Re: [Freedos-user] R: Freedos for IBM PCDOS 3.30 software

[Eric Auer]

Hi Mattia,

I would be generally optimistic: You can still get
mainboards with DOS compatible parallel printer port
and FreeDOS should be okay for running PC DOS 3.30
based apps. Also, keyboard, mouse and VGA graphics
should still be supported by the BIOS of modern PC,
with some luck even the hardware level PS/2 and VGA
access, although that might internally be based on
a simulation run by the BIOS, for example for USB
keyboard or mouse. This can affect reaction speeds.
I would avoid additional PCI I/O cards if possible.

Regards, Eric

>> ... the analyzer is attached to the 24pin parallel port...



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Re: [Freedos-user] R: Freedos for IBM PCDOS 3.30 software

[Ralf Quint]

On 4/27/2020 12:10 PM, Mattia Limonta wrote:


Thanks everyone for the replies!

Looks like the analyzer is attached to the 24pin parallel port of the 
PS2. The newer pc I would run FreeDOS on has a x86 AMD Sempron and a 
parallel port on the motherboard (Still have to look up compatibility, 
but I guess that can be solved with some PCI card).


There is no "24" pin parallel port. There rather used to be two kinds of 
DB25 (25 pin) peripheral ports on older PCs.


A female DB25 would be a parallel port, a male DB25 would be an RS232 
serial port.


And a PCI card would likely require to be able to provide one of the 
standard port addresses (be it parallel or serial), while a lot of PCI 
cards of either kind provide only "high" non-standard port addresses 
which likely are only working on Windows or other newer OS.


This is more a limitation on what is configurable in your application 
software than of (Free)DOS in this case...


Ralf



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[Freedos-user] R: Freedos for IBM PCDOS 3.30 software

[Mattia Limonta]

Thanks everyone for the replies!
Looks like the analyzer is attached to the 24pin parallel port of the PS2. The 
newer pc I would run FreeDOS on has a x86 AMD Sempron and a parallel port on 
the motherboard (Still have to look up compatibility, but I guess that can be 
solved with some PCI card).
Tomorrow at work I’ll try to revitalize the PC and install FreeDOS.
Then I’ll try to install the software with the floppy discs we still have and 
hopefully see the program working. I think the PS2 has some sort of card to 
interpret the metal analyzer data but no one remembers, I’ll troubleshoot on 
the way.
I’ll let everyone know about my adventure!

Thanks again for now and greetings from Italy!

Mattia Limonta

Inviato da Posta per Windows 10

Da: Robert Riebisch
Inviato: lunedì 27 aprile 2020 21:06
A: freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
Oggetto: Re: [Freedos-user] Freedos for IBM PCDOS 3.30 software

Hi Mattia,

> I am a new user of the FreeDOS world, and I have a question. I would
> like to install FreeDOS 1.2 on an old PC that we have at work because
> we have to create a backup system for our 1987 IBM Personal System 2,
> currently running IBM PCDOS 3.30 OEM. We still have this machine
> because it’s attached to a metal analyzer that uses a software that
> exists only for PCDOS 3.30.

So you intend to install FreeDOS to a different, probably newer, type of
machine and then transfer the metal analyzer software?

How is the PC attached to the analyzer? A normal serial port? A special
I/O card?

> Does this type of software run on FreeDOS 1.2? Is it possibile to get
> the full compatibility?

All I can say is: "Probably. You have to try."

It depends on how clean the metal analyzer software was coded. If the
programmers used some "dirty tricks", that only work on this particular
DOS or PS2 machine, then it will probably very hard or even impossible.

Cheers,
Robert
--
  +++ BTTR Software +++
 Home page: https://www.bttr-software.de/
DOS ain't dead: https://www.bttr-software.de/forum/


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Re: [Freedos-user] Freedos for IBM PCDOS 3.30 software

[Robert Riebisch]

Hi Mattia,

> I am a new user of the FreeDOS world, and I have a question. I would
> like to install FreeDOS 1.2 on an old PC that we have at work because
> we have to create a backup system for our 1987 IBM Personal System 2,
> currently running IBM PCDOS 3.30 OEM. We still have this machine
> because it’s attached to a metal analyzer that uses a software that
> exists only for PCDOS 3.30.

