16 Bit DOS Application

[Guest]

I am trying to run an old application in 16 Bit DOS on a windows XP machine.
However, I get the following error message:

"a temporary file needed for initialization could not be created or could
not be written to. Make sure that the directory path exists, and disk space
is available"

I am running the account as a user(not administrator) on the machine. I have
access rights to the particular folder that the temporary file is writing to
and the disk is not full. I wonder whether there is any configuration problem
I will need to set. I have tried this program on another set of PC with same
user configuration but there seems to be no problem
I wonder why.

I have tried the DOS compatibility mode changes as well as trying to adjust
the XMS and EMS to auto but it still does not work

Appreciate your help!

 

[Jerry]

Make sure CONFIG.NT and AUTOEXEC.NT are in the \system32 directory. If not,
copy them from the \windows\repair directory and try again.

 

[Guest]

I do not really think that could be the problem since I think check the
files... seem to be okay... but i will try your recommendation

Thanks for your help!

 

[Guest]

I keep on getting a similar message, but mine comes up saying "error in 16
bit DOS subsystem" and just asks me to either terminate or ignore it...
however even if i just try to ignore it, the program fails to run... and i
really want the programs on here, as i found it to be quite useful.

is there anything i can do to work around this so all of these types of
applications are able to run?

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

The "autoexec.nt" file in C:\WINDOWS\system32 has been deleted by
syp/malware called "WinAdTools"
go to C:\WINDOWS\repair and copy autoexec.nt back into the system32 folder

Go to Add/Remove Programs and search for WinAdtools and remove it, or use
Ad-ware, www.lavasoftusa.com.

 

[dano_obrien]

I realize this is a pretty old thread, but I had the exact same problem and just stumbled on a solution:

The %SystemRoot%\Temp folder on my system was not writable to non-admins. Updating the ACL on this folder to allow full update access to Everyone fixed the problem, even though the error message clearly indicates the problem with the user-specific Temp folder: C:\DOCUME~1\user\LOCALS~1\TEMP. (I attribute this to a bug in building the error message itself, i.e., displaying the user's %TEMP% value instead of the actual target pathname).

To reset the permissions, even if you have XP Home:

1. open a cmd window from an account with Admin rights
2. cd %SystemRoot%
3. cacls /e /g Everyone:F