Hi List and Neil... made a translation for DOS4ME. Sorry I did not see the _antoni.txt in German the other day.
73 de Bastiaan ************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* * * Pure DOS Service with Windows Me !!! * Tipps and Patch-Files from the magazine "PC-Welt 1/2000" * ============================================================================ * * Downloaded from * http://www.pc-welt.de * * * \ (c) Thomas Antoni, 12.12.2000 - 23.02.2001 * \ /\ Mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * ( ) http://www.antonis.de * .( o ). * ----==== Hottest MS-DOS Stuff on Earth !!! ====---- * ******************************************************************************* +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Introduction +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Although Microsoft strongly denies that WinME is capable of DOS... there is a complete DOS 8.0 at the background. There are two ways to activate DOS 8.0 in WinME. -1 Manualy ********** Just one byte is enough to trick WinME! Under Windows ME the Command.com can only be started from a boot diskette. So this is one way to start DOS. But if you change the value 03 into 02 in command.com at address 6EAF than WinME is fooled and you can start command.com if booted in the normal way from the HD. Alternative solution is to use another command interpreter like: 4DOS (90-Day-Trial-Version download at http://www.jpsoft.com/ . -2 The comfortable way: Using the patch files SETUP.EXE and WININIT.BIN *********************************************************************** DOS4ME.zip contains: _antonis.txt = original German text - SETUP.BAS = source of SETUP.EXE - SETUP.EXE - WININIT(optimiert).BIN - WININIT.BAS = source of WININIT.BIN - WININIT.BIN These can be used to optimise and activate DOS 8.0 SETUP.EXE does all that must be done: - Renaming existing WININIT.EXE in WININIT2.EXE - Copy the WININIT.BIN to new WININIT.EXE - Patch the COMMAND.COM (if required, see above) - Makes a new WININIT.INI, if required. The new Real-Mode Shell is then WININIT.EXE, with a menu from which you may start DOS. The original WININIT.EXE (now WININIT2.EXE) still functions and will be called for automagicaly - if required. The Wininit-Shell will start only if the INIT-file is present. The program will make this WININIT.INI but there is one thing you must do yourself: call WININIT.EXE in Windows. Now you have two choices: If you use DOS just a few times: double click at WININIT in WinME. If you want to start up your computer in DOS-mode: make a link to WININIT.EXE in your autostart directory in WinME. The autoexec.bat is not used in WinME, see "aftermath". Source code and Ersatz-EXE ========================== The source code is supplied so you are able to see how these programs work and maybe you have still wishes of your own... The file "WININIT(optimiert).BIN" gives some more free DOS memory (typical 550KB) but produces some "Memory Allocation Errors". If the 500KB freeed by WININIT.BIN is enough don't play with the optimised (optimiert) version. WinME service is not influenced by these PC-WELT-DOS programs! Background: ================================================================================ >>> Microsoft does not like this <<< Do you believe the DOS mode should be deactivated to start up Win a 5 seconds faster? Do you believe DOS drivers make WinME instable? Real reasons: -1 Win ME should look slim -2 The only technical new in WinME = System File Protection should be watertight and not be messed up with eg. Norton Commander. With DOS4ME from PC-Welt you freeed DOS and now you are able to: 1. start any DOS-Program that will not start or run in the DOS-Box under Windows Me. Like Disk-Editors (e.g. Nortons Diskedit), Partitioning software (e.g. Partition Magic 6.0), DOS games or anti virus programs. 2. load any DOS driver from command line... except those programs that need to be loaded in CONFIG.SYS! 3. with REGEDIT (also "regedit /d...") go to the registry to repair (without bootdisk) a not starting Windows. 4. manipulate files and directories (Win Me rigidly protects them)... some risks are involved in doing this ;-)( :-)) Windows Me is better called a big Windows 3.1 than a slim Windows 2000 :-)) +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Aftermath on DOS4Me in PC-Welt 03/2001 +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Readers from "PC Welt" say they did not encounter any problems with DOS4ME. But... Starting WinME calling "Start, Programs, Zubeh�r (Extra??), System" you will get some warning like "Restart your computer". The origin of this trouble is an existing WININIT.INI if WININIT.EXE is linked to the autostart (in DOS4ME as standard mode). Before starting up WinME... first delete WININIT.INI if empty! Tip: **** Would you like or need Ramdisk... you will need a driver that can be loaded from the command line. PS Welt recommends "Xmdsk"... from PC Welt homepage http://www.pcwelt.de (This homepage is not easy to handle for non-German speakers) Tips for DOS-Box under Windows Me ^^^^^^^ (from a paper in PC-Welt 11/2000 by Herrmann Apfelb�ck) ******************************************************* Configuring DOS =============== !!! Windows Me does not use CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT !!!! To install Path etcetera use MSCONFIG.EXE or write these issues directly into: Hkey_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\Environment. Additional: you might fine tune the DOS-box with CMDINIT.BAT in Command directory and load things like DOSKEY. The batch file is called for every time COMMAND.COM is called. Resident drivers can not be loaded this way -of course- **** Translated by Bastiaan Edelman from "_antoni.txt". Hope you understand this... I am not a native speaker, German or English. 73 de Bastiaan, PA3FFZ -- Arachne V1.61, NON-COMMERCIAL copy, http://arachne.cz/
