FCB, DOS and XP

[Guest]

Hi,

I'm trying to run an old DOS program through Windows XP. The program starts
but then it says: fcb not available. I know (I think) that FCB should be set
16 but where to do it?

 

[Wesley Vogel]

[[Use the systemroot\System32\Config.nt file or the equivalent startup file
specified in a program's program information file (PIF), to specify the
number of FCBs.]]
See...
fcbs
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/fcbs.mspx

file control block (FCB)
A small block of memory temporarily assigned by a computer's operating
system to hold information about a file that has been opened for use. An FCB
typically contains such information as the file's identification, its
location on disk, and a pointer that marks the user's current (or last)
position in the file.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Guest]

Hi,

I tried to edit (from DOS c:\) the pif file and added fcb=16, 8 like it
should be but there was no improvement. I would have liked to send the file
with this e-mail but I don't know how to do that. This is my first visit to
this website. I ran this old program in my old computer with Windows 98 and
it worked. In W98 you can run in DOS-mode which you cannot do in XP. Maybe
that's the "root of the problem"?
Thanks for trying to help me
Peter Dahlin

[[Use the systemroot\System32\Config.nt file or the equivalent startup file
specified in a program's program information file (PIF), to specify the
number of FCBs.]]
See...
fcbs
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/fcbs.mspx

file control block (FCB)
A small block of memory temporarily assigned by a computer's operating
system to hold information about a file that has been opened for use. An FCB
typically contains such information as the file's identification, its
location on disk, and a pointer that marks the user's current (or last)
position in the file.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi,

I'm trying to run an old DOS program through Windows XP. The program
starts but then it says: fcb not available. I know (I think) that FCB
should be set 16 but where to do it?

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Peter,

Some MS-DOS programs work fine in XP, some do not. The ones that do not
usually try to access hardware directly and XP doesn't like that.

Is there a newer 32-bit version of your program available?

The command is fcbs not fcb. As near as I can tell, the syntax is one
number, not two separated by a comma.

Try adding the fcbs=16 line to Config.nt.

You may also want to have a look at the FILES command.
Paste the following line in Start | Run...
hh ntcmds.chm::/files.htm

Config.nt is used for the same kind of tasks formerly performed by
Config.sys (loading device drivers, etc.). Autoexec.nt is used for the same
kind of tasks formerly performed by Autoexec.bat (launching memory-resident
programs, etc).

AUTOEXEC.NT is used to initialize the MS-DOS environment unless a
different startup file is specified in an application's PIF.

CONFIG.SYS is not used to initialize the MS-DOS environment.
CONFIG.NT is used to initialize the MS-DOS environment unless a
different startup file is specified in an application's PIF.

You may also want to try using Compatibility Mode for Windows 95 or 98.

Getting older programs to run on Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/appcompat.mspx

How to Run Legacy Applications Using Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/lgcyapps.mspx

More info...

Troubleshooting MS-DOS-based programs in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314106

How to Troubleshoot 16-Bit Windows Programs in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314495

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi,

I tried to edit (from DOS c:\) the pif file and added fcb=16, 8 like it
should be but there was no improvement. I would have liked to send the
file with this e-mail but I don't know how to do that. This is my first
visit to this website. I ran this old program in my old computer with
Windows 98 and it worked. In W98 you can run in DOS-mode which you cannot
do in XP. Maybe that's the "root of the problem"?
Thanks for trying to help me
Peter Dahlin

[[Use the systemroot\System32\Config.nt file or the equivalent startup
file specified in a program's program information file (PIF), to specify
the number of FCBs.]]
See...
fcbs
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/fcbs.mspx

file control block (FCB)
A small block of memory temporarily assigned by a computer's operating
system to hold information about a file that has been opened for use. An
FCB typically contains such information as the file's identification, its
location on disk, and a pointer that marks the user's current (or last)
position in the file.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi,

I'm trying to run an old DOS program through Windows XP. The program
starts but then it says: fcb not available. I know (I think) that FCB
should be set 16 but where to do it?

 

[Guest]

Hi Wes,

I'm afraid there is not a newer version of the program - it's from 1987, a
dBASEII program.

I tried adding fcbs=16 to config.nt and I also tried altering the files
number from 40 to 20 and it did not help either.

