Is it possible to run a DOS program on a Windows XP computer? If so how?

[gavan]

Is it possible to run a DOS program on a Windows XP computer? If so
how?

Thanks in anticipation...

Gavan

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

What kind of program is it? It may not be possible.

--


Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups

 

[Richard Urban]

Some programs run, others do not. Remember that they would be run under DOS
emulation In Windows XP, as "true DOS" does not exist in any O/S based upon
Windows NT (Windows XP is). Therefore, even if they do run there is a
possibility that you may not have full functionality of said DOS program.

Any DOS program that requires direct hardware access will not run under
Windows XP emulation mode.



--
Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "gavan" <[email protected]>

| Is it possible to run a DOS program on a Windows XP computer? If so
| how?
|
| Thanks in anticipation...
|
| Gavan

If it doesn't address hardware directly, yes.

Just open a Command Prompt and try the DOS program.

 

[Malke]

Is it possible to run a DOS program on a Windows XP computer? If so
how?

Thanks in anticipation...

Gavan

Lots of DOS programs run in XP's emulator. The ones that don't are the
ones that accessed the hardware directly in their native OS. Since DOS
programs don't put files in a registry, you can just double-click the
DOS executable and see what happens.

Malke

 

[HeyBub]

Some programs run, others do not. Remember that they would be run
under DOS emulation In Windows XP, as "true DOS" does not exist in
any O/S based upon Windows NT (Windows XP is). Therefore, even if
they do run there is a possibility that you may not have full
functionality of said DOS program.
Any DOS program that requires direct hardware access will not run
under Windows XP emulation mode.

Not absolutely true. We have an old DOS program that writes directly to the
screen, the parallel port, and the modem (actually the serial port) -
without invoking any Windows code. All work swell under XP.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Getting Older Games to Run on Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/games/expert/durham_og.mspx

Run Older Programs on Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/appcompat.mspx

HOW TO: Use Windows Program Compatibility Mode in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/292533

How to use the Program Compatibility Wizard in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301911

Getting older programs to run on Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...ddocs/en-us/compatibility_tab_and_wizard.mspx

Make old software work on a new Windows XP machine
By Kim Komando
http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusin...oftware_work_on_a_new_windows_xp_machine.mspx

Using the Compatibility Tab
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/lgcyapps.mspx#EHAA
from...
How to Run Legacy Applications Using Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/lgcyapps.mspx

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

Not everything in the following article will apply. The article was written
for Windows 2000. However most of it does.
Troubleshooting NTVDM and WOW Startup Errors
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;196453

Lots of good 16-bit info here...
Appendix D - Running Nonnative Applications in Windows 2000 Professional
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/Windows2000Pro/reskit/part8/proch36.mspx

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Your DOS program does not access hardware directly, it accesses hardware
through Virtual Device Drivers.

Plenty of Windows code. Your DOS program runs under NTVDM.exe and
wowexec.exe.

[[ Device Drivers
Windows 2000 device drivers are a special type of dynamic load library (DLL)
that assists in virtualizing hardware. The s support communication (COM)
ports, line printers (LPTs), video cards, the system timer, and other
standard hardware. Windows 2000 drivers are dynamically loaded, so that new
drivers can be written to support other, nonstandard devices. In addition, a
call to a 16-bit MS-DOS driver or terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) program
can be relayed in a VDM through the thunking process (which transforms calls
between 16-bit and 32-bit formats) to a Windows 2000 driver to communicate
with the Windows 2000 kernel.

This arrangement provides the functionality for compatibility with
Microsoft® Windows® 3.x–based and MS-DOS-based applications, consistent with
the design of Windows 2000. It avoids the unrestricted access to hardware
that occurs in MS-DOS and sometimes in Windows 3.x. ]]

The 16-bit MS-DOS-based virtual device drivers that are designed as kernel
drivers for MS-DOS-based versions of Windows (Windows 3.x, Windows 95, and
Windows 98) are not compatible with Windows 2000 drivers and are not
supported under Windows 2000. ]]

[[Device Driver Requirements
Windows 2000 allows applications to communicate with computer hardware only
by way of the core operating system. This maintains the robustness of the
system. This feature can be a problem for applications not designed for
Windows 2000 because they sometimes use device drivers that attempt to
communicate with computer hardware directly. To protect the integrity of the
core operating system, Windows 2000 prevents such drivers from running.

Applications that require either Windows 2000–compatible device drivers or
an upgrade to a compatible version include those that:
• Communicate directly with hardware (for example, a fax card, scanner card,
or terminal emulation card).
• Rely on their own disk device drivers (for example, an application that
increases hard disk capacity).
• Communicate directly with disk drives (for example, a disk maintenance
application).
• Use their own graphics device drivers to communicate with the hardware
(for example, an application that uses a custom printer driver). ]]
from...
Appendix D - Running Nonnative Applications in Windows 2000 Professional
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/Windows2000Pro/reskit/part8/proch36.mspx?mfr=true

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[JasonA]

Normal display and keyboard are OK including access across a network with a
mapped drive letter are fine, but drivers for the modem, scanners will not
work for the DOS program under NT.

 

[hbiz0]

Not everything in the following article will apply. The article was written
for Windows 2000. However most of it does.
Troubleshooting NTVDM and WOW Startup Errors
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;196453

Wesley, I looked through your references and they were informative, however,
they did not explain how we find the 16 bit program that is causing NTVDM and
WOWEXEC to have to be activates as a bridge from 16 bit program to 32 bit
operating system like Windows XP. Have you ever heard of a process
monitoring log or any other method of determining the file?

Seems there are a lot of recent queries around the net re NTVDM and WOWEXEC
so something out there must be placing a 16 bit program on our computers. A
flaw in Windows update and Install shield is that they do not automatically
provide logs of recent installations. Windows update, if set on automatic,
does not even let us know what is being installed.