Hi,

I have a program that runs in MS DOS and it's not working properly anymore. It's basically a lottery program called Advantage Plus from Smartluck.com and I'd love to be able to use it again.

You see recently I had some viruses or malware on my computer and in the process of removing said malware I had to use a program called Combofix.exe.

After running Combofix.exe I discovered that when I went to try and start Advantage Plus that all the lines that should frame the menu are now replaced with weird symbols or odd looking letters with accents on them etc. And when I run the game itself, the lines that normally separate the numbers into columns, those lines are now replaced with little number 3s. It makes the game almost impossible to read.

Here's a screenshot of what the Menu looks Like:

And here's a screenshot of what one of the Charts looks like:

(If the above links are not clickable then please see attachments.)

I also tried doing a system restore to a point before I ran Combofix.exe (19th September) and then tried running Advantage Plus and it ran fine. The only problem with doing this was that by doing that restore I may have undone all the good that Combofixe.exe had fixed. So I re-restored the system back to the original date (24th September) and the problems with my Advantage Plus game returned. With some help,I've since fixed any problems that came back except for my DOS program Advantage Plus.

(I've also sorted out the potential malware re-infection. My Computer is clean now, but it means that I can't do a restore to a previous date without potentially messing up my computer.)

I also have Advantage Plus on a USB stick and I tried running the program off of that on my computer but I got the exact same results. I then ran the program on the USB stick on a friends computer and it ran on my friend's computer perfectly fine.

This leads me to believe that the game itself is not corrupted but that there might be a file(s) that are used with the DOS system that may be damaged or missing since I ran Combofix.exe.

I've been in touch with the Technical Support team at smartluck.com and he seemed to think that my problem had something to do with the "PC8 Codepage" that deals with ASCII characters.

My knowledge of computers is limited, so that means that I need help in a step by step format. I need to be very clear about the order in which you want me to do whatever I'm supposed to do. Thanks.

For your convenience, I've included the email I sent to Smart Luck Technical Support and his response, in case it's of any use to you. (I don't understand his response at all, so I don't know what to do).

Here is the email conversation I had with Smart Luck Technical Support: (Includes my email and his response)

Hello Bluesybell, (Bluesybell is me)

Tuesday, September 24, 2013, 3:43:35 PM, you wrote:

> Technical Support request concerning product: Advantage Plus

> Hi

> I recently had some problems with malware which have now been taken care of.
> However during the process of removing said malware, I had to run a program called Combofix.exe.

> After running this program the malware was removed. However, when I tried
> to run the Advantage Plus Program, the window opened but there were all sorts
> of unusual letters and symbols showing in the main menu, where the
> surrounding (framing) lines should have been.

> Also when I pressed 4 to view the Drawings Since Hit Chart, all the lines
> that seperate the numbers had been replaced with little number 3's. this
> makes the chart almost impossible to read. A lot of the other charts are in
> pretty much the same condition - very difficult to read.

> I bought the program on a usb stick a while ago. So I thought I would try
> to read the program from usb stick and see if that showed up as normal.
> Unfortunately, I had the same results with the symbols and letters all over the place.

> I know there is nothing wrong with the usb stick as I was able to read it
> properly earlier today on a different computer. It worked perfectly well on the other computer.

> I know that the way this program is functioning on my computer sounds odd so
> I took two screenshots of the program in action. I can send these on to you
> if you'd like. I tried to copy and paste them here but was unable to do that.

> I'm thinking that the problem is on my computer but have no idea how to fix
> it. So I was wondering if you could help me get the Advantage Plus Program
> to run properly again please. Thanks.

> Just let me know if you want to see the screenshots. Thanks.

> Kind Regards,

> Sharon Cleere.

Here is the response from the Smart Luck Technical Support:

> --Sharon Cleere

It may be as simple as setting the PC8 codepage but I don't know that. Standard
ascii characters have numbers up to 127. Numbers from 129 to 255 are special
for the pc with line drawing characters among others. These character maps are
called Code Pages in 32-bit windows and in DOS. In other code pages, those
symbols show Umlaut characters and other special foreign characters instead of
the liine drawing characters.

Search Google for Code Page to see how to change it and the specific name for
the Standard PC's default codepage. Otherwise I'm not sure what to tell you.
You might have to do a restore from older restore points to fix that problem.

--
Best Regards
Joe H, Smart Luck Technical Support
Extended Help exthelp@smartluck.com
1-727-441-8714 Monday-Friday 1:00-5:00 pm EST (gmt-5)

* * * * * * * *

Okay, so that was the email.

I hope you'll be able to help me out. I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,

besscella. 😀