SMS Only Reports 16mb RAM On MS-DOS and Windows Systems

• Microsoft Systems Management Server version 1.1

SYMPTOMS

On many Intel x86-based computers, Systems Management Server (SMS) reports an MS-DOS, Windows or Windows 95 system that contains more than 16mb of RAM as only having 16mb total.

The MS-DOS MEM.COM and MSD.EXE commands also report only 16mb even though a PC hardware memory test counts the correct amount of memory.

CAUSE

This is due to how the hardware reports its memory configuration to MS-DOS. SMS queries MS-DOS with the same mechanism as MSD and the MS-DOS MEM command to determine the amount of memory reported. If MS-DOS has the incorrect value, it reports this incorrect amount to all 3 programs.

This is also the case with Windows 95 systems, as INVDOS for SMS 1.1 is used for all MS-DOS and Non-NT Windows clients.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server version 1.1. We are researching this problem and will post new information in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.