Re: [Freedos-user] Compressed folders?

[Michael Horvath]

Robert Riebisch wrote:
> Michael Horvath wrote:
> 
>> I know there used to be a DOS utility called DOUBLESPACE. Not sure if it 
>> works for FreeDOS.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DoubleSpace
> 
>> Note also that I have FreeDOS installed on a SD card in my PDA. Not sure 
>> these "hard disk" utilities will work in this case.
> 
> Those tools use the standard Int13h interface. So they don't care about
> SD or CF. But "PDA" sounds like a x86 emulation, which might introduce
> some other difficulties.
> 
> Robert Riebisch

Yes, I am using an x86 emulator on my PDA. I would also like the 
compressed files to be readable by my Pocket PC's native operating system.


-Mike

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Re: [Freedos-user] Compressed folders?

[Michael Horvath]

Robert Riebisch wrote:
> Michael Horvath wrote:
> 
>> Is there a way to compress folders so they take up less space? Ideally, 
>> I would like to be able to compress into a zip file, and still have the 
>> OS treat it as a regular folder. As long as other OSs can view/access 
>> the folder and its files, then any type of compression is OK.
> 
> This is called on-line or real-time disk compression.
> 
> I know two free products for DOS, but I never tried those on FreeDOS.
> 
> 1) ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/arcers/jam125sw.zip
> ***
> ...
>  1.1. What is the JAM?
> 
> JAM is a transparent hard disk compressor, which enlarges your disk
> space. With the JAM you will forget about annoying messages like
> 'Insufficient disk space...' with no need to purchase a new hard disk.
> ...
> ***
> 
> 2) ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/execomp/diet145f.zip
> ***
> ...
> 1.2.  What makes DIET really unique is its ability to compress
> DATA Files and to automatically expand them when you call them
> into an Word Processor or Editor to read or change them.
> 
>   (a)   To use that feature, you must load DIET so that it is
> resident in memory (i.e., Terminate and Stay Resident, or
> TSR).
> ***
> 
> Both are free at least for personal use.
> 
> Robert Riebisch

I know there used to be a DOS utility called DOUBLESPACE. Not sure if it 
works for FreeDOS.

Note also that I have FreeDOS installed on a SD card in my PDA. Not sure 
these "hard disk" utilities will work in this case.

-Mike

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[Freedos-user] Compressed folders?

[Michael Horvath]

Is there a way to compress folders so they take up less space? Ideally, 
I would like to be able to compress into a zip file, and still have the 
OS treat it as a regular folder. As long as other OSs can view/access 
the folder and its files, then any type of compression is OK.

Thanks.

-Mike

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Re: [Freedos-user] FreeDOS on Virtual PC 2007

[Michael Horvath]

Japheth wrote:
> You can use the GETSB.EXE tool which is contained in HXGUI 
> (http://www.japheth.de/hx.html). It reads the SB16 mixer status directly, 
> thus 
> it's able to tell the true values for IRQ and DMA.
> 
> A PnP card usually has to be enabled - for SB16, there was a tool 
> DIAGNOSE.EXE, which did this. But IIRC this isn't needed for VPC, the SB16 
> card is enabled automatically.

I ran the program and apparently I already have the correct settings. It 
must just be an issue particular to Out of This World. To test this, I 
installed DOOM and the sound worked OK. Unfortunately, I can't find the 
docs for OoTW (there are none on the disk itself).

-Mike

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Re: [Freedos-user] PocketDOS

[Michael Horvath]

Christian Masloch wrote:
> Of course DPMI doesn't work on PocketDOS, because it (by default) emulates  
> a real mode 80286 processor only. (XMS and EMS services are provided by  
> PocketDOS-specific drivers.) I downloaded the demo version (for x86  
> Windows) and it's really nice. It integrates the running DOS into the host  
> OS with a filesystem redirector to access the host's files.
> 
> On http://www.pocketdos.com/download.htm there are binaries for various  
> platforms listed which extend PocketDOS's emulation to an 80486 processor.  
> This should allow to use DPMI programs, too. If you don't want to use one  
> of these (possibly too slow?), try to use DOS file managers that run in  
> real mode only.
> 
> Regards,
> Christian

Thanks for the tip! However, if the 486 emulation is any slower than the
286 emulation than I will have to pass on it. The version I have
installed currently is already very sluggish and drains my battery in
little over an hour.

