Quick Basic On Windows XP

[N3wbi3C0d3r]

Ok, i get Quick Basic, all version (1.1, 3.0, 4.5, 7.1) all because 1.1 doesnt work, so i keep trying then notice, there all DOS executables, and Windows XP doesnt support DOS executables. So i tried Command Prompt, hat didnt work either, technicly im screwed ;P, any ideas on how to do this on XP?

[Dani]

Confused what you mean. Windows XP can run a DOS emulator by clicking the Start menu, then Run... and then typing "command.com" (without the quotes, of course)

[N3wbi3C0d3r]

When i run the program QuickBasic 7.1 (or any other versions for that matter) it says something about a Windows NT file cannot open the dos file. Never knew there was a dos shell in XP thaught just command prompt.

[N3wbi3C0d3r]

Ok i did Command.com and it gave me
C:\WINDOWS\System32\command.com
C:\WINDOWS\System32\AUTOEXEC.NT. The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Micosoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.

I get something similar when i use QBasic 7.1....

[HarryVanWoerden]

Go to properties of QBX.exe, click memory, set EMS to None, everything else to Auto and check uses HMA. You don't set compatibility to windows 95 or 98, and you can check the "close on exit" (optional), and then click OK. The system automatically creates the qbx.pif file that has the same attributes.

You can double click on either qbx.exe or qbx.pif and it will load any size file which some people have had a problem with. These settings works for Qbasic or Qbx.

[ethveg]

I installed QuickBASIC 4.5 (yeah, I know, but it's comfortable) on a P4 2.3G (w/448Megs of RAM) HP Notebook w/ 30Gigs free on the hard drive and running XP.

I first ran this QB version on a P3 166M (both under DOS and within Win3.1)and then on a P4 1.3G w/256Meg of RAM, from within Win98se.

And in both those cases it ran well and smoothly.

On the HP notebook it is SLOW and if I open two BASIC windows at the same time the machine all but stops. With just one open, other programs (and even system functions like "view Folder") become VERY slow - and CPU usage jumps to 100%.

I KNOW that QuickBasic can run smoothly in MUCH less memory than the notebook has available, with less free space on C: and with a much slower processor.

So the question is "what do I have to change to get the sustem to allocate resources in a way that doesn't slow everything down?"

TIA for any suggestions.

[Real-tiner]

Ok, i get Quick Basic, all version (1.1, 3.0, 4.5, 7.1) all because 1.1 doesnt work, so i keep trying then notice, there all DOS executables, and Windows XP doesnt support DOS executables. So i tried Command Prompt, hat didnt work either, technicly im screwed ;P, any ideas on how to do this on XP?

I need it too.

I am sick of how Microsoft makes things obsolete on purpose.

[MrConfused]

Quickbasic 4.5 will run under Windows XP home edition as it is on my machine and does run o.k. I don't use it anymore though. The problem with the old DOS programs is the memory restriction (just the 640K) to play with however large the actual physical memory is on your machine. The main reason I stopped using Quickbasic was because I was starting to run into the memory barrier when programming (i.e the programming language plus my code in memory at the same time was sometimes causing the "out of memory" message to appear). This could be got round to some small extent by unloading one of the forms whilst working on the other ones etc. The other problem was the enourmous slowing down effect running a DOS based program has on the other programs/printers on the system. For some reason when running a DOS program it uses practically all processor power causing other programs to slow drastically. Maybe someone else has a technical explanation as to why this happens.
Anyway the bottom line is you would be well advised IMHO to get a more modern programming language.

Hope the above helps.

[divminds]

Here I've built a program easy to install it will allow you to use any Dos Programs on Windows XP. Heres the Site. :cheesy:

Windows XP Dos FIX

Download DOSWinXP-Fix.exe

[pmclayton1]

Ok, i get Quick Basic, all version (1.1, 3.0, 4.5, 7.1) all because 1.1 doesnt work, so i keep trying then notice, there all DOS executables, and Windows XP doesnt support DOS executables. So i tried Command Prompt, hat didnt work either, technicly im screwed ;P, any ideas on how to do this on XP?

Yes; I just happened across your question. I have been running quickbasic4.5
for years and last year decided to try it on xp. 1) start, run, type in cmd.exe,
ok. 2) when the cmd screen and prompt come up , type cd \. 3) change
dir to whereever you have qb.exe .4) type qb.exe 5) when the quickbasic
blue screen appears, right click on title bar then properties to set up your
options for your screen. hope it works for you.

