Stupid question but i really need help!

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Stupid question but i really need help!

Post by Anonymous »

I have a question; Is it possible to use Qbasic on Windows Xp and if it is how
would i go about installing and running it?
Mike Alexander
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Post by Mike Alexander »

Sure it is doable... just do not use the QB.exe editor... it causes do response issues with windows environments...

I use ConText editor, and just use the compiler/linker from QBasic... Go to http://www.context.cx/ and download the editor and then I uploaded the highlighter to the context website. Get my highlighter to install on ConText... Then all you got to do is have some batch files to do the compiling/linking and you are programming in style.

Need help let me know... I stop by here every day seeking help myself.
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moneo
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Post by moneo »

Of course you can run QBasic under XP. Many of us are doing it right now. There is no special installation required. I compile and run my QuickBasic 4.5 programs, and also use QBasic for certain things. No problems. I've heard people say thet they've had some problems, but I don't know what they are. Maybe it's because they run QB in a window. I always run from the DOS command-line.

Try it.

Regards..... Moneo
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Post by Mike Alexander »

moneo wrote:Of course you can run QBasic under XP. Many of us are doing it right now. There is no special installation required. I compile and run my QuickBasic 4.5 programs, and also use QBasic for certain things. No problems. I've heard people say thet they've had some problems, but I don't know what they are. Maybe it's because they run QB in a window. I always run from the DOS command-line.

Try it.

Regards..... Moneo
Moneo,

The editor does work great... unless in a window as you state... I chose to get rid of the dos based editor and use the context because I prefer coding whereI can reference Pete's forum for answers to my questions. :D Additionally, I noticed that while in a window, any programs in the background ran at about 1% the normal speed. It seems the QB45 editor used 99% of the processor cycles... Don't know why...
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Nodtveidt
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Post by Nodtveidt »

The MSDOS VM will consume as much CPU time as is available. It's normal.
moneo
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Post by moneo »

[quote="Mike Alexander]......
The editor does work great... unless in a window as you state... I chose to get rid of the dos based editor and use the context because I prefer coding whereI can reference Pete's forum for answers to my questions.......[/quote]
You can do both.
Using START then RUN cmd
get onto the DOS commandline.

Now, do an ALT TAB which gets you back to Windows, without terminating DOS, and get into Pete's forum.
Use ALT TAB to toggle back and forth between MSDOS and Pete's forum.
I do this all the time.

Tell me if this solves your problem.

Regards..... Moneo
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Post by Mike Alexander »

I understand what you are saying, but you certainly can not copy and paste... That is a great benifit of using a windows based editor. Don't get me wrong, the QB editor does work, and sure you can ALT/TAB out but it is not the same. Either way, when I was using the dos based editor, I would get high CPU use from the QB editor... do not know if it is my setup, or jsut that QB is a really old application.
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Anonymous

Post by Anonymous »

Ok...well....I still haven't been able to make it work...I tried to use the command prompt to run it but it didn't work right.
comperr
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Re: Stupid question but i really need help!

Post by comperr »

herocks wrote:I have a question; Is it possible to use Qbasic on Windows Xp and if it is how
would i go about installing and running it?
if you get an error go to c:\windows\repair and copy autorun.nt to c:\windows\system32 this fixes the problem.
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Post by CDRIVE »

Being a new guy here I'm a bit apprehensive about supplying input when my goal here is to learn and get output. That said, I just couldn't stand by and not put in my two cents on this topic. Here's my take on the subject and problem:

As far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong) XP is the first Windows OS that does not include TRUE DOS. I'm not certain about 2000 & ME though. The DOS that's included with XP is an APPLICATION not an OS. When you call the DOS prompt in XP you're actually calling "NTVDM.EXE" (NT Virtual DOS Machine). It's not a true DOS. It's a DOS Emulator and you won't find this file on any W3.x to W98SE machines. Because of this, Windows XP is control of DOS at all times. Not the other way around. Even if you try to boot to it your not booting to true DOS. You are calling NTVDM.EXE and booting to a pseudo DOS, which is actually Windows SAFE MODE in a DOS skin. In W98 you could boot to true DOS. In Windows versions 3.x-W98SE, DOS was the underlying OS. DOS would boot first then Windows ran on top of it and they were inexorably linked to each other, when Windows was running. Windows could not operate without DOS, but booting to DOS, while not starting Windows, was no problem. This had great advantages for those who new their way around DOS. They were two separate operating systems but only DOS was autonomous. Windows was totally reliant on DOS, but DOS was not reliant on Windows.

