Windows 98 and MSDOS memory management

Go to config.sys in 98 in the system configuration utility, and place the commands if not already there, C:/windows/Himem.sys
C:/windows/Emm386.exe
These have to be in this order, Himem must be the first command in the list , and Emm386 second prior to all the rest listed afterward. Windows , if setup by a tech , likely had these commands removed due to Windows management is better in partial Dos, but not in full Dos, also if these commands are listed within a string command already there , make sure the one with Himem is first in line, and the one with Emm386 is second. Also , some setups in Dos for software are not compatable, with other programs , and it can be as simple as a extra command in the sound, but prior to changing anything better do a backup, as well as a snap-shot of the settings, this is accomplished by going to the setup through the programs menu in Win , and hitting in this order ALT+PRINTSCREEN , then pasting it into a paint program or word document, practice it first , so you are familiar with the action, also take the time to paste a word into a text file afterward to clear the Clipboard, once you have a picture of the configuration , print it out, one more tip, write down the command for Dos , SCANREG /RESTORE , this restores the settings of the registry up to 5 days ago, a go-back feature in Windows.
Hope you resolve it.

When I used to have to run 16-bit/DOS programs, I would create a shortcut to it. In the advanced properties of the shortcut, you can specify "Prevent MS-DOS program from detecting windows". Many times this took care of such memory problems for me, though it would not necessarily work with any app.

good luck

-Ed

Ok, try the long way , as it will come to this anyway, remove all from the target machine and hook one at a time first to see which is causing the problem, it may be more than one but I suspect one has a program that is innocent looking but causes the problem, if no hit start hooking one at a time back into the setup untill the problem occurs, then remove that one and continue reconnecting , hopefully it is only one that has to be reconfigured, it can be a relaxation game/program or a small application that has gone up the creek, and has stolen the allotment for memory, as most applications have a base memory allotment procedural setup, if it messes up , the system is happy that it won't let go. One the outside chance, check and remove all material from C:Windows/temp, if there are applications that are required there, try moving them onto the main drive, as windows can find them, usually only graphics type and antivirus are temp intensive, however win runs some caching in temp, alsoin windows , the Documents menu can over fill and cause a stoppage , that can be cleared from Start Menu Programs, lastly simply paste a single word in each machine in a text document, this clears the clipboar. If this turns out to be the hog which I doubt, a simple srting can be written to clear all at given intervals. I really suspect an app is locked up and won't release memory, and trial and error is the only way to find it.
Hope this helps, sorry about the work involved, have a good day