Adam M

first of all, I dont understand any of this so I will try to explain problem.

Just bought new pc with windows me on it from mesh.

My dads patents programmes are a database run in basic. To se them he needs autoexec.bat??? and ANSI??? each time he installs them they just get deleted, even if he creates them as read only files. Does anyone know what is going on? I think he is about to have a heart attack and I dont want to be an orphan at 23.

SWRTWannabe

As far as I know Windows ME no longer has an Autoexec.bat - depending on what commands went into it, you might be able to put them into another .bat file.

To run the app you would then open a command prompt, run the .bat file and then run your app as normal.

I'm not speaking from experience here as I've never done it, but worth a try. Good luck!

Mr Footlong

iTrader: (7)

Boot disk is your best bet, IMO. There can be other ways of bodging ME to load up certain legacy stuff, but I havent tried for some time and got mixed results. If you are willing, try the following:, step, by step, just in case.

From a 98/98SE machine, grab a new floppy and goto a dos prompt.

type 'sys a:' return
should get 'system transferred'
input 'a:' return
type 'edit config.sys' return
create the following lines:

DEVICE=A:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=A:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS
DOS=HIGH,UMB
FILES=60
BUFFERS=60
DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\ANSI.SYS
devicehigh=a:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\display.sys con=(ega,,1)
Country=044,850,A:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\country.sys

press alt then press return, down to exit and say yes to save changes

Now type 'edit autoexec.bat' return
Add the following lines:

mode con codepage prepare=((850) A:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\ega.cpi)
mode con codepage select=850
lh keyb uk,,A:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\keyboard.sys

same procedure to save this file.

at the a: prompt, enter the following:

'MD WINDOWS' return
'CD WINDOWS' return
'MD COMMAND' return
'CD..' return
'c:' return
'copy c:\windows\himem.sys a:\windows' return and wait for message
'copy c:\windows\emm386.exe a:\windows'
'copy c:\windows\command\ansi.sys a:\windows\command'
'copy c:\windows\command\display.sys a:\windows\command'
'copy c:\windows\command\country.sys a:\windows\command'
'copy c:\windows\command\mode.com a:\windows\command'
'copy c:\windows\command\ega.cpi a:\windows\command'
'copy c:\windows\command\keyb.com a:\windows\command'
'copy c:\windows\command\keyboard.sys a:\windows\command'

exit, reboot with the disk in there and she she should boot off it without bother. Will give you approx 606K free DOS memory. If you get no errors, then you can use this on the ME machine, as long as the bios is set to try floppies first.

Think that should just about be it.


Cheers,


Nick

KF

Could just try to grab QBasic off a PC that has them?
http://www.aet.cup.edu/~jsumey/misc/qbasic.html

EDIT: Just thought that I would expand a little. If the only issue is that your father wants to run a version of Basic, then I guess the above should work.
If he is modifying autoexec.bat for some greater purpose, then we can only guess why on the information given and will probably get it wrong. Personally, I think using a boot disk would be on the end of a long list of things I would try first (no disrespect Mr Footlong!).
ANSI.sys is involved in modifying the look of the console DOS command window and autoexec.bat is just a batch file of commands that are executed when the system boots up.
Wholesale mucking about with the above files is going to end in tears, particularly if you are rolling back the installed versions to something that was running on an old PC.
Do you have any more information that you can give us?
How did the program used to work?
Did it run in windows or under DOS?
Did it automatically run on startup?


[Edited by KF - 10/15/2001 11:21:24 PM]

Mr Footlong

iTrader: (7)

You are joking aren't you? Unfortunately, I work with DOS every day of my working life and feel that I pretty well know what I am talking about. How is he going to end up in tears when he is running all of those files off a boot disk. Please. Sorry, but the instructions that I have given are just to perform a simple task.

Nick.

Mr Footlong

iTrader: (7)

Hmmmmmm. Didn't notice the BASIC bit in the original problem, but the boot disk theory still applies to the background enviroment. The only thing is that you will not know is the program requires any additional parts on the floppy until you try it....

Nick

KF

Nick,

Please don't get offended. You are a qualified MCSE, with experience using DOS everyday (i.e. pretty handy ). AdamM explained that he and his father were coming from a position of slender knowledge with computers.

I just thought that mucking about in a text editor to modify autoexec would probably be a sledgehammer solution to a small peanut type problem. Can you imagine the red faced swearing that will occur when there is a space between 'C' and ':' and no one knows why autoexec fails to run. We don't know what the old version of Autoexec was doing anyway...

Sure it is just a boot floppy, but what if they need the CD-ROM to work in DOS? Are you then going to explain that too? What about every other thing that could possibly be in Autoexec? We would still be no nearer answering the problem, but they would have a nice bootable floppy.
KF.

ps. Do they still allow you to use F8 to get to a DOS prompt in ME?

Mr Footlong

iTrader: (7)

Sorry dude, no offence taken at all, just that ME is a complete pig with legacy programs. My approach is the more technical one, but it would provide in theory practically everything that the program would need, bar some path statements and 'possibly' Basic-related stuff.
Obviously, if the remnants of the old machine were about, it would be a good idea to see what the config and autoexec held on that one, then modify accordingly. Boot disk isn't a convenient way of doing it at all, but it's a start.........

Cheers,


Nick

Mr Footlong

iTrader: (7)

Think from memory that you only get safe mode and normal startup now......

KF

No worries.
Computers, eh? Always 2 ways of doing everything
KF.

Adam M

guys thanks for help.

he now has a version of ansi.com downloaded. runs his basic programs by running ansi.com in a .bat file in a dos window, then switches to his patents programs. I think he has basically done what one of you suggested, but he thanks you for his replies.

I didnt want to start an argument and really appreciate your efforts, thanks a lot guys.

Hoping to get rid of these basic run databases and convert them all to some kind of windows enbironment, but the job looks monstrous from the outside.

Mr Footlong

iTrader: (7)

That's excellent. I was not sure that ansi would load on the fly, but being a COM file, was a good bet. Good that the program that he is using isn't too fussy with the good old dos

Cheers,


Nick

KF

Cool. Glad it is sorted. I hate legacy applications, but I hate writing backwards compatible software more
Argument? That wasn't an argument , IT guys can get much more argumentative than that. Besides I know where Nick lives
KF.

Mr Footlong

iTrader: (7)

That mey well be, but you haven't seen how big I am!

Nick

KF

True, true. Being of an easily intimidated nature, I would just have sworn under my breath and given you a furious look once you had disappeared
Run away.....