how to keep using our QBX programs under windows 7 (x64)

If you have questions about any aspect of QBasic programming, or would like to help fellow programmers solve their problems, check out this board!

Moderators: Pete, Mods

Post Reply
KROP
Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2010 3:18 pm

how to keep using our QBX programs under windows 7 (x64)

Post by KROP »

Hello Everybody,
I'm new to the forum, and hope you guys can point me in the right direction.

My father (58 years old/young :-)) is a QuikBasic die-hard :-).

In our family business, large parts of our warehouse management systems, ordering systems, invoicing software are programmed by my father in QBX.

It's incredably efficient and stable. The whole thing works through our Windows 2003 server and interconnects with our excel templates, networked printers, bar code scanners etc.

Off course, It may not come as a surprise to you all (beeing fans of Qbasic) that QBX is there to stay for a while longer in our company. (it's addictive to 'quickly write some - extra - code when you need something changed. No way one can find such quick, cheap and above al perfectly tailored solutions on the market :-)).

The problem I have, however, is with the inevitable upgrade to win7 (x64) that's lurking around the corner:

No more QBX in a dos window under XP.

Any help would be very much appreciated!

Suggestions how to keep on using QBX in this environment?

thx!
User avatar
bongomeno
Veteran
Posts: 266
Joined: Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:08 am
Location: Arizona
Contact:

Post by bongomeno »

well, if you must use windows 7 (at first, I thought it would be good, but my opinion has quickly changed...) you might have to use a free program called DosBox. Google it.

Also, I heard that one of the more costly win7 packages still emulates 16 bit software. Im not 100% sure.

you still should be able to run screen 0 programs with no sound for the most part I think.

my solution would be to not even bother with win7. (I have, as well as vista - TOTAL CRAP) Some of the people here might disagree with me on this, but it is probably the best option. You should get an older computer (maby 5-15 years old). upgrade it a bit if you like. Then install win 95, 2k, or xp on it. Those are the best versions of windows that are new enough to run new software as well as the old. I would not worry about 64 bit software too much because at least 90% of the windows software in the world is NOT 64 bit... You can maby find a copy of windows from a friend, or maby but it somewhere. Or with a little knowhow you can pirate it. Even if you buy a new computer, the losers at Geek Squad and others will try to tell you that you cannot downgrade it to xp, but that is bs. Me and several of my friends have downgraded vista computers to xp and 2k. The main problem is drivers and the fact that it CAN be dangerous to your system if you are not careful. You might also run into trouble when computers start becoming only 64-128 bit compatible. (that will be one of the biggest mistakes in computer history i think lol)

I think thats about it.. :D
Anonymous

Post by Anonymous »

You could also install xp in Virtual PC, so you can have both operating systems running at once.
User avatar
Stoves
Veteran
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 12:24 am
Location: Nashville, TN

Post by Stoves »

These instructions will allow you to run Qbasic/Quickbasic or any other dos-based programs in a Virtual PC on Windows 7.

1. Download and install Microsoft Virtual PC 2007.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... laylang=en
**If you get a message like "This program has been blocked due to compatibility issues." when you try to run MS VPC 2007, see the Supplemental Note below to resolve the issue.

2. Download and install DAEMON Tools Lite if you don't already have a program to mount virtual CD/DVD images.

http://www.disk-tools.com/download/daemon
**If you get the following error when you try to run DAEMON Tools Lite in Windows 7, see the Supplemental Note below to resolve the issue:
Image
"This program requires at least Windows 2000 with SPTD..."

3. Download ISO of MS-DOS 7.10.

http://msdos7.hit.bg/dosware/dos71scd.zip
Download the zip. Unzip the ISO file and mount it using Daemon tools. (Refer to the online documentation for Daemon tools if necessary.)

4. Download DOS Virtual Machine Additions.vfd

http://www.filestube.com/cb115816d1d122f203ea/go.html
Save the virtual floppy disk file in a location where it can be retrieved later. (This disk contains tools for MS-DOS running in a virtual machine. Specifically, fshare.exe which will be used to allow access to folders on the host machine from MS-DOS running in the virtual.)

