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Games that will run under DOS with 2mb RAM

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aaron7

Experienced Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2003
Messages
456
Giving up hope finding a RAM upgrade for my Compaq Portable 386. Guess I'm stuck with 2mb RAM!

Looking for game ideas for this lil guy.

Tried Xargon, Wolf3d, Commander Keen... none will run with the paltry 2mb RAM.

Any good suggestions?
 
There was a time when 2MB of memory wasn't considered to be "paltry".

Consider a 1960s supercomputer, the CDC 6600. 128KiW maximum memory--that translates to (60 bit words), which translates to 982KB. The much faster 7600 had only half that.
 
Something is wrong with your setup. Commander Keen 5 lists required RAM as 565K so a 2MB system should have no problem with any of the earlier DOS CK releases. What is the amount of free RAM?
 
Bear with me, it's been a while since I've had to do this. How do I allocate the memory properly?

20200120_145135.jpg
 
MEM /C would list what is loaded in memory. I think you have plenty of free memory based on what is listed. You might be hitting the opposite problem; some programs had difficulty if DOS used less than 64 kB i.e. free memory in excess of 580k. A simple test of REMming out DOS=HIGH would drop free memory below that threshold but still leave enough for Commander Keen. Otherwise, there might be some driver issue I don't recognize.
 
I don't see how 637792 bytes is not enough. I was able to run WOLF3D on a 386 with way less than that. Gotta' be something else.

It does require VGA, though. The Compaq doesn't have VGA, does it?

FWIW, Keen also requires EGA or, in some versions, VGA.
 
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This is CGA only, yes, but there are pics everywhere of games like Keen running on these... so I'm more confused now.

Commander Keen.jpg
 
Or memory related. Any programs that were EXEPACKed would fail if there is too much memory free. DOS 5 has LOADFIX to solve the problem; all LOADFIX does is consume enough memory so EXEPACKed programs can successfully unpack and run.
 
krebizfan said:
Or memory related. Any programs that were EXEPACKed would fail if there is too much memory free. DOS 5 has LOADFIX to solve the problem; all LOADFIX does is consume enough memory so EXEPACKed programs can successfully unpack and run.
Click to expand...

Keen is not one of those though. There were two versions of Keen4 - keen4e and keen4c. Different binary for the CGA version.
 
aaron7 said:
This is CGA only, yes, but there are pics everywhere of games like Keen running on these... so I'm more confused now.
Click to expand...
These are taken directly from the docs:

* COMMANDER KEEN: VOLUME ONE -- "INVASION OF THE VORTICONS" ... You will also need an EGA or VGA system. CGA is not supported, sorry.

* Keen3 The explosive and shocking sequel to Commander Keen: Invasion of the Vorticons!
The sequel will feature full-screen scrolling 256-color VGA graphics!

* QUICK HELP for KEEN DREAMS.....
EGA graphics required (supported on EGA, VGA, & SVGA cards)
(a CGA version of KEEN DREAMS is available by calling 1-800-831-2694)

So, the question is... do you have KEEN DREAMS and do you have the special CGA version?
 
Nebulus
Grand prix formula 1
Price of Persia 1
 
aaron7 said:
Tried Xargon, Wolf3d, Commander Keen... none will run with the paltry 2mb RAM.
...
This is CGA only
Click to expand...

Zargon and Wolf3d require VGA. Commander Keen had a CGA version, that's what you need to run.

2MB and a 386 is plenty to play some great games. There are at least 1500 you can choose from.

If you list a favorite genre or two, I'd be happy to recommend best-in-class games in those genres for your specific platform.
 
I've always had a thing for Tresure Cove and the other games from that series. They are very tedious to complete though as they require doing the same thing over and over again to earn enough gems.

A.D.O.M (Ancient Domains of Mystery) is worth a shot too if you like adventure games, the graphics are entierly ASCII based so it looks neat on a monochrome display.
 
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