16bit and 32 bit application conflict

[Guest]

One of my client is having a problem on XP Pro machine. Before they used to
work on Win98. They were using DOS-based inventory program and one 32 bit
application.

Since they have upgraded their PC to Win XP, they can't run these
application simultaneously. Either they can run DOS-based program or 32 bit
app. If they try to run both of these application PC becomes hang and they
have to kill the proess.

So what could be the solution ?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

One of my client is having a problem on XP Pro machine. Before they used to
work on Win98. They were using DOS-based inventory program and one 32 bit
application.

Since they have upgraded their PC to Win XP, they can't run these
application simultaneously. Either they can run DOS-based program or 32 bit
app. If they try to run both of these application PC becomes hang and they
have to kill the proess.

So what could be the solution ?

They could run the DOS-based application in a virtual DOS
machine (which runs as a separate Windows process). Virtual
PC is now freely downloadable from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtualpc/default.mspx

 

[Guest]

I appreciate your qucik reply Pegasus.

That client is very stubbron. He would prefer to work on Win98. And this is
not the proper solution. You are suggesting something extra. There must be a
way.

Thnx for Pegasus. I'll wait for more responses.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

The Virtual PC gives him a Win98 session, warts and all.
It's as close as you can get to Win98 unless you're prepared
to go to a multi-booting setup.

 

[Mike Hall]

Pegasus has given you a 'way'.. another way is for your client to obtain and
use a Windows based inventory program..

 

[Guest]

heheh You must be from US or UK where computer literacy rate is high but
in my part of worl these kind of client are pain in the s. I can't loose
these kind of clients because are big source of business but anyway I'll try
to convince for VPC.

Anyway, thnx to both of you.

 

[Guest]

In other words you mean to say that XP Pro doesn't support 16-bit apps.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

WinXP does support 16-bit apps but it does not allow
applications to access hardware directly. They must use
Windows system calls. This is probably the reason for
the clashes you observe. Try this from a Command Prompt
to see what I mean:
debug {Enter}
L 100 2 0 1 {Enter}

 

[Vanguard]

One of my client is having a problem on XP Pro machine. Before they
used to
work on Win98. They were using DOS-based inventory program and one
32 bit
application.

Since they have upgraded their PC to Win XP, they can't run these
application simultaneously. Either they can run DOS-based program or
32 bit
app. If they try to run both of these application PC becomes hang
and they
have to kill the proess.

So what could be the solution ?

Have they tried running the 16-bit program in compatibility mode? If
so, have they tried the different modes? If the 16-bit DOS
application is attempting to directly access hardware or use real-mode
drivers then it won't run properly under any NT-based version of
Windows. Why did they change the OS when their supposedly *critical*
application required a different OS? You pick your OS based on your
tasks and what programs you need to use, not the other way around.
Looks like they need to go back to Windows 98 and hope that their
dinosaur application continues providing the features they need over
time as the user grows but the application does not.

 

[Guest]

The thing is that they wanted to upgrade their hardware both at the Server
and client. They didn't upgrade the hardware for last 7-8 years. The machine
and server was full of dust...u can't imagine.

They are looking for a managed network but this DOS-Based application made
my life horrible specially the dot-matrix printer issue. For fixing a issue
there is one more new issue. I've spent enouhg hours and did the 90% job
done. Now this is the only problem with the printing issue.

I don't know what to do. I'll check the compatibility issue.

 

[Plato]

One of my client is having a problem on XP Pro machine. Before they used to
work on Win98. They were using DOS-based inventory program and one 32 bit
application.

Since they have upgraded their PC to Win XP, they can't run these
application simultaneously. Either they can run DOS-based program or 32 bit
app. If they try to run both of these application PC becomes hang and they
have to kill the proess.

So what could be the solution ?

Use a PC with an OS that works for both apps. ie use the OS that worked
before.