uh oh....

I have found one problem with WinXP and one problem only...its support for DOS is CRAP.

Example:

//Windows XP source code
#include <winnt.h>
#include "billrulz.h"

int main (void)
{
Optimize(Windows());
Slow(DOS());
if(Playing(Doom())) SlowTo("3 fps");
if(Playing(Liero())) DontRun();
return 666;
}

IS that ALL the source?

cool

yeah, I don't use windows' newer versions 'cause DOS support is lost!

so I just use Windows 2.0, over DOS 3.0, It's the best!

nah, I use Windows 98 SE, but I still have full DOS support!

I don't get it why do microsoft people do this! DOS is cool!

Oskilian

davidp you really confuse me, why do you switch so profusely between target OSes / APIs [or lack thereof] and so forth? it boggles the mind... that... and pysch... i've found no problems with any of the newer windows' [95/8, ME]... well i'm no windows advocate, but explain oskillian, i'd like to hear...

you'd like to hear what?

Oskilian

>yeah, I don't use windows' newer versions 'cause DOS support is lost!

this i mean.

Ok, as far as I know, you can't actually exit windows and go to DOS, you have to open a console window, well, that's with Windows 2000, and I think ME and XP too, but 95 and 98 work perfectly fine with that!

Oskilian

Here's something that Gamespy posted about
DOS gaming in WinXP:

We say most because WinXP, like Windows 2000, runs off a 32-bit kernel -- doing
away with the 16-bit DOS layer that Windows 95 and 98 ran off of. This creates
some problems for older games that are expecting a straight DOS environment.
Just like in Windows 2000, one must run DOS through a window within the
Windows XP environment -- effectively emulating DOS. This makes configuring
memory settings as easy as opening up the window properties and tweaking
things, which is important because many older DOS-based titles have strange
memory requirements. The one thing that gave us recurring issues was getting the
sound hardware properly configured for these older games. Even though most
current sound cards can handle emulating the older sound blaster compatible
defaults, the games simply cannot detect the cards correctly (most likely the DOS
emulation is the culprit here). Bottom line is if you still play old school titles that
require DOS, you're probably best off running a dual boot of WinXP and 98 -- that
way you can force Win98 to load up DOS for you.

-http://www.gamespy.com/hardware/september01/winxpgaming/index2.shtm

Will they be able to eventually, um, fix this
or something? What about DOS programming? I like
it, I like 13h games; I want to make a lot of
them before I move on to DirecX...

I have XP and it runs Kings Quest VI correctly...some DOS apps do commit suicide in it, though.

ah, King's Quest 6, it runs on extended memory, so it won't have major problems, but some old games that need 639K of free conventional memory are sure to crash!

I go with Dual Boot (well actually Quadruple: Win98, Win2K Pro, Win2K Server and WinME)

Oskilian

oh yeah oskillian, i miss that about 95... well it's not like i used it or use it anymore, but still... some of my dos games didn't work under console...

Is MS going to put out a patch for better DOS support? If they're not...I vote we petition for one...

and you actually beleive they would actually listen to us?

Oskilian

and you actually beleive they would actually listen to us?

They better listen to us. If it wasn't for the
cprogramming.com message board, they would've
gone bankrupt months ago.

dang straight...

I want my Doom to run at a good frame rate...not a crappy 3 fps...