The Runtime Error 200 issue has been around a long time, and is fairly well-known among DOS enthusiasts. It is actually an interesting "feature" of programs that were compiled with Turbo Pascal (TP).
Supposedly, the problem occurs in the startup/initialization code of programs, before the program starts to actually do anything useful. It is supposedly a small piece of code that is intended to measure how fast the computer is running, which is information needed by some of the TP libraries (or something like that). Most programs run fine once they get past that particular section of the program (most programs don't really care how fast the computer is). Unfortunately, if the computer is too fast the routine that's supposed to measure how fast the computer is blows up and you get the 200 error. Overall, not a very good design by Borland. Anyway, there have been several patches, work-arounds, and fixes for this particular issue. There are several of them listed here: http://reimagery.com/fsfd/system.htm#oldprogs and here: https://www.bttr-software.de/freesoft/system.htm#oldprogs BTW, the second one is from the DOS Ain't Dead web site you mentioned. These include the TPPATCH program mentioned by others, which actually modifies the original executable file. The one I normally prefer to use is PROT200, which is a TSR that traps the error (it is a Divide by Zero error) and then let's the program continue as normal. You can also use my SLOWDOWN program (or perhaps one of the other slowdown-type programs available -- there are several of them), though that makes the entire program run slowly instead of just the part that needs slowing down (the part where the CPU speed is measured). SLOWDOWN does have a hot-key option that lets you speed the computer back up again, but for the very specific Turbo Pascal Runtime Error 200 problem I think something like SLOWDOWN is overkill. I prefer to use programs specifically dedicated to the TP problem (like PROT200) for this. It is rare for a program to crash if the computer is too fast (unless the program was compiled with Turbo Pascal), but of course a program can run too fast to be usable (especially highly-interactive programs, like games) even if it doesn't crash. In those situations, SLOWDOWN (or even a combination of SLOWDOWN and PROT200) may be more appropriate. ____________________________________________________________ Drink This Before Bed, Watch Your Body Fat Melt Like Crazy Diet Insider http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/5d03ce155cbfd4e151edast01vuc _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