Since I have an internal network between the new and the old PC maybe I can
work with this old program on the old PC from the new one? But how? On the
old PC I just run it in DOS mode and then the program works all right.
Hope to get more suggestions
Peter

Peter,

Some MS-DOS programs work fine in XP, some do not. The ones that do not
usually try to access hardware directly and XP doesn't like that.

Is there a newer 32-bit version of your program available?

The command is fcbs not fcb. As near as I can tell, the syntax is one
number, not two separated by a comma.

Try adding the fcbs=16 line to Config.nt.

You may also want to have a look at the FILES command.
Paste the following line in Start | Run...
hh ntcmds.chm::/files.htm

Config.nt is used for the same kind of tasks formerly performed by
Config.sys (loading device drivers, etc.). Autoexec.nt is used for the same
kind of tasks formerly performed by Autoexec.bat (launching memory-resident
programs, etc).

AUTOEXEC.NT is used to initialize the MS-DOS environment unless a
different startup file is specified in an application's PIF.

CONFIG.SYS is not used to initialize the MS-DOS environment.
CONFIG.NT is used to initialize the MS-DOS environment unless a
different startup file is specified in an application's PIF.

You may also want to try using Compatibility Mode for Windows 95 or 98.

Getting older programs to run on Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/appcompat.mspx

How to Run Legacy Applications Using Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/lgcyapps.mspx

More info...

Troubleshooting MS-DOS-based programs in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314106

How to Troubleshoot 16-Bit Windows Programs in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314495

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi,

I tried to edit (from DOS c:\) the pif file and added fcb=16, 8 like it
should be but there was no improvement. I would have liked to send the
file with this e-mail but I don't know how to do that. This is my first
visit to this website. I ran this old program in my old computer with
Windows 98 and it worked. In W98 you can run in DOS-mode which you cannot
do in XP. Maybe that's the "root of the problem"?
Thanks for trying to help me
Peter Dahlin

[[Use the systemroot\System32\Config.nt file or the equivalent startup
file specified in a program's program information file (PIF), to specify
the number of FCBs.]]
See...
fcbs
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/fcbs.mspx

file control block (FCB)
A small block of memory temporarily assigned by a computer's operating
system to hold information about a file that has been opened for use. An
FCB typically contains such information as the file's identification, its
location on disk, and a pointer that marks the user's current (or last)
position in the file.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In Peter <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
Hi,

I'm trying to run an old DOS program through Windows XP. The program
starts but then it says: fcb not available. I know (I think) that FCB
should be set 16 but where to do it?

 

[Ted Zieglar]

Perhaps it's time to wake up and smell the coffee?

From Wikipedia:

By 1994, dBASE's market share was plummeting. Borland eventually decided
sales were small enough to stop production, but instead sold the rights to
dBASE Inc., a small company dedicated to keeping the product alive. Although
dBASE Inc. continues to release new versions of the dBASE platform —
including an object oriented update for Windows platforms called dBASE
Plus — dBASE is no longer a force in the database software market, and does
not compete with products subscribing to the SQL standard.

dBase Inc.
www.dbase.com

--
Ted Zieglar
"You can do it if you try."

Hi Wes,

I'm afraid there is not a newer version of the program - it's from 1987, a
dBASEII program.

I tried adding fcbs=16 to config.nt and I also tried altering the files
number from 40 to 20 and it did not help either.

Since I have an internal network between the new and the old PC maybe I can
work with this old program on the old PC from the new one? But how? On the
old PC I just run it in DOS mode and then the program works all right.
Hope to get more suggestions
Peter

Peter,

Some MS-DOS programs work fine in XP, some do not. The ones that do not
usually try to access hardware directly and XP doesn't like that.

Is there a newer 32-bit version of your program available?

The command is fcbs not fcb. As near as I can tell, the syntax is one
number, not two separated by a comma.

Try adding the fcbs=16 line to Config.nt.

You may also want to have a look at the FILES command.
Paste the following line in Start | Run...
hh ntcmds.chm::/files.htm

Config.nt is used for the same kind of tasks formerly performed by
Config.sys (loading device drivers, etc.). Autoexec.nt is used for the same
kind of tasks formerly performed by Autoexec.bat (launching memory-resident
programs, etc).

