Help: Running YO or MN on XP

[KM1H]

These are K6STI's yagi and wire antenna programs in DOS.

Ive tried a few DOS emulators to run them on XP but no luck.

Ive been running them on a dedicated P-100 DOS machine but geez its time to upgrade

Also, does WIN 98SE have a full DOS package?

Summer has arrived and Ive lots of antenna work to do so I can enjoy the AM rigs.

Carl
KM1H

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Why can't you run at the "Command" prompt? All my DOS programs work there (Vista and XP).

[w1vtp]

Yes, it allegedly does. I think it's referred to as DOS ver 7

 However, the config.sys and autoexec.bat files are there in name only.  Some older DOS programs require that there be some lines (I forget what or where) that open files and all that rot.  I have a REAL DOS machine that has a real DOS bootup config. It's the old IBM XT machine I've mentioned elsewhere that now is a 386.  Guess I have another reason to keep that beastie around.

I think anyone who has any serious DOS programs around that he might use some day needs to keep a REAL DOS machine alive in the corner.

Having said that, there is no reason why a Win 98 machine could not be turned into a DOS machine.  There is a boot file in there (boy this is really reaching back) that will force the machine to boot into DOS without thrashing around trying to go into Windoze.  If you were to configure the autoexec.bet and config.sys files properly, it should work with most DOS programs without a hitch.

Al

[KM1H]

I dont think anything out there in the general ham category will beat them.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Ive been running them on a dedicated P-100 DOS machine but geez its time to upgrade
Carl
KM1H

Is this the Olivetti P-100 or Gateway P-100?

[K5WLF]

A friend of mine is running DOS 6.22 in a virtual machine under XP. Can't remember if it's DOSBox or VirtualBOX, but it's one of the two. Install the VM and then just install DOS 6.22 as if you were installing it on a "legacy" machine. Both of the VM programs are free downloads.

ldb
K5WLF

[Pete, WA2CWA]

If you're running XP, you can also make a MS-DOS startup disk if you don't want to run DOS under Windows. This operation only allows the machine to boot into a MS-DOS prompt. It doesn't create an autoexec.bat or config.sys files.You have to create them, if you need them, yourself. Note that both XP and Vista have autoexec.bat and config.sys files in the root directory if it was a "normal" install of Windows. Also, at the Command Prompt (DOS) under Windows (XP and Vista), you have access to most of the typical DOS commands from the "good old days" like "Find", "XCOPY", "TYPE", "EDIT"(great for making autoexec.bat and config.sys files), and a host of others.

If you have a XP or Vista machine, I would try installing the programs of interest in new directory(s), using the Command prompt under Windows. Go to Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt
Clicking on Command Prompt brings up your DOS Window. Go to the top of the Window, right click and then click Properties to change, fonts, layouts, colors. If the DOS program doesn't work, all you lost was some time.

[KM1H]

Ive been running them on a dedicated P-100 DOS machine but geez its time to upgrade
Carl
KM1H

Is this the Olivetti P-100 or Gateway P-100?

Neither, I built it around a Supermicro MB.

[KA1ZGC]

A friend of mine is running DOS 6.22 in a virtual machine under XP. Can't remember if it's DOSBox or VirtualBOX, but it's one of the two. Install the VM and then just install DOS 6.22 as if you were installing it on a "legacy" machine. Both of the VM programs are free downloads.

In this instance, I think you'd want DOSBox. IIRC, it's pretty much fully-packaged with DOS 6.22 (or equivalent), whereas with VirtualBox you'd need to install DOS 6.22 after the fact (not like that's any kind of a challenge, of course).

Some programs run well under Legacy Compatibility under windows. In both XP and Vista, if you right-click on the executable (not a desktop shortcut, but the actual executable), and pull up the properties, there's a "Compatibility" (or some such) tab that allows you to declare NT, 95/98, and so on.

Since Win95 and Win98 were not actual operating systems (merely presentation managers with crude task switching that ran on top of DOS), the legacy support environment may give you all you need.

I have a hard time believing that there's no other packages out there that can do what you need, but if you never look you'll never find them. It's not like all need for antenna design stopped in 1995.

[KM1H]

I'll take another shot with DOSBox, maybe I was having a brainfart when I tried it several months ago.

YO was the top program of its time, Brian dropped it when hams kept making copies and even publishing cracks of his copy protection. YO Pro is still used by some antenna companies and that version is still available and supported last I knew.

Carl