5. Create new Virtual Machine image for MS-DOS
  • Start Virtual PC Console
    Click "New..."
    Click "Next"
    Select "Create a virtual machine" and click "Next"
    Name the new virtual machine (I named mine "MS-DOS 7.1") and click "Next"
    Choose "OS/2" from the Operating system drop-down list and click "Next"
    Select "Using the recommended RAM" and click "Next"
    Select "A new virtual hard disk" and click "Next"
    Optionally reduce the size of the hard disk before continuing. Click "Next"
    Click "Finish"
6. Install MS-DOS on the virtual machine
  • Select the new virtual machine and click "Start" (Make sure you've already mounted the MS-DOS ISO CD in Daemon Tools Lite or similar program.)
    Click on the "CD" menu and click "Use Physical Drive ..." choosing the mounted virtual drive with MS-DOS CD
    Click on the "Action" menu and click "Reset" to reboot the virtual
    Type "1" and follow the instructions to complete the installation of MS-DOS. (It will be necessary to allow the install program to create a FAT partition, which will require rebooting and choosing the "1" option a second time to install MS-DOS.)
    Once the install is complete, click on the "CD" menu and click "Release Physical Drive ..."
7. Install MS-DOS Virtual Machine Additions
  • Click on the "Floppy" menu and click "Capture Floppy Disk Image..."
    Navigate to and select the "DOS Virtual Machine Additions.vfd" file and click "Open"
    At the DOS prompt, type "A:" and hit Enter
    Type "DOSADD.BAT" and hit Enter
    Click on the "Floppy" menu and click "Release..."
    Click on the "Action" menu and click "Reset"
8. Create a shared folder for the virtual machine.
  • Click the "Edit" menu and click "Settings..."
    Select the "Shared Folders" option and click the "Share Folder..." button
    Choose a folder on your computer to share with the virtual MS-DOS machine for transferring files and select a letter ("Z" is default) from the "Drive letter" drop-down list
    Check the "Share every time" checkbox and click "OK"
    Click "OK" to return to the virtual MS-DOS machine where you can now access the "Z" drive (or whatever letter you assigned) to copy files into the virtual machine from your computer.
9. Run QBasic and/or copy additional files as necessary.

QBasic is included with MS-DOS 7, so you can just start using QBasic or you can copy the QuickBasic files if you have them from your computer using the shared folder drive you just created. You can also copy your QBasic programs and files for use in the MS-DOS virtual machine using your shared folder drive.
**If the Tab and/or Esc keys stop working, see the Supplemental Note below to resolve the issue.

Enjoy!

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES:

**Fixing Issues with Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 in Windows 7**
The compatibility message when trying to run MSVPC 2007 can indicate that Windows Virtual PC is installed which conflicts with MSVPC 2007. If this is the case, either use Windows Virtual PC (which I haven't tested because my machine does not have hardware virtualization capabilities) or uninstall Windows Virtual PC using the following instructions.
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/virtual_pc_guy/ ... ows-7.aspx

**Fixing Daemon Tools in Windows 7**
The SPTD error can be fixed by following the instructions on the following webpage.
http://geekswithblogs.net/apopovsky/arc ... ows-7.aspx
On my machine, I had to follow all of the steps including removing the all references to the SPTD service from the registry before I could successfully install the latest version of SPTD and then install Daemon Tools.

**Fixing Tab and Escape Key issues in Virtual PC**
The Tab and Esc keys not working in the MS-DOS virtual machine can be corrected by following the instructions from the following webpage.
http://www.aspdeveloper.net/Virtual_PC/ ... al_PC.aspx
If you are running into this issue on Vista and Windows 7 you can get the TAB key back by creating a software allow policy. Go to administrative tools, local security policy, Software Restriction Policies, Additional Rules. Create a new rule for %appdata%\microsoft\vritual pc\vpckeyboard.dll and set it to Unrestricted. Restart Virtual PC.

If the variable doesn't work, try using an explicit path i.e. c:\users\username\appdata\roaming\microsoft\virtualpc\vpckeyboard.dll
User avatar
burger2227
Veteran
Posts: 2466
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:40 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Post by burger2227 »

Using QB64 is a lot easier than doing all of that!

Too many hoops...plus you are stuck with Qbasic's memory and size limitations.
Please acknowledge and thank members who answer your questions!
QB64 is a FREE QBasic compiler for WIN, MAC(OSX) and LINUX : https://www.qb64.org/forum/index.php
Get my Q-Basics demonstrator: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fdmgp91d6h8ps ... s.zip?dl=0
Post Reply