DS and Win XP

[Fuelie600]

Tell me your mistaken Dave. I just bought a brand new lap top which has Win xp pre installed. The sole purpose? Running Direct Scan in my GN. This morning I ordered Direct Scan. What sucks here? Brian

 

[Dean]

What sucks here? The fact that DS won't work on the new W2K/XP systems.

I almost did the same thing as you but was fortunate enough to contact Kent first... didn't buy that nice Compaq @ Costco (though I'm looking at refurb W98 machines).

Your options? Dunno for sure, but if you have a W98 CD, maybe that can be loaded in lieu of XP?? Check with a computer specialist on that.

 

[TurboDave]

That's why I went on E-bay and bought a REAL NICE Compaq Pentium 150 to run my Direct Scan and chip burner.

There's no need to spend so much money for something to run DS. My first DS laptop was a 386 and it ran just fine on that also. Stay away from the Compaq 486's though, some have compatability problems with DS hardware. No sense opening that can of worms.

 

[Fuelie600]

Called Conley's. Left an E-Mail with Kent. Was thinking of loading Win 98 as you can restart the computer in MS-DOS mode. It's funny how DS might have compatability concerns w/ Compaq, as Kent works for them. I'm wondering if you can just load the MS-DOS operating system on it's own. Anyone have these files? I like the new Compaq notebook and can use it for more than just DS.(burning CD's, DVD's, ect.) I was looking for lap tops on Ebay but was a little nervous about buying someone elses problems, ie. viruses, outdated batteries, broken screen hinges and no warranty. I'll get this program loaded one way or the other. Brian

 

[tom h]

WinXP is the best MS operating system yet, very stable, etc.

Why not setup your new PC as dual boot? Win98 for running DirectScan, Windows XP for everything else.

 

[NOSjohnWE4]

DS

You can do 1 of 2 things -

1) as Tom H said, you can setup your new PC as dual boot. There are directions for this, or should I say Microsoft help files (which aren't much help), for doing this. click on "start" -> then look over to the right and you should see "help and support". in the search box type in "DOS". the second instruction should be "installing more than one operating system on you computer".

2) your 2nd option is to Create an MS-DOS startup disk. go to your help section again and simply type in "DOS" (if you closed it). number 6 should be the instructions "create an ms-dos startup disk". once the disk is created, you can reboot (with disk inserted in drive), boot to DOS and load the Direct Scan program.

HTH....and if you need any further help, feel free to contact me. I have talked to BOB at BM Computer Source www.bmcomputersource.com (tb.com nick is BM Computer Src) and I believe he will concur with me that #2 will work. He's a good source of knowledge and easy to get in touch with AS WELL AS a distributor for Direct Scan....so throw all your questions his way and maybe even purchase another DS for your 2nd GN/TR...'cuz we all know at least half of us have 2 or more. LOL

Take care and God bless!


John C.
LedSLED Motorsports
(315)298-1000
jcofolla@twcny.rr.com
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[Fuelie600]

Thanks John, A Compaq tech told me to use the Command prompt under accessaries from the start menu. This is suppose to be DOS. It looks and operates like DOS and I was able to load DS. Only problem is in trying to use the reatime menu, it just freezes the DS program (Clock stops and all function keys do not work). Might this be because I do not have it hooked up to the GN's ECM, or possibly a software error? Maybe the Command prompt menu is not truely MS DOS? Thanks Brian

 

[TurboDave]

Originally posted by Fuelie600
Thanks John, A Compaq tech told me to use the Command prompt under accessaries from the start menu. This is suppose to be DOS. It looks and operates like DOS and I was able to load DS. Only problem is in trying to use the reatime menu, it just freezes the DS program (Clock stops and all function keys do not work). Might this be because I do not have it hooked up to the GN's ECM, or possibly a software error? Maybe the Command prompt menu is not truely MS DOS? Thanks Brian

You can't go into Realtime without a hardware hook up. the most you can do is load and re-play DS saved files.
Get it hooked up to the ECM before you try running in real time.
I'd still like to see if it works. I don't think it will. If you let XP boot, it's got control of the parallel port, whether you go to the command prompt or not.

Please prove me wrong! Don't think so though.

 

[Fuelie600]

Dave, Hooked up the lap top in the GN this morning. Still not able to operate the realtime menu. Microsoft "help" says it is MS-DOS. I am able to surf around the other menues and make changes, but Realtime isn't happening. Kent is sending me a bootable disk to run MS-DOS but I'm not sure that is the way to go. I still think it might be some missing files in the DS software. Brian

 

[TurboDave]

No, what it is, once XP is allowed to start, it doesn't matter if you exit out to the Command Prompt or not. XP has grabbed the parallel port, and it isn't going to communicate. It's not missing DS files.

