| buffers=20 |
|
|