-Mike


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Re: [Freedos-user] FreeDOS on Virtual PC 2007

[Michael Horvath]

Mateusz Viste wrote:
> Setting the BLASTER environment variable
> 
> This section may be useful if you are having problems with sound or music in
> a DOS-based Apogee game.  If you're trying to run a Windows-based game, this
> section does not apply to you.
> 
> Apogee's DOS games that use Soundblasters look at the BLASTER environment
> variable to figure out where to send its sound output.  Check to make sure
> that you have the SET BLASTER line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  This code is
> an example and probably isn't exactly what you need to put in your system.
> 
> Note that this BLASTER environment variable applies for many Apogee games
> regardless of whether or not you have an actual Sound Blaster card or not.
> These settings tell the game how your sound card is configured, regardless of
> what brand it actually is.
> 
> SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T3 P330 H6 E620
>  || ||  |  |  ||  |
>  || ||  |  |  ||  |___ AWE 32 Only Parameter
>  || ||  |  |  ||__ "High" DMA Channel
>  || ||  |  |  |___ MIDI Port
>  || ||  |  |__ Type of Card
>  || ||  |_ DMA Channel
>  || || Interrupt
>  || |_ Port Address
>  ||___ Environment Variable
>  | DOS Command
> 
> NOTE: There can be no spaces between the word BLASTER and the equal sign (=).
> If you have a space in there, your system will read the parameter incorrectly,
> and it will not be recognized by our games.
> 
> (Some of these parameters (P, H, and E) are dependant on certain types of
> cards.  For example, the E is only needed if you have an AWE 32.  The
> minimum requirements are to have the A, I, D, & T parameters.  The other
> three may or may not be needed depending on what type of card you have.
> Please read this entire section to see if you need any of them.  If you
> are using a clone card, or some card that's not a "true" Soundblaster,
> then you will most likely only need A, I, D, and T.)
> 
> Now, these may not (most likely not) be the same for your board, because the
> Port Address, Interrupt and DMA Channel can be set by adjusting "jumpers" on
> your sound board.  Some newer cards have this information controlled by
> software, please consult your card's manual for more information on how to set
> these things.  You should also check your manual if you are unclear as to how
> to tell what settings your card is set at.  The information *IS* important, so
> it's recommended that you know precisely what the settings are.  If you are
> using a card that "emulates" the Soundblaster (such as the Gravis UltraSound
> through software, or the PAS16), you should check your card's manual on how to
> set the card for Soundblaster emulation.
> 
> For PORT ADDRESS, it's almost always 220.  That seems to be the default for
> most sound cards out there, and unless you know you've switched it away from
> 220, it's a safe bet it's still there.
> 
> The INTERRUPT is something that varies from system to system.  Mystic Towers
> and games prior to Raptor require that your IRQ be set at 7 or less.  Apogee
> does not recommend using IRQ2, as it causes problems.
> 
> The DMA CHANNEL sometimes causes problems if it isn't set to 1, which is the
> usual default.  If it is not set correctly, some Apogee games may lock up
> when the sound is turned on.
> 
> The TYPE OF CARD should be 1 if you have an older Soundblaster, or a Sound
> Blaster emulating card.  Use 3 if you have a newer plain Soundblaster.  Use
> 2 for an older Soundblaster Pro.  Use 4 for a newer Soundblaster Pro.
> 
> The MIDI PORT parameter will only be needed if you are using a card that has
> MIDI capabilites.  If so, this is where you define what MIDI port you are
> using.  330 seems to be the default, so if you have a MIDI card, and you
> haven't changed anything from factory defaults, this is probably where it 
> still
> is.
> 
> The HIGH DMA CHANNEL is something that is used primarily on Soundblaster 16
> cards.  This is not the same as the standard DMA channel, this is a different
> one.  This is only used if you're using a 16 bit sound card capable of playing
> 16 bit Soundblaster sounds.  By default, this is usually 5, so unless you know
> that it's something else, it's probably still 5.
> 
> The E620 parameter is something that is needed _only_ if you have a Creative
> Labs AWE 32 sound card.  If you have one of these, this parameter will have
> been set up properly assuming you've installed the software that came with the
> card.  Check your AWE 32 documentation for a more thorough explanation of what
> this parameter is used for.
> 
> Note on the Soundblaster AWE64:  The AWE64 will not always correctly set up
> its sound drivers for use in Windows 95 in relation to DOS games.  There is
> information on how to get ar