You either need to boot directly to DOS, or (and even this may or may not work although it should) Dual boot into WIN98. I run 98 on my laptop, and don't have to exit out to command prompt or anything. I just run DS as a window right on my desktop.

 

[NOSjohnWE4]

xp

yes, as Dave mentions, XP takes the port once started up and will NOT release it. you have to either 1) boot to DOS or 2) have the PC set to dual boot and boot it up to win98. HTH...


John C.
LedSLED Motorsports

 

[Fuelie600]

Thanks guys, Being how I'm sorta computer limited, am I understanding that when I get the MS-Dos bootable disk, I should insert it in the Floppy drive prior to powering up the lap top? It will then boot up in DOS. Also, will I need to reload DS, or can I just type in the file name being how it loaded once thru "Command Prompt"? Thanks Brian

 

[Dean]

I found "forcedos.exe" on a XP machine which, as I understand, forces the specified program to run in DOS mode. Will XP still not release the port if this is used? I suppose so.

 

[TurboDave]

Originally posted by Dean
I found "forcedos.exe" on a XP machine which, as I understand, forces the specified program to run in DOS mode. Will XP still not release the port if this is used? I suppose so.

Correct. Once XP has started, it "owns" the parallel port and wont release it.

The only alternative is a bootable floppy, or dual boot into WIN98

 

[JayLashua]

The command prompt is NOT DOS.

You need to get A REAL DOS (Windows 98 and EARLIER) boot disk, and copy the direct scan files onto that, simple enough.)

.. seriously though.. you spend more than $2000 on a laptop ...just for direct scan!?

heheh, get your money back if thats all you really wanted it for. you can get so many older laptops MUCH LESS.

or at the very least, a somewhat-new laptop, but with windows 98 installed.. then you could run it from there no problem.

Originally posted by Fuelie600
Thanks John, A Compaq tech told me to use the Command prompt under accessaries from the start menu. This is suppose to be DOS. It looks and operates like DOS and I was able to load DS. Only problem is in trying to use the reatime menu, it just freezes the DS program (Clock stops and all function keys do not work). Might this be because I do not have it hooked up to the GN's ECM, or possibly a software error? Maybe the Command prompt menu is not truely MS DOS? Thanks Brian

 

[Dean]

Actually, the laptop I get would be for more than just DS & TL.. I just want to make sure that I don't have to keep a separate laptop just for DS/TL.

So by setting up a dual boot and going to W98, that will allow writing directly to the hard drive... correct?

Can it also be setup to with three booting options: XP/W98/DOS?

:-Dean

 

[Zero Tolerance]

All, I'm new to the DS thing, so I apologize for the dumb question...Can DS be run in W98? I thought it had to be run in DOS. Also, can you stop a computer from loading into windows and then re-boot into DOS? Can you override something while Windows is starting to load?

Thanks for any help.

 

[TurboDave]

Originally posted by Zero Tolerance
All, I'm new to the DS thing, so I apologize for the dumb question...Can DS be run in W98? I thought it had to be run in DOS. Also, can you stop a computer from loading into windows and then re-boot into DOS? Can you override something while Windows is starting to load?

Thanks for any help.

Yes, it will in fact run just fine in a seperate window under WIN98. That's the way I do it. I just double click the desktop shortcut for DS on my desktop and away it goes. I have the icon properties set to run full screen, so once it starts, you don't even realize it's a window.

 

[TurboDave]

Originally posted by Dean
Actually, the laptop I get would be for more than just DS & TL.. I just want to make sure that I don't have to keep a separate laptop just for DS/TL.

So by setting up a dual boot and going to W98, that will allow writing directly to the hard drive... correct?

Can it also be setup to with three booting options: XP/W98/DOS?

:-Dean

Not sure about tripple boot, but the question is; why would you want or need to run DOS?????
If you boot to WIN 98, you can run DS in a window, you don't have to go out to the command prompt to run it.
And Turbolink is now windows friendly.

 

[Fuzzy]

I'm using my work laptop which is an IBM ThinkPad with Windows 2000. To run DS, a WIN95 DOS boot 3 1/2" floppy disk is inserted in the drive and the laptop is started up. I copied the DS.exe file on another floppy and just switch to this floppy when running DS in the car. Files are also saved to DS floppy. I have found, however, that the saved DS files can be replayed in the DOS command prompt in Windows 2000. As stated before, the DOS boot disk and running DS off a floppy allows operation with a Windows 2000 laptop. My guess would be that XP behaves the same.