Old Dos Program Won't Work In XP

[johntx2001]

Help!! I have an old old (came on a 5 1/4" disk) DOS - based program that I really want to use. I have Windows XP and it won't even load anymore. Is there a converter I can download or something that will allow me to run very old software or am I just out of luck?? Thanks for any help anyone has!

 

[Nohjekim]

I think that you are out of luck unless you want to partition your hard drive and make a partition that boots to DOS.

If you haven't, you should partition your hard drive anyway it is much safer if you have data that you don't want to loose. With your hard drive partition you can format drive C:\ without deleting anything that’s on the other partitions.

I haven't done the dual boot thing with XP but I don't think it is very hard.

I just got a new PC and the first thing I did was partition the HD using Partition Magic. It works well, is easy to use and has a utility for setting up dual boot systems.

Nohj

 

[johntx2001]

Thanks for the tip! One question -- if I set a partition to be a DOS partition, does it just do this via XP, and if so, won't I have the same problem that the dos format doesn't support this old program? Just a bit confused about this, and also afraid of losing what's already on the c drive. I know that I could use fdisk to create a dos partition though, so maybe I'll try that.

 

[jasonwichman]

If you use Partition Magic, you won't lose ANYTHING on your HD. Partiton Magic will change all file pointers to all files on the HD so that you have nothing to worry about. It is a very easy program to use, even if it is your first time. Jason Wichman

http://jasonwichman.ath.cx:81

ftp://jwichman.ath.cx:22

 

[Nohjekim]

You don't need to use FDisk and you will be running your old dos.

Partition Magic as the previous poster said formats your drive with all your files on it and everything will work after you do it.

I would guess that probably the only programs you have that will run when booted to dos are your old dos programs, though you should have access to all your files even when Windows crashes.

If the program you have will run in windows 3.11 that might be a better choice, since it will give you a graphical interface, though I was talking to a friend today that has the same problem with a CAD program and it will, only run in Dos.

Nohj

 

[m4tty]

See...

http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/pro/techinfo/administration/legacyapps/default.asp

According to the above, XP has a compatability tab that can configure it to run legacy apps (haven't tested it myself) -if it helps let us know.

Matt.

 

[tlstrieg]

This may not help, but I was able to run some old dos programs in XP by setting the compatibility option to Win95. Worth a try before you invest any $$.

Tom

 

[agc1]

try running it in the command prompt window. ( it is really a dos window and almost all dos commands seem to work.

works for my old stuff

alan

 

[johntx2001]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I tried the compatibility wizard as well as running the program in the dos window and nothing worked. Looks like I'll just have to get partition magic if I want this to work. Or ... I could just accept the fact that this program is so old and outdated that it's time to get rid of it! Thanks again for all your suggestions!

 

[Guest_imported]

An alternative to partition magic is

http://www.BootItNG.com

(shareware). IMHO its better plus you can try it for FREE!


Oh and BTW agc1, a NT command prompt most definitely is not a "dos window" ... it just looks similar.

DOS is dead, long live NT

 

[cdogg]

Do you know what file system you're using? If it's NTFS, then that's probably why you're having problems with your DOS program in XP. Setting the compatibility mode to Win95 resolved any 16-bit DOS application problems that I've come across so far, as long as the system partition is FAT32 and not NTFS.

If you do have NTFS, you're best bet would be to go ahead and create a separate partition for DOS 6.22 as it was mentioned...

 

[johntx2001]

How can you tell if it's NTFS or FAT32? I think I set both drives to be FAT32, but I'm not sure. One of them might be set to NTFS and that could be my problem.

 

[rjkrash]

Right click My Computer > Manage > Storage > Disk Management will show file system type.
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