AUTOEXEC.NT is used to initialize the MS-DOS environment unless a
different startup file is specified in an application's PIF.

CONFIG.SYS is not used to initialize the MS-DOS environment.
CONFIG.NT is used to initialize the MS-DOS environment unless a
different startup file is specified in an application's PIF.

You may also want to try using Compatibility Mode for Windows 95 or 98.

Getting older programs to run on Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/appcompat.mspx

How to Run Legacy Applications Using Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/lgcyapps.mspx

More info...

Troubleshooting MS-DOS-based programs in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314106

How to Troubleshoot 16-Bit Windows Programs in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314495

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi,

I tried to edit (from DOS c:\) the pif file and added fcb=16, 8 like it
should be but there was no improvement. I would have liked to send the
file with this e-mail but I don't know how to do that. This is my first
visit to this website. I ran this old program in my old computer with
Windows 98 and it worked. In W98 you can run in DOS-mode which you cannot
do in XP. Maybe that's the "root of the problem"?
Thanks for trying to help me
Peter Dahlin

:

[[Use the systemroot\System32\Config.nt file or the equivalent startup
file specified in a program's program information file (PIF), to specify
the number of FCBs.]]
See...
fcbs

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/fcbs.mspx

file control block (FCB)
A small block of memory temporarily assigned by a computer's operating
system to hold information about a file that has been opened for use. An
FCB typically contains such information as the file's identification, its
location on disk, and a pointer that marks the user's current (or last)
position in the file.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In Peter <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
Hi,

I'm trying to run an old DOS program through Windows XP. The program
starts but then it says: fcb not available. I know (I think) that FCB
should be set 16 but where to do it?

 

[David Candy]

MS (and a million other people) also sell a DBase clone called FoxPro.


--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goodbye Web Diary
http://margokingston.typepad.com/harry_version_2/2005/12/thank_you_and_g.html#comments
=================================================

Perhaps it's time to wake up and smell the coffee?

From Wikipedia:

By 1994, dBASE's market share was plummeting. Borland eventually decided
sales were small enough to stop production, but instead sold the rights to
dBASE Inc., a small company dedicated to keeping the product alive. Although
dBASE Inc. continues to release new versions of the dBASE platform —
including an object oriented update for Windows platforms called dBASE
Plus — dBASE is no longer a force in the database software market, and does
not compete with products subscribing to the SQL standard.

dBase Inc.
www.dbase.com

--
Ted Zieglar
"You can do it if you try."

Hi Wes,

I'm afraid there is not a newer version of the program - it's from 1987, a
dBASEII program.

I tried adding fcbs=16 to config.nt and I also tried altering the files
number from 40 to 20 and it did not help either.

Since I have an internal network between the new and the old PC maybe I can
work with this old program on the old PC from the new one? But how? On the
old PC I just run it in DOS mode and then the program works all right.
Hope to get more suggestions
Peter

Peter,

Some MS-DOS programs work fine in XP, some do not. The ones that do not
usually try to access hardware directly and XP doesn't like that.

Is there a newer 32-bit version of your program available?

The command is fcbs not fcb. As near as I can tell, the syntax is one
number, not two separated by a comma.

Try adding the fcbs=16 line to Config.nt.

You may also want to have a look at the FILES command.
Paste the following line in Start | Run...
hh ntcmds.chm::/files.htm

Config.nt is used for the same kind of tasks formerly performed by
Config.sys (loading device drivers, etc.). Autoexec.nt is used for the same
kind of tasks formerly performed by Autoexec.bat (launching memory-resident
programs, etc).

AUTOEXEC.NT is used to initialize the MS-DOS environment unless a
different startup file is specified in an application's PIF.

CONFIG.SYS is not used to initialize the MS-DOS environment.
CONFIG.NT is used to initialize the MS-DOS environment unless a
different startup file is specified in an application's PIF.

You may also want to try using Compatibility Mode for Windows 95 or 98.

Getting older programs to run on Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/appcompat.mspx

How to Run Legacy Applications Using Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/lgcyapps.mspx

More info...