Re: [Freedos-user] PocketDOS

[Michael Horvath]

Robert Riebisch wrote:
> Michael Horvath wrote:
> 
>> Second question: can anyone recommend a good text-based file manager 
>> that uses few system resources?
> 
> Volkov Commander: http://egner-online.de/vc/en/
> 
> Robert Riebisch

I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

-Mike

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Re: [Freedos-user] PocketDOS

[Michael Horvath]

Michael Reichenbach wrote:
> I am using ndn, it's good, there is a DPMI32 DOS release. Dunno if it
> scales also well on low resources.
> http://ndn.muxe.com/
> 
> -mr

I am trying ndn. I am able to install it in FreeDOS on Virtual PC on my 
XP machine, but in PocketDOS I get the error, "Load error: can't switch 
mode", when trying to run the installer. Any clue how to fix this?

-Mike

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Re: [Freedos-user] PocketDOS

[Michael Horvath]

Bernd Blaauw wrote:
> for config.sys only the root of the system is supported, and only the 
> filenamed CONFIG.SYS and FDCONFIG.SYS (so for floppy most likely 
> A:\FDCONFIG.SYS or A:\CONFIG.SYS)
> for autoexec.bat, it's either AUTOEXEC.BAT or any other batchfile 
> indicated by a SHELL= line in the (fd)config.sys file. We've used 
> A:\AUTOEXEC.BAT, A:\FDAUTO.BAT, A:\FDOS\FDAUTO.BAT, things like that.

Ah, thanks! The reason I couldn't see them is because was hiding system 
files. I am able to edit them now.

-Mike

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Re: [Freedos-user] FreeDOS on Virtual PC 2007

[Michael Horvath]

Robert Riebisch wrote:
> FreeDOS' BLASTER settings are misleading, because many cards also need
> some kind of driver, setup tool, or enabler.
> 
> So you need .

Are the BLASTER settings described anywhere in detail? VPC says it 
emulates the Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 ISA Plug and Play. Maybe my 
settings are wrong.

-Mike

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[Freedos-user] PocketDOS

[Michael Horvath]

I have PocketDOS installed on my PDA. It loads a bootable version of 
FreeDOS from a floppy disk image. I'm having trouble figuring out where 
AUTOEXEC.BAT and FDCONFIG.SYS are located on this disk. Where can I find it?

Second question: can anyone recommend a good text-based file manager 
that uses few system resources? I've tried OpenGEM -- a graphical file 
manager -- but it runs too slowly on my PDA.

Thanks!

-Mike

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Re: [Freedos-user] FreeDOS on Virtual PC 2007

[Michael Horvath]

k...@comcast.net wrote:
> Hi Mike:
> 
> I use "VFD" to do this under Windows.  (It's easy under Linux).  See
> http://chitchat.at.infoseek.co.jp/vmware/vfd.html.  You can mount the
> image as a floppy drive and copy files to/from it, format it, etc..
> 
> The other programs I know about cost money...
> 
> Good luck.
> 
> Mark Bailey

Awesome! This worked perfectly!

I am now able to read/execute all my floppy-based programs. The only 
issue that I can foresee is that certain rare floppies (old Microsoft OS 
installation disks for instance) are formatted/compressed in atypical 
ways as a form of copy-protection. I still have my Windows 3.11 disks, 
and remember that they were formatted to store more than 1.44MB. IIRC, 
simply copying from one disk to another didn't work last time I tried.

One last question: how do I test whether the Sound Blaster settings are 
configured properly? I'm using the default settings created by the 
FreeDOS installation program, and I have the sound card enabled in 
Virtual PC, but I am not hearing any sounds in the game I just 
installed. Does FreeDOS come with a sound test utility? There is no 
documentation on the game's installation disks.

