Not Enough Memory on 4-MB System When Setup Is Started Again

• Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

When you run Setup again from the MS-DOS prompt after your computer lost power (or you turned it off) while you were upgrading Windows version 3.x to Windows 95, you may receive the following error message:

   Not enough XMS memory to run Setup. Please free up <xxx> amount of
   XMS and re-run Setup.

CAUSE

This problem can occur on computers with 4 MB of RAM if the computer loses power or is shut off while you are upgrading Windows 3.x to Windows 95. Depending on where in the installation process power is lost, Setup may have copied enough files to the Windows folder that the original version of Windows does not function correctly. When you run Setup from an MS-DOS prompt, a 4-MB computer may not have enough extended memory for Setup to run.

RESOLUTION

Disable all unnecessary programs and TSRs in the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files. If you are running Setup from floppy disks or a flat directory, and no special drivers are necessary to start the computer, you can bypass the startup files and the loading of drivers by pressing the F5 key when you see the "Starting MS-DOS" message.