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DOS Programs & Windows

DOS programs, running inside Windows, can be peaked for better performance by creating a PIF(Program Information File) that Windows can use when starting the program.

The PIF Editor is located in the MAIN folder of Program Manager. Double click on the PIF Editor icon to start the editor program.

Click on [File], [Open] to view a list of current PIF files located in the windows directory.

Look for an existing file for the program you are setting up; the name will be similar to the DOS EXE file that starts the program. If one does not exist, go back to [File], [Open], then change to the directory where the program was installed and look for a file ending with .pif.

If one exists, open it in the PIF Editor to examine the available options.

If one does not exist, and you looked at the directory where the program is installed, you can create one by going back to [File], and click on the [New] option.

In the PIF Editor there are two pages of settings for the program.

The first page deals with the options to run in the Windows environment:

  • where the start file is located
  • whether to run normal or minimized
  • how much memory to allocate for this program
  • etc.

Tip: You can have Windows allocate the maximum amount of available memory by setting the memory sizes to '-1'.

The second page is for advanced options. You should be careful when changing these settings if you are not familar with the Windows environment.

 

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