So you intend to install FreeDOS to a different, probably newer, type of
machine and then transfer the metal analyzer software?

How is the PC attached to the analyzer? A normal serial port? A special
I/O card?

> Does this type of software run on FreeDOS 1.2? Is it possibile to get
> the full compatibility?

All I can say is: "Probably. You have to try."

It depends on how clean the metal analyzer software was coded. If the
programmers used some "dirty tricks", that only work on this particular
DOS or PS2 machine, then it will probably very hard or even impossible.

Cheers,
Robert
-- 
  +++ BTTR Software +++
 Home page: https://www.bttr-software.de/
DOS ain't dead: https://www.bttr-software.de/forum/


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Re: [Freedos-user] Freedos for IBM PCDOS 3.30 software

[Ralf Quint]

On 4/27/2020 10:48 AM, Mattia Limonta wrote:


Good evening.

I am a new user of the FreeDOS world, and I have a question. I would 
like to install FreeDOS 1.2 on an old PC that we have at work because 
we have to create a backup system for our 1987 IBM Personal System 2, 
currently running IBM PCDOS 3.30 OEM. We still have this machine 
because it’s attached to a metal analyzer that uses a software that 
exists only for PCDOS 3.30.


Does this type of software run on FreeDOS 1.2? Is it possibile to get 
the full compatibility?


Thanks!

There should be no problem running that kind of software on FreeDOS. The 
only thing where there might be some compatibility issues might be with 
the included memory managers, but those came into play only after DOS 
3.30 came out, so you should  be perfectly fine.


Ralf



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Re: [Freedos-user] Freedos for IBM PCDOS 3.30 software

[dmccunney]

On Mon, Apr 27, 2020 at 1:49 PM Mattia Limonta  wrote:
>
> Good evening.
>
> I am a new user of the FreeDOS world, and I have a question. I would like to 
> install FreeDOS 1.2 on an old PC that we have at work because we have to 
> create a backup system for our 1987 IBM Personal System 2, currently running 
> IBM PCDOS 3.30 OEM. We still have this machine because it’s attached to a 
> metal analyzer that uses a software that exists only for PCDOS 3.30.
>
> Does this type of software run on FreeDOS 1.2? Is it possibile to get the 
> full compatibility?

PCDOS was simply IBM's branded version of MSDOS.  I used PCDOS and
MSDOS back when, and saw *no* differences in what software would run
under them.

Your metal analyzer was specifically released for IBM PCs running
PCDOS, but I don't see a reason why it won't run on another DOS
flavor.  FreeDOS tries to be 100% MSDOS compatible, so your PCDOS
software ought to run on it.

Set up FreeDOS on the spare PC and try it.  If it works, you are in
good shape.  If it doesn't work, tell us where it fails.

DOS shouldn't be your problem.  Reproducing the environment in which
the metal analyzer runs (like loading drivers needed to talk to
peripherals that do the analysis) sounds like the tricky part.

> Thanks!
> Mattia Limonta (Italy)
__
Dennis


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[Freedos-user] Freedos for IBM PCDOS 3.30 software

[Mattia Limonta]

Good evening.
I am a new user of the FreeDOS world, and I have a question. I would like to 
install FreeDOS 1.2 on an old PC that we have at work because we have to create 
a backup system for our 1987 IBM Personal System 2, currently running IBM PCDOS 
3.30 OEM. We still have this machine because it’s attached to a metal analyzer 
that uses a software that exists only for PCDOS 3.30.
Does this type of software run on FreeDOS 1.2? Is it possibile to get the full 
compatibility?
Thanks!

Mattia Limonta (Italy)

Inviato da Posta per Windows 10

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