              BlueMAX, Memory Management Software for IBM PS/2s
                           Technical Backgrounder

       In 1988, when IBM began shipping the first PS/2s, most of the
   attention was on hardware advancements like Micro Channel Architecture
   and built-in VGA capabilities.  Few were aware of a more subtle hardware
   difference from previous DOS computers -- the ROM (read only memory) had
   doubled in size from 64KB to 128KB.  In fact, the increased ROM was of
   little interest since ROM is located at the top of the first megabyte of
   DOS, well out of the first 640KB of memory where users were running all
   their software applications at that time. Before the advent of memory
   management software, the memory area above 640KB -- known as high DOS --
   was inaccessible, so the fact that 64KB of high-DOS memory had been
   "taken over" by the larger ROM was of little consequence to PS/2 users.

   This increase in the size of the ROM was due to IBM's expansion of the
   BIOS (Basic Input Output System), which resides in the ROM above 640KB.
   The BIOS contains detailed instructions for activating system
   peripherals, and is also responsible for testing memory upon startup and
   preparing the computer for operation.  The PS/2, however, also contains
   instructions in the BIOS unnecessary for most users running DOS.  As
   with all its PCs to date, IBM built a rarely-used BASIC programming
   interpreter into the PS/2's BIOS.  And because the PS/2 was built to
   support OS/2, additional software routines known as the A-BIOS were also
   included in the BIOS.  Finally, because ROMs come in fixed sizes, there
   is usually address space in the ROM left over after all the software is
   written to the BIOS by the manufacturer.

   As a result, quite a bit of unused address space was located in the
   BIOS, which still held little consequence for most DOS users, until
   386MAX -- and then later other memory managers -- began offering the
   power to load pop-up utilities, device drivers and other resident
   software into the address space between 640KB and 1MB.  Then PS/2 users
   began to realize the true cost of the 128KB BIOS.  They needed to find
   a way to access that portion of the 128KB that wasn't being utilized.

   With the introduction of BlueMAX, Qualitas is the first to develop 386
   memory management software designed exclusively for IBM PS/2s.  BlueMAX
   frees up more than 65 percent of the previously inaccessible memory
   above 640KB for the loading of network drivers, pop-up utilities, disk
   caches and other resident software.  BlueMAX works on the premise that
   not all of the software in the BIOS is needed for normal use of the
   computer.  The 65 percent increase in high DOS possible with BlueMAX is
   a result of its proprietary BIOS compression technology.  By compressing
   unnecessary information out of the 128KB system BIOS (such as A-BIOS and
   the BASIC programming interpreter), BlueMAX recovers 80-84KB of
   contiguous RAM -- memory that can be used for loading device drivers and
   other memory resident software. Of course -- BlueMAX doesn't actually
   change the hardware.  The PS/2's 128KB BIOS is left intact in the ROM
   hardware.  Simply rebooting the system without BlueMAX returns the PS/2
   to its original state if, for example, the user decides to run OS/2 on
   the machine or requires access to the BASIC interpreter.  And since the
   BIOS isn't compressed until after the "power-on self test" (POST) is
   run, the system still runs a complete self test.

       In addition to recovering more memory, BlueMAX automatically
   installs via MAXIMIZE, an optimizing installation utility also included
   in Qualitas' 386MAX 6.0.  Using information from the PS/2 reference
   diskette, MAXIMIXE relocates and configures Micro Channel adapters so
   that users are able to use larger memory segments, facilitating the
   loading of larger programs into high DOS.  MAXIMIZE then analyzes the
   size of each resident program to determine the optimal region in high
   DOS memory for that program to be loaded and updates BlueMAX commands in
   CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT, instructing them to load the programs
   accordingly.  This process assures a "best fit" configuration.

   Many resident programs require a large work area in which to "set
   themselves up."  This is called the "initialization" size and refers to
   the total memory needed for a program to load, regardless of its
   resident size.  In attempting to load into high DOS, many resident
   programs are constricted by the 64KB EMS (Expanded Memory Specification)
   page frame strictly reserved for EMS services.  (EMS is the technique
   for going beyond the standard memory limitations of 640KB in
   IBM-compatible PCs.)

   In the past, EMS limitations prevented some programs from loading into
   high DOS.  Along with 386MAX 6.0, BlueMAX now offsets this problem with
   a sophisticated FlexFrame feature that automatically provides extra
   memory for those applications that use more memory to start than when
   running.  The FlexFrame feature analyzes a resident program's
   initialization requirements and then selectively saves and restores the
   EMS pages in the high DOS area, making it temporarily available to
   programs which could not otherwise be loaded into high DOS.  Depending
   on the system, this sophisticated FlexFrame technology in BlueMAX and
   386MAX 6.0 allows up to 212KB contiguous initialization RAM on a system.
   The most available to any other memory manager, without sacrificing EMS
   capabilities, would be only 64KB.

   In combining the BlueMAX BIOS compression technology with 386MAX 6.0's
   FlexFrame and MAXIMIZE features, Qualitas has created the definitive 386
   memory manager for the PS/2.  The synergy of these technologies
   guarantees that no other memory manager frees more conventional memory
   for applications than BlueMAX.



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   Qualitas, Inc.                        Main       : (301) 907-6700
   7101 Wisconsin Avenue                 Sales      : (800) 733-1377
   Suite 1386                            FAX        : (301) 907-0905
   Bethesda, MD 20814-4805               BBS        : (301) 907-8030

   Qualitas, SA (Europe)                 FAX        : 32 2 346-2058
   (FAX for present voice number.)
                                         CompuServe : 73377,3307
                                         MCI        : 336-2907
   ----------

   BlueMAX, 386MAX 6.0 and MOVE'EM are trademarks of Qualitas, Inc.
   Qualitas, Inc. and 386MAX are registered trademarks of Qualitas, Inc.
   All company names and products are trademarks or registered trademarks
   of their respective companies.
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