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PC-DOS 7.1 and WfW 3.11

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First post, by Dracolich

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Hi guys, I just installed PC-DOS 2000 to a new disk hoping to compare performance and compatibility with my MS-DOS 7.1 setup. I need FAT32 support to access my D: drive where the majority of my programs are installed, so I found a procedure to "upgrade" PC-DOS 7.01 to 7.1 which adds FAT32. https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=80531 I'm not finding much in my Google searching about using 7.1.

After the format and install of 2000 I copied Windows and some programs from the MS-DOS disk to the new PC-DOS disk maintaining the directory structure. I also copied the autoexec.bat and config.sys and made necessary changes before rebooting. While PC-DOS was still at 7.01 everything works including Windows. After upgrading to 7.1 SETVER.EXE does not get loaded and SHARE.EXE fails with the error "Incorrect DOS version". Windows shows the logo for a few seconds and exits with "Cannot find or load required file KRNL386.EXE". When I go into C:WINDOWS\SYSTEM and run krnl386.exe the error is "KERNEL: Unable to enter Protected Mode".

In MS-DOS I use HIMEMX and EMM386. In PC-DOS I have tried with HIMEMX then HIMEM.SYS; and tried with and without EMM386. The errors are the same with all combinations. The upgrade replaces COMMAND.COM, IBMBIO.COM, IBMDOS.COM and many files in C:\DOS; however, SHARE and SETVER are not upgraded. Has anyone here tried this before and have ideas? Thanks

Reply 1 of 10, by Grzyb

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MS-DOS 7.10 needs some patch to be compatible with Windows 3.1x, so I suspect PC DOS 7.10 may also need something similar.

Żywotwór planetarny, jego gnijące błoto, jest świtem egzystencji, fazą wstępną, i wyłoni się z krwawych ciastomózgowych miedź miłująca...

Reply 3 of 10, by Caluser2000

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Just use MS Dos 7.1. You'll use to need need to run Win3xStart.exe to run Win3.x on MS Dos 7.1 drives.There is a replacement File Manger with FAT32 support. I also thing there is a version of Calmira 3 with LFN support built in.

Pic of Win 3.* FM sfowing LFN

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Here is a minimal Win3.11 minimal boot disk with fat32 support. You may be able to grab its File Manager files and merge with you existing setup.

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My_Mini_Windows_3.11_Boot_Disk__Build_2004.1.26_.zip
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Instant File Access will give you LFN access on all Win3.* programs. It was shareware but is now available free.
Long File Names For Windows 3.11

Last edited by Caluser2000 on 2019-05-26, 03:27. Edited 2 times in total.

There's a glitch in the matrix.
A founding member of the 286 appreciation society.
Apparently 32-bit is dead and nobody likes P4s.
Of course, as always, I'm open to correction...😉

Reply 4 of 10, by Dracolich

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Thanks for the quick replies. My WfW 3.11 is already patched for FAT32, and has the custom vesa-compatible svga. I forgot to mention that both MS-DOS and PC-DOS C: drives are FAT16. The only FAT32 disk is D:

This was mostly an experiment. I use CF cards to boot which makes it easy to swap, make backups, and try different systems.

I think I will follow the suggestion to stay with MS-DOS. The only program I've had a problem with (so far) is the Access component of Office 4.3. That file manager looks nice, and I have some long filenames on D: I'll definitely grab it 😀

Thanks!

Reply 5 of 10, by Caluser2000

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The likes of Instant File Access and modded File Manager certainly prove MS ware telling fibs about win3.* accessing fat32 drives. A bit like the tale that NT 4 couldn't access usb thumb drives.

There's a glitch in the matrix.
A founding member of the 286 appreciation society.
Apparently 32-bit is dead and nobody likes P4s.
Of course, as always, I'm open to correction...😉

Reply 6 of 10, by Grzyb

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Caluser2000 wrote:

The likes of Instant File Access and modded File Manager certainly prove MS ware telling fibs about win3.* accessing fat32 drives.

I think you're mistaking two different things:
- type of FAT filesystem (FAT12/FAT16/FAT32)
- support for long file names

File Manager doesn't access disks directly, so it can't have problems with FAT32.
Modifications are only needed for it to support long file names.

However, Windows 3.1 has "32-bit disk access", and 3.11 also "32-bit file access".
Those features are likely to be incompatible with FAT32 - can anybody check it?

Żywotwór planetarny, jego gnijące błoto, jest świtem egzystencji, fazą wstępną, i wyłoni się z krwawych ciastomózgowych miedź miłująca...

Reply 7 of 10, by Dracolich

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Grzyb is right, an unmodded file manager can still browse a FAT32 drive, same as in DOS. Without lfn support it just displays the filenames truncated to 8.3 form.

I checked my current settings. Both C: and D: are using 16-bit disk access, and the checkbox for 32-bit disk access is greyed out. My checkbox for 32-bit file access is available but unchecked.

With a quick Google search I found this interesting tidbit: https://www.rigacci.org/docs/biblio/online/fi … re/win32bda.htm

My C: is 2GB FAT16 with 3990 cylinders and my D: is 16GB FAT32. The part about using a mfgr replacement driver sounds promising. If any of them work with CF to IDE adapters would be awesome.

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