I went nearly 8 years with no Anti Virus software on any of my machines. Most nasty's that make their home on your HD (including spyware) are difficult to remove manually, even if you've identified the offending files. This is because Windows won't let you delete, move, or rename them, because they're usually RUNNING in the background. That's why I love DOS and will miss it dearly. Booting to true DOS does not start Windows and that's where those nasty's reside. Usually in Windows startup folders. In DOS I had free rein to find those files and kill them. Actually I just REN'd their extension until I was positive that they didn't belong. Then I killed them. You see, they were not running in DOS, and that made them easy to manipulate. XP is a totally different animal. It does not need DOS but NTVDM.EXE needs Windows XP!

So here's my take regarding running QB45 in XP vs. W98:
My QB45 had no problems running in a DOS window while running W98 or 98SE. I rarely booted to DOS to run it. Windows and apps ran fast. So did QB, so I had no reason to deprive myself of the Windows IDE or API. I believe that when QB was accessed though Windows, it simply linked to and ran in DOS, that was running from the time of bootup. It's either that or Windows was creating a copy of DOS and putting it in a window? I like to think of it as a DOS Portal instead of a window. The only issues I ever had was when my QB program was calling a Windows file that was already open. That's normal, and that's a good thing!

XP, on the other hand doesn't seem to like to share control of the computer, and I think that's the underlying problem it has with the QB Interpreter. I know that sounds sophomoric but hey? I don't know what the answer is for blissful programming in the XP environment ,but I do know this: It doesn't matter if you access QB from a XP mouse click, running a DOS window, or booting up to DOS. It's all the same! It's not DOS! Opening QB through a DOS prompt will buy you absolutely nothing. QB won't run any faster and neither will XP. You'll experience the same slooooow Windows apps no matter how you start QB.

If someone finds a cure (like installing and running true DOS under XP at bootup) I want to be the first to know! Until that time I'm just going to live with it, or do my QB'ing on my W98 laptop. So far I find it slow but manageable on XP. I'm able to read the groups on line tutorials and have QB open. I can type in and run code that I see in your files. Changing web pages is slooower but I'll live with it. QB runs fine though!

Well, this was one hell of a long winded second post here. Please forgive me if posts this lengthy are frowned upon. It's just that I miss DOS so much that I had to share this feeling of loss with people who care! :-)

CDRIVE
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Update On QB45 IN XP

Post by CDRIVE »

Hello all,

I did some experimenting with the following operations while running XP. QB newbie's, like me, may find the results useful. My goal was to see if there was a way to run QB and Pete's QBASIC simultaneously with out experiencing sluggishness in the XP IDE.

(1) Opening and running QB from the DOS prompt window.
(2) Opening and or running apps, files, & web pages from the DOS prompt window.
(3) Opening and running apps, files, & web pages from "QB45[SHELL]DOS prompt" with the "SHELL" command.

My results (in the same number order as above) were interesting.

(1) No perceptible difference between opening QB45 from a mouse click or through a DOS prompt. QB runs fine either way.
(2) No perceptible difference. All apps, files and web pages opened quickly and behaved normally.
(3) No perceptible difference . All apps, files and web pages opened quickly and behaved normally. I was excited!!!!

Number 3 was a "EUREKA!" moment for me. However it was short lived. While anything I opened with QB ran great, QB wasn't!
QB gets shoved into memory (and is inactive) temporarily, while the "SHELL" command has turned control over to the DOS prompt. Once you've opened the app with the DOS prompt the prompt also becomes inactive. If you punch in "EXIT", seemingly, nothing happens. No prompts are accepted until the app you opened is closed through the windows interface. When you close the app, DOS magically inputs & prints the "EXIT" command that you may have typed an hour ago!!!!! At that point QB is restarted but you don't have the app or web page open any longer. So it's a zero sum gain.