[gerbil]

i know this is a slight diversion from quickbasic45 topic at hand, but someone opened the door with a ref to qbasic71 running on dos with xp. so, if u were to download qb71 and unzip it, u would see a shortcut which will sit nicely on your xp desktop. it opens the blue qb programming window directly, no faults. the link to qb71? normally i would not like to give someone else's links, but heck, he posts here. name is Nazgand. (a "Rings" fan??). find him by googling qb71 windows xp. go for his last link 29 may. hope this helps someone....

[Herve]

I still run QB 4 !
It runs fine on XP except the RS232 serial communication COM port; has anybody an idea to fix it ?
Is QB 7 better and where can I download it ?

[MaxImuM]

@N3wbi3C0d3r

I still use QuickBASIC 7.1 PDS on a regular basis to goof around with. For me it works fine under Windows XP, I use Pro but that shouldn't matter. I don't bother going through a DOS-box to run it, I just open Explorer and browse to \BC7\BIN and execute QBX.exe. When I do something drastic (rearrange my file structure, wipe&reload, etc) I set the paths accordingly and we're off and running. I do get a message after executing QBX.exe complaining about OS compatability but I just hit a key and it works fine. Sometimes it won't open in full screen, my fix for that is to open one of my graphics-oriented apps in SCREEN 9, let it start, and when I quit out the interpreter is in full screen.

The only glitches I have found so far are with the LEFT$, RIGHT$, and MID$ commands, they simply will not work for me when run through Windows XP, either uncompiled through the interpreter or compiled, standalone or not, x86 or alternative, etc. Even though those commands were crucial to a few programs I wrote (like my sweet MP3 organizer that generates an HTML page with clickable links to songs, makes playlists automatically, etc in about 3 seconds) it still works fine for everything else I do.

I have not noticed it slowing down other tasks at all, and an unexpected side effect is that most of my apps run much faster on XP! I have written many programs that are pretty unkind to Bill Gates (for no other reason than he's almost infinately richer than me...) that load up a bitmap of him and turn each pixel in to a PSET, then he flies apart and bounces all over the screen, or one where I set fire to his head. These run SO MUCH faster than under Windows 98 or even pure DOS on the same machine.

Just my 2 cents, I have found very little reason to complain about QuickBASIC 7.1 PDS under XP. Older versions may not work so well, try to track down 7.1 as it was the last of the breed.

MaxImuM

[MikeSpud]

To get large programs to load using PDS 7.1 this is the only
thing that has ever worked for me.
Edit c:\windows\system32\config.nt
Add this line:
EMM=RAM

[dnick]

I am using QB.exe in windows xp. When I run QB the screens colors are green instead of blues and multicolor on the prompts. I have changed the emu, config.nt, properties to no forced colors ect. I can see the regular olors in safe mode but can't compile my programs.
Thanks for your time.
David

[dnick]

Ok i did Command.com and it gave me
C:\WINDOWS\System32\command.com
C:\WINDOWS\System32\AUTOEXEC.NT. The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Micosoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.

I get something similar when i use QBasic 7.1....

an you help me. When I run qb.exe in windows xp I get a green screen and multicolors on the prompt?
Thanks

[pmclayton1]

dnick

you can set all your screen configurations from a right click on the very top
bar at the top of the qb screen.

[dnick]

dnick

you can set all your screen configurations from a right click on the very top
bar at the top of the qb screen.

I've tried screen oprion but these colors are like a kalidescope. Each letter in every word is a different color. It works in safe mode but I can compile a program. It complains about the pif or something. thanks very much for your time and attention.
David

[ethveg]

Quickbasic 4.5 will run under Windows XP home edition as it is on my machine and does run o.k. I don't use it anymore though. The problem with the old DOS programs is the memory restriction (just the 640K) to play with however large the actual physical memory is on your machine. The main reason I stopped using Quickbasic was because I was starting to run into the memory barrier when programming (i.e the programming language plus my code in memory at the same time was sometimes causing the "out of memory" message to appear). This could be got round to some small extent by unloading one of the forms whilst working on the other ones etc. The other problem was the enourmous slowing down effect running a DOS based program has on the other programs/printers on the system. For some reason when running a DOS program it uses practically all processor power causing other programs to slow drastically. Maybe someone else has a technical explanation as to why this happens.
Anyway the bottom line is you would be well advised IMHO to get a more modern programming language.

Hope the above helps.

Just a quick note for those of you too young to remember the early days: my first home machine was a TRS-80 (from Radio Shack, with the monitor and keyboard all inside a big gray shell.)

