Remember MS-DOS?
It seems like ancient history compared to today's operating systems,
but in support, you never know when a user might depend on a legacy
application running in MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 9.x, etc.
Windows XP includes a handy feature—Compatibility Mode—to handle
those older legacy applications.Here’s a look at several tips, using XP’s Compatibility Mode, to get MS-DOS programs to work in Windows XP.
Setting up Compatibility Mode manually
If the Compatibility Wizard seems like a lot of work to you, you’re right. It is. But it’s foolproof because it enables you to try various settings without saving them. Saving the settings doesn’t occur until the very end, when you have confirmed that the chosen settings work.
If you’re a more intrepid type, you can set a program’s compatibility settings from the Properties box for its executable file, like so:
Note
If you set compatibility for the executable file, all shortcuts that point to it will be affected; if you set it for the shortcut only, it will affect the program only when started with that particular shortcut. You could have different shortcuts for different compatibility settings if you chose (although there would be little reason to do so).
- Right-click the executable file for the program, or any shortcut to it, and choose Properties. To get to the executable file, locate it with Windows Explorer (probably somewhere in the Program Files folder). To get to a shortcut for an installed program, look on the desktop or open the Start menu.
- Click the Compatibility tab.
- Select the Run This Program In Compatibility Mode For check box and then choose an OS version from the drop-down list. (Figure A).
| Figure A |
 |
- Select any of the check boxes in the Display Settings area as needed for your application.
- Click OK.
Some programs won’t work under Windows XP no matter what you do. For example, some versions of Lotus SmartSuite and some versions of VirusScan will install but won’t run after installation. It's worthwhile to check the Web site for the errant program’s manufacturer to see whether a patch or update has been posted that will allow the program to install and run under XP.
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I have MS-Dos executable program compiled in Clipper5.3. It was running perfectly in NT4.0 but it is not running at the first attempt in XP. To run this program I have to create a batch file then type the executable file name twice or in the command prompt, have to enter the file name twice.
I tried all the options with config.nt, autoexec.nt, hardware emulation and the compatibility options but issue remain same. Can anyone help me?
Posted by MTN Networks on Wednesday, October 02 2002 06:37 PM