Perhaps if some of the more advanced on the group could explain why QB seems to suck up processor cycles like a black hole? It doesn't seem to do that on W98. Maybe if we knew the why, we could find a work around????

CDRIVE







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pronoland
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Re: Stupid question but i really need help!

Post by pronoland »

Iam the newist of the new qbasic users. willyou help me get started?
I think I need an editor first, to write my code. then a compiler, right?
Where can I download these? is therea set of guidelines on how to get
started?
new user, but willing to learn
CDRIVE
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Post by CDRIVE »

You can download QB4.5 here:
http://www.brisray.com/qbasic/qdload.htm

I know nothing about this sites files as I have my own version of 4.5. The files at this site should include all you need. including the compiler. If I were you I would choose version 4.5, also known as QB45. It is the most popular of the QB versions.

Good Luck,
CDRIVE
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Post by Nodtveidt »

CDRIVE wrote:As far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong) XP is the first Windows OS that does not include TRUE DOS. I'm not certain about 2000 & ME though.
Sorry I didn't see this sooner, but meh...oh well. :D Well, you were half right on that one...XP isn't based in DOS, but neither is 2000. ME is. Windows 2000 and XP are based in the NT kernel which is NOT rooted in MSDOS whatsoever. ME, 98, 95...typically these are referred to as the "9x Windows" and use the MSDOS kernel to initialize, but then portions of the kernel are overwritten, extending the operating system. It's not that they run "on top" of MSDOS, it's like these Windows versions integrate themselves into MSDOS, so it's not like it's just a program running inside of MSDOS. Windows 3 worked the same way, it just wasn't nearly as efficient. These things are what keep the 9x line a "true" OS, and I use this information to shoot down the boneheads who whine about "like zomg windows 95 isnt a true OS!".

NTVDM is interesting. As far as I know, it's an actual virtual machine, not an emulator, which in this case means it essentially creates an isolated copy of your system and functions on that. Virtual machines and emulators are similar, but writers of both types of software get mighty pissed off if you call one the other. :D So when you run NTVDM, you're running an actual copy of MSDOS inside a copy of your system.

Frankly, I liked the MSDOS-rooted Windows versions better...they gave the feeling of "total control"...if you knew what you were doing, you didn't need the GUI, and if trouble sprang up and Windows wouldn't boot, you could just boot to DOS and have a chance of saving the system. That total control aspect is gone now.
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Post by sid6.7 »

the only problems i have had is things SLOW WAY DOWN when i use it.

i've heard you can use DOSBOX to run it, try that...



also when you check its properties in windows XP(right click)

i have the command line like this...

C:\DOWNLO~1\qb\QB.EXE /l


i also run it in FULL screen mode...
CDRIVE
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Post by CDRIVE »

The only way I've found to keep QB from hoging all the processor resources while doing something else in Windows is:

Select "Save" or
Save As or
Run your program until your at the "Press any key to continue prompt".
Doing any of these things makes QB release its hold on the processor.

CDRIVE
pronoland
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STARTING QBASIC

Post by pronoland »

PETE SAID TO EXECUTE QBasic.exe, but this file did not come with the download I did. can anyone help a newbee trying to get started with
QBasic? :cry: :cry:
new user, but willing to learn
CDRIVE
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Post by CDRIVE »

Sorry, but I don't understand what you're asking or saying.

CDRIVE
pronoland
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Re: STARTING QBASIC

Post by pronoland »

[how do I start the qbasic compiler?[quote][/quote]
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CDRIVE
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Post by CDRIVE »

I suspect that you're asking how to start the Quick Basic Interpreter not the Compiler? Do you have a finished program that you want to compile into an EXE, or are you just starting out and want to write code in the Interpreter? If you're just wanting to learn & write code then just double click on QB.EXE. This will start the QB Interpreter.

CDRIVE
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