Thread: Re-doing a C program to run in Win2000 or XP

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    Re-doing a C program to run in Win2000 or XP

    I have a C program written years ago compiled on Microsoft C 1.5. It run in DOS. It uses an input card that is configures in the config.sys file and it start through the autoexec.bat file running on Windows 95. The computer runing the program is very crappy right now and I want to re-build it. Since its hard to buy a new computer with Win 95, how can I get the program to run the same way (using autoexec and config.sys and DOS) on either Win2000 or XP. Do I need to recompile the program in Visual Studio 6.0 or so? I am not planing to change the program itself I just want it to run on the DOS shell of a more modern OS.

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    Dr Dipshi++ mike_g's Avatar
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    You could try running it in DOSBox.

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    If you load a driver in Config.sys, then you can't use it under Windows NT (Windows 2000 is a NT 5.0 in this respect).

    You'll need to find/create a Win2K style driver first, which may or may not be difficult, depending on what you need the driver to do.

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    Mats

  4. #4
    and the hat of int overfl Salem's Avatar
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    If it's an ISA card, you might have trouble finding a machine to plug it into in the first place.
    If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
    If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.

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    Its an ISA Card but I have a Windows 2000 box with ISA slot. I will see if the mfg of the card has a w2K driver. The other question is that will the program run as is or I have to recompile it in say Visual studio 6. The original program was compiled in C 1.5

  6. #6
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    It is quite unlikely that the original software will work under Win2K even if you have a driver, as the software is most likely using the DOS-mode interface, rather than the Win2K interface. So you'll need to rework the software itself - not just recompile it. But without seeing the code of the software, it's hard to say.

    --
    Mats

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