It had just 64K of memory (16 bits); 16K was ROM - unusable by anyone except the CPU ("jump addresses" and such); and the BASIC editor and interpreter (where you numbered the lines, before QuickBasic) took another pile of memory, and I wrote a word-processor, complete with wrap-around working in real time, even on the "pull-up" when you deleted bytes in one line, and other bells-and-whistles probably useful only to me, and STILL had 16K to store the document in!

Now that memory is cheap and CPU speeds are so high nobody even bothers to write efficient code.

"When I was a boy ..."

PS: I'm still hoping for a fix to reduce CPU usage when running QuickBASIC 4.5 under XP!

[dnick]

Just a quick note for those of you too young to remember the early days: my first home machine was a TRS-80 (from Radio Shack, with the monitor and keyboard all inside a big gray shell.)

It had just 64K of memory (16 bits); 16K was ROM - unusable by anyone except the CPU ("jump addresses" and such); and the BASIC editor and interpreter (where you numbered the lines, before QuickBasic) took another pile of memory, and I wrote a word-processor, complete with wrap-around working in real time, even on the "pull-up" when you deleted bytes in one line, and other bells-and-whistles probably useful only to me, and STILL had 16K to store the document in!

Now that memory is cheap and CPU speeds are so high nobody even bothers to write efficient code.

"When I was a boy ..."

PS: I'm still hoping for a fix to reduce CPU usage when running QuickBASIC 4.5 under XP!

I only have about 3 - 4 small programs that are important to me. I dread learning another language for something so simple.Regards Dnick

[Tattenbach]

You can use a good windows-based text editor to work with quickbasic in XP instead of using the QB dos-based standard interface. You write the code in the editor and compiler and link form it.

I prefer the editor "CONText" (www.context.cx/ ). You can set special keys to run the compiler and the linker and even another key to run the created .exe file.

This workaround eliminates the problem of high CPU use as QB never runs.

Hope this helps.

[Tattenbach]

I could not edit the previous post so I will correct something that was not correctly written before:
--------------------------------------------------------------------

You can use a good windows-based text editor to work with quickbasic in XP instead of using the QB dos-based standard interface. You write the code in the editor and then compile and link from it.

I prefer the editor "CONText" (www.context.cx/ ). You can set special keys to run the compiler and the linker and even another key to run the created .exe file.

This works with quickbasic 4.5. I do not have 7.1 so cannot tell about it but I see no reasons why it wouldn't work.

This workaround eliminates the problem of high CPU use as QB never runs.

Hope this helps.

[dnick]

Jusy got your email and am replying before I use` your suggestion. I'm sure it will work. How simple. Why! Didn't I think of that :)

You can set special
keys to run the compiler and the linker and even another key to run the
created .exe file.

Could you explain , set a special key? Do you mean using alt enter to open the windows is qb.exe?
Thanks
David

[dnick]

Another problem I'm having because of XP is that when I go to compile a program XP causes it to say that the path is incorrect or path not found. I installed win98se as a second OS and am using that when I need to now but would appreciate any advice you can give me regarding this problem.
Thanks
David

[Tattenbach]

dnick,

I suggest to download CONText to see what I mean. I guess there are other text editors that do the same, but I prefer this one.

Once in ConText select the menu Options > Environmet Options. Open the tab 'Execute Keys'. Yo can create an entry to many different source files, like .c, .bas, .cpp, etc. Create a new entry for BAS (do not use the dot) and use the right side of the tab to assign the commands and parameters to the different keys F9 to F12. You can run the compiler BC, the linker and the executable according to your needs. CONText has a good help regarding this. If you set this correctly there are no problems with PATHS not found.

If you still need help, I can tell you about the settings I use.

Hope this helps.

PS: CONText does not do magic. All it does is what you would do if you were to compile/link your source code from the DOS prompt (withou the QB interface). It is like running a batch file with the compiler's and linker's prompt options. But in this case you don't have to type the source file's name every time.

[dnick]

Thanks, it's a good program. A keeper :)
David

[Tru]

I use UltraEdit 32. Best text editor I've found.

I just posted this in another thread but I had recent problems with my NTVDM refusing to open old dos apps such as Quick basic 4.5 or even a command.com window with no error messages.

This file is for XP but worked on my W2k Server.

ftp://216.103.249.41:21/xp_repair.exe

Found it here,

http://www.tsrsoftware.com/win-tips-2.htm

[dnick]

I downloaded the file. I am currently useing 2 OS's XP and 98 so I can modify my dos programs in 98se.
Thanks
David

[anu79]

I need qbasic program. From where i may get it?