Re: OT Win98 Computer Question


"Cheri" <gserviceatinreachdotcom> wrote in message
news:88adnWjaxOEpVjfVnZ2dnUVZ_vqdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Paul M. Cook wrote in message ...

PIF (program information files) are an old interim solution M$ used
when
transitioning from DOS to Windows 3.whatever. They were mostly gone
by
Win95 but WinXP has a file called "_default.pif" in the root of the
WIndows
folder which is a vestigial way to get to the DOS compatibility box.
You
can edit it through the program properties but you won't find any
dedicated
DOS mode. However, you can run it in Win95 mode which may give
enough
compatibility for whatever app needs DOS. She would create a
shortcut from
that PIF and edit the properties that way. It is under the
"compatibility"
tab. Windows 98 had a "_default.PIF" file too, but since I no longer
have
any W98 machines running I cannot verify it would be the same. I
will bet
mopney that somebody created a shortcut to that file. But until she
actually tries what I advised, we'll never know.

OK, let me ask this. Who would have created a shortcut to that file,
since my shutdown was working fine until last week and nobody but me
has been on the computer? In Win 98 you have four options at shut
down... Stand by, Shut Down, Restart, and Restart in MS-DOS. For the
last 9 years, when I click on Restart in DOS, it restarted in DOS
where I would use the scanreg/restore if something had messed up so I
could back it up a day or two. As of last week, when I do that, a box
comes up instead asking what program I wish to use to open the file
"exit to dos pif." I just thought there might be something simple that
would return it to the way it's supposed to be. :-)


Tell ya what, kiddo. I have a Win98 system in my garage, been there for
years. If I can dust it off and fire it up, I'll see what I can do. If,
that is, you try what I suggested. I worked with Win98 for years and I had
clients running CAD/CAM systems that relied on DOS until pretty recently.
So I would always make a shortcut for the app that ran under DOS mode or
just made a DOS shortcut which ran in native mode. I won't promise to spend
much time on it but I'll see what I can determine. There are more ways to
do what you want than what you had been doing. Over the years I just would
find workarounds to Windows anomalies if they were reasonable and not
terribly kludgey. A complete reload is hardly what I'd suggest but it does
beg the question of why you are still running Win98?

Paul


.

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