Troubleshooting MS-DOS-based programs in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314106

How to Troubleshoot 16-Bit Windows Programs in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314495

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In Peter <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
Hi,

I tried to edit (from DOS c:\) the pif file and added fcb=16, 8 like it
should be but there was no improvement. I would have liked to send the
file with this e-mail but I don't know how to do that. This is my first
visit to this website. I ran this old program in my old computer with
Windows 98 and it worked. In W98 you can run in DOS-mode which you cannot
do in XP. Maybe that's the "root of the problem"?
Thanks for trying to help me
Peter Dahlin

:

[[Use the systemroot\System32\Config.nt file or the equivalent startup
file specified in a program's program information file (PIF), to specify
the number of FCBs.]]
See...
fcbs

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/fcbs.mspx

file control block (FCB)
A small block of memory temporarily assigned by a computer's operating
system to hold information about a file that has been opened for use. An
FCB typically contains such information as the file's identification, its
location on disk, and a pointer that marks the user's current (or last)
position in the file.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In Peter <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
Hi,

I'm trying to run an old DOS program through Windows XP. The program
starts but then it says: fcb not available. I know (I think) that FCB
should be set 16 but where to do it?

 

[David Candy]

It will use FCBS OR Files not both. FCBS was Dos 1's way of opening files and Files was Dos 2 or later (and the same concept is in Windows). It has two parameters prior to Dos 5 (which is XP's Dos version) and the second is ignored in 5 or later.

http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cach...FAQ/qfcb.htm+"dbase+II"+fcbs&hl=en&lr=lang_en

Share does nothing on XP like the second parameter.
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goodbye Web Diary
http://margokingston.typepad.com/harry_version_2/2005/12/thank_you_and_g.html#comments
=================================================

Hi Wes,

I'm afraid there is not a newer version of the program - it's from 1987, a
dBASEII program.

I tried adding fcbs=16 to config.nt and I also tried altering the files
number from 40 to 20 and it did not help either.

Since I have an internal network between the new and the old PC maybe I can
work with this old program on the old PC from the new one? But how? On the
old PC I just run it in DOS mode and then the program works all right.
Hope to get more suggestions
Peter

Peter,

Some MS-DOS programs work fine in XP, some do not. The ones that do not
usually try to access hardware directly and XP doesn't like that.

Is there a newer 32-bit version of your program available?

The command is fcbs not fcb. As near as I can tell, the syntax is one
number, not two separated by a comma.

Try adding the fcbs=16 line to Config.nt.

You may also want to have a look at the FILES command.
Paste the following line in Start | Run...
hh ntcmds.chm::/files.htm

Config.nt is used for the same kind of tasks formerly performed by
Config.sys (loading device drivers, etc.). Autoexec.nt is used for the same
kind of tasks formerly performed by Autoexec.bat (launching memory-resident
programs, etc).

AUTOEXEC.NT is used to initialize the MS-DOS environment unless a
different startup file is specified in an application's PIF.

CONFIG.SYS is not used to initialize the MS-DOS environment.
CONFIG.NT is used to initialize the MS-DOS environment unless a
different startup file is specified in an application's PIF.

You may also want to try using Compatibility Mode for Windows 95 or 98.

Getting older programs to run on Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/appcompat.mspx

How to Run Legacy Applications Using Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/lgcyapps.mspx

More info...

Troubleshooting MS-DOS-based programs in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314106

How to Troubleshoot 16-Bit Windows Programs in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314495

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi,

I tried to edit (from DOS c:\) the pif file and added fcb=16, 8 like it
should be but there was no improvement. I would have liked to send the
file with this e-mail but I don't know how to do that. This is my first
visit to this website. I ran this old program in my old computer with
Windows 98 and it worked. In W98 you can run in DOS-mode which you cannot
do in XP. Maybe that's the "root of the problem"?
Thanks for trying to help me
Peter Dahlin

:

[[Use the systemroot\System32\Config.nt file or the equivalent startup
file specified in a program's program information file (PIF), to specify
the number of FCBs.]]
See...
fcbs
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/fcbs.mspx

file control block (FCB)
A small block of memory temporarily assigned by a computer's operating
system to hold information about a file that has been opened for use. An
FCB typically contains such information as the file's identification, its
location on disk, and a pointer that marks the user's current (or last)
position in the file.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In Peter <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
Hi,

I'm trying to run an old DOS program through Windows XP. The program
starts but then it says: fcb not available. I know (I think) that FCB
should be set 16 but where to do it?