Spoon wrote on 2021-01-25, 15:38:

I am trying to enter the following DOS command: mode con: cols=80 lines=45 in the DosBox window but get a message stating it is an illegal command. However, under a Windows 10 DOS Command window it is valid. Why won't DosBox accept the command? Can anyone help me change the display attributes of the DosBox window so that there are more than 24 screen lines available?

Use the mode.com from FreeDOS . https://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/fr … s/mode/mode.zip

Also, since arbitrary line numbers such as 45 are not supported, use
mode con: cols=80 lines=43
or
mode con: cols=80 lines=50

Otherwise you will get :

EDIT : the modes that require VESA do not seem to work for me .

Thanks Darry for your response but it did not solve my problem. Once I open DosBox and do the proverbial mount command + c:\ , I entered the Dos command: mode with no parameters whatsoever. The response from the system was: "Illegal command: mode". I am encouraged that there is a solution since your posted screen snapshot shows that in your particular instance the system accepted the mode command. Why it works in your instance but not mine is the mystery. Do I need to incorporate a "path" command to help it locate the mode command? Btw, I have version 0.74-3 of Dosbox while you are utilizing 0.74-2. Would this make difference?

Spoon wrote on 2021-01-26, 01:12:

Thanks Darry for your response but it did not solve my problem. Once I open DosBox and do the proverbial mount command + c:\ , I entered the Dos command: mode with no parameters whatsoever. The response from the system was: "Illegal command: mode". I am encouraged that there is a solution since your posted screen snapshot shows that in your particular instance the system accepted the mode command. Why it works in your instance but not mine is the mystery. Do I need to incorporate a "path" command to help it locate the mode command? Btw, I have version 0.74-3 of Dosbox while you are utilizing 0.74-2. Would this make difference?

The issue is not due to the DOSBox version difference . To invoke the execution of an executable file, you either need to be in directory where the file is located or to explicitly invoke the file with its full path.

Assuming the mode.com command is in the root of the mounted c: drive , you need to either switch to the c: drive by typing the following two commands .
c:
mode con: cols=80 lines=43

OR by running the command like this :

c:\mode con: cols=80 lines=43

If, for example, the mode.com is the c:\dos directory , you would need to type the following commands
c:
cd\dos
mode con: cols=80 lines=43

OR by running the command like this :

c:\dos\mode con: cols=80 lines=43

My mount command is to a directory that contains a program (exe) called dBASE which I can invoke. Also, while in this directory I can execute other DOS commands without any problem such as md and rd but not mode. Are some DOS commands global whereas others need to reference the DOS folder / library in order to execute them?

Windows 10 cmd prompt window is NOT Dos.

Spoon wrote on 2021-01-26, 02:02:

My mount command is to a directory that contains a program (exe) called dBASE which I can invoke. Also, while in this directory I can execute other DOS commands without any problem such as md and rd but not mode. Are some DOS commands global whereas others need to reference the DOS folder / library in order to execute them?

Some DOS commands are internal, like dir while others are external, like mode.com , attrib.exe and others . The reason you can normally invoke them without specifying the full path is because the directory that contains the external commands (usually c:\dos ) is normally listed in the path variable that is set in autoexec.bat .

See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AUTOEXEC.BAT for some examples .

EDIT: If you copy the mode.com to the directory that you are mounting, you should be able to invoke it fron there .

Thanks Darry, your explanation is quite helpful. I will copy mode.com to my specific directory / folder as suggested once I figure out where Windows 10 stores it.

Spoon wrote on 2021-01-26, 03:23:

Thanks Darry, your explanation is quite helpful. I will copy mode.com to my specific directory / folder as suggested once I figure out where Windows 10 stores it.

You need to copy the mode.com file from the zip file I liked to in my first post . The one from Windows 10 will not work .

EDIT : This one : https://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/fr … s/mode/mode.zip

Gee, I was not very observant of your first post. You are right the Windows 10 version in \windows\system32 does not work. I will download the FreeDos version.

I thought this was clear from the very beginning of this thread.