I have a lot of DOS stuff that is important to me.

Step number 1

  Click on Run and Enter:

     attrib c:\msdos.sys -s -h -r

  That changes it from a hidden, read-only, system file into an ordinary file.

Step number 2
   In Run:

      edit msdos.sys

   It's just a text file.

Step Number 3:

   Change:

      bootGUI=1

   to

      bootGUI=0

and save the file.  "bootGUI" is a funny way of saying "run Windows."

Step number 4 (optional):
  
   Run:

      attrib C:\MSDOS.SYS +s +h +r

   Actually, Windows will use the file just fine.

Step Number 5:

   Boot up.  You will find yourself staring at the DOS prompt after the CONFIG.SYS 
and AUTOEXEC.BAT have run.  Then enter at the DOS prompt:

   win

And your windows session will start as usual.

Step Number 6:

   You will need an AUTOEXEC.BAT that loads the mouse for DOS programs that need 
it.  Windows hates that.  Every time it boots it searches your AUTOEXEC.BAT to find 
a line like:

      LH C:\DOS\MOUSE.SYS /Y

(or whatever your syntax for loading the mouse has been) and REMs it out.  To fool 
it write a file called MOUSLOAD.BAT (or whatever) with that line in it and put this 
line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT:

      call mousload.bat

Step Number 7:

  Some of your DOS programs use "direct disk access" and the computer will shut down 
after a warning.  Put this line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT:

  Lock C:

When you are booting it will halt and show a warning and demand you enter a Y or 
N before continuing.  If you intend this to be a DOS session you can enter the Y. 
 Remember, you can now mess up the very long filename system.  If you do, Scandisk 
from Windows can partially fix the problem, but if any Windows program was looking 
for a file that had a name over 8 characters (+ extension) it won't be able to find 
it.  YOU ARE ON THIN ICE.  Just operate on good old DOS files during your DOS session. 
 I'm sure your games will do that.  

Now the COPY command, when it's in a .BAT file can be made to skip its questions 
by adding a /Y argument.  LOCK will not allow that.

  UNLOCK C: is the opposite operation and can be put in a .BAT file without any halting. 
 Like changing the MSDOS.SYS file, use common sense and do not mess up essential 
Windows stuff.  I have 2 hard drives and I am keeping the DOS stuff on the old, small 
one.  That also causes problems and you might want to partition off a 2Gb section 
of your C: drive and format that as your D: drive put all the DOS stuff on that. 
 BTW, I looked up the syntax of the MSCDEX.EXE and renamed  my CD ROM as R:.  Once 
the AUTOEXEC.BAT has done that, both DOS and Windows refer to it as R:, not D: or 
E: or whatever.

Step Number 8:

I don't know what the problem with the MOUSE.SYS might be.  I have a very late model 
of Windows 95 just before Windows 98 came out and I haven't locked or crashed or 
anything.  My DOS mouse module is from DOS 6.22.  Anyway, I looked up the CHOICE 
operation with:

     help choice

which called up DOS 6.22's explanation for the syntax.  I writing this from the public 
library so the syntax isn't in front of me.  It's about like this:

  Choice /C:D,W  Dos or Windows?
  if errorlevel 2 goto Win95
  call MousLoad.bat
  lock C:
  goto QUIT
  :Win95
  echo Type WIN to start Windows
  :QUIT

That way I'm not burdening Windows 95 with any trammels it might not want.

Step Number 9:

  I haven't done this yet.  When a .BAT file runs a program under it it holds onto 
about 40K of memory of its own as overhead.  It does this because it clones a new 
session of DOS to run the daughter program.  Sometimes the daughter program did not 
have all the memory it wanted.   I haven't tested whether Windows senses this and 
retires that or whether I'm clogging the 640K.  As I said above, I wanted Windows 
95 to start untrammeled.  So I might go the further step of automating it by changing 
the line above:

    echo Type Win to start Windows

to just
    
     win
    
which would run Windows 95.  






On Sunday, November 10, 2002 at 7:42 pm, Spinor Ezekiel wrote:
>
>try doing this;)
>
>http://www.siroccostation.com/memxp.html

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