I want to run an MS-DOS program that needs 600 bytes of conventional memory. The MS-DOS memory tracker says I am 37 bytes short and I cannot find where it has gone.

You can fix this by assigning the amount of memory you want when running a program from the MS-DOS prompt. By default the memory is automatically managed by Windows but you can manually override this. You can do this by going to ‘Start’ menu > ‘Programs’ > right-click on ‘MS-DOS Prompt’, and select/open ‘Properties’. In the control panel that appears click the ‘Memory’ tab and look at the ‘Conventional memory’ area at the top of the box. In the ‘Total:’ drop-down box change the setting from ‘Auto’ to ‘600′ or ‘640′ (depending on which one works for you). Finally, click the ‘Ok’ button and run ‘MS-DOS Prompt’ and then run your application.