Thanks again!

-Mike

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Re: [Freedos-user] FreeDOS on Virtual PC 2007

[Michael Horvath]

Eric Auer wrote:
> Very strange. Maybe you saved it in Unicode / UTF-8?
> Or in Word or something ;-) You could try other free
> or shareware editors like TextPad to make sure that
> your file is really text. Of course it could also be
> the case that something on your filesystem confuses
> DOS and the gibberish is not even part of what your
> Notepad put in the file. Try using chkdsk / scandisk.

No, the batch file is on the original installation disk. I didn't create 
or modify it. If I run chkdsk in FreeDOS it says there are errors. When 
I run it on Windows it says there are no errors. Maybe FreeDOS doesn't 
have correct drivers for SuperDisk drives?

> In Linux: just mount the image or use mtools. In Windows:
> I think there is a software called WinImage... :-).

I'll try this, thanks.

-Mike

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Re: [Freedos-user] FreeDOS on Virtual PC 2007

[Michael Horvath]

Robert Riebisch wrote:
>> "Line #1 in batchfile 'A:\INSTALL.BAT' too long"
> 
> Please post the first line of "A:\INSTALL.BAT".
> 
> Robert Riebisch

Good catch! When I read the batch file in FreeDOS the file is full of 
gibberish. In Notepad on my WinXP machine, however, it is a properly 
formatted text file.

Another detail that might have a bearing: the physical floppy disk is 
being read by a SuperDisk drive instead of a standard floppy drive. I 
know that floppies formatted using this drive aren't readable by normal 
floppy drives (SuperDisk drives however can read normal formatted 
floppies just fine). Maybe this is the source of the problem? If so, can 
anyone recommend software to create floppy images without needing an 
actual floppy drive?

Thanks!

-Mike

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Re: [Freedos-user] FreeDOS on Virtual PC 2007

[Michael Horvath]

I am able to boot after selecting option #3 ("Load FreeDOS with HIMEM 
XMS-memory driver"), but installing the game still fails. Option #4 
("Load FreeDOS without drivers") is unselectable.

-Mike

Michael Reichenbach wrote:
> Booting without emm386 will work, to make emm386 to work you need the
> correct excludes X= or I= but don't ask me further.
> 
> After you got it running tell us how well Virtual PC works for your DOS
> apps / DOS games, how good is the soundblaster / vga / vesa
> implementation? Perhaps I've tested it in past but I do not remember.
> 
> -mr


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[Freedos-user] FreeDOS on Virtual PC 2007

[Michael Horvath]

Hi!

I am having trouble with FreeDOS on Virtual PC 2007. I am able to 
install it OK, and two of the three (four?) boot options work.



Option #2 (the default, and the one that doesn't work) results in the 
following error:

"Illegal instruction occured.
CS= IP=EEC3 SS=D0B4 SP=0004 ES=0070
...etc...
...etc...
Aborting program
EMM386 - unable to continue - Please reboot="

The last four characters "" are a set of hexadecimal numbers that 
are change several times each second.



I am able to boot to the command prompt using options #1 and #3, but am 
having trouble running software. For instance, I am trying to install 
the video game "Out of this World", but receive the following errors 
when running the installation program:

"Line #1 in batchfile 'A:\INSTALL.BAT' too long"

If I try to run the setup file directly I get this error:

"Interrupt divide by zero, stack:
091B 04e3 ... ..."



I also am unable to read the SimCity installation disk in FreeDOS. I am 
able to mount the drive and change drive letters, but when I try to 
retrieve the directory contents using the DIR command I get this error:

"Volume in drive A Error reading from drive A: DOS error: sector not found"



Here are some details regarding my host system:
AMD Sempron 3000+
1.5GB RAM
Windows XP Home
GeForce 4 TI
Plenty of free hard disk space
Onboard sound/networking
Samsung DVD writer
SuperDisk IDE drive for reading floppies

Details regarding my virtual system:
Virtual PC 2007
128MB RAM
8MB video RAM
1MB code cache
1GB hard disk space
Video mode: Text mode, 640 x 400 x 0



I'd appreciate any help you could provide.

-Mike

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