dBase 5 for DOS in Windows 7

[flower]

At our company we run dBase 5 for Dos on our Novell network server. We have about 60 workstations collecting data and generating reports. Our IT department believes that Windows 7 will finally obsolete our system on which our company runs. My question is whether purchasing 32-bit processors and installing the 32-bit OS will delay this problem.

Regarding 16 bit applications, is there anything to be gained by installing a 32 bit OS on a 32 bit processor in Windows 7?

 

[TrainableMan]

Regarding 16 bit applications, is there anything to be gained by installing a 32 bit OS on a 32 bit processor in Windows 7?

I already answered this in another thread ...
The only way you can run a 16-bit windows app in native W7 is if you have a 32bit OS. You might also want to consider replacing the software or running a 32-bit virtual PC on the 64-bit W7 platform. Inside a 32-bit virtual PC the 16bit software should run (when I wrote this I meant 16-bit Windows apps; DOS apps I am not so sure about).

In other words, YES there is something to be gained to run a 32-bit OS if there is a 16-bit application you absolutely must have AND if you are sure it will run in Win7x86. But are you sure it will run in W7x86 ??? I recommend having your IT department set up a 32-bit W7 machine and testing to see if it will run. You mentioned DOS and DOS is only simulated in W7 so you may have issues running it. But, on the other hand, it also offers another possibility (see below).

Obviously 32-bit is the easiest IF it works; it's definitely worth having your IT department try it.

If they test it and find it will NOT work in 32bit then there are two other possibilities ...

1. It may work in a Virtual XP window (in which case your machine can be 64-bit because the virtual window will act as another machine which is 32-bit and supports 16-bit operation) but obviously this requires more processing power and a preferably 3GB of memory or more per machine..

2. Since it is a DOS application it may work under a DOS emulator. These are primarily designed to allow the play of old games but it may facilitate your DOS DBase app as well. The application that comes to mind is called DOSBox and it could also run fine on a 64-bit OS rather than having to have a 32-bit OS.

These type issues are why IT departments test new deployments. I have presented several possibilities but being unfamiliar with DBase 5 or ever having tried to run it under W7 I can only offer ideas, not promises.

 

[Alonda57]

Regarding 16 bit applications, is there anything to be gained by installing a 32 bit

dbDOS is simply the fastest, easiest way to enable virtually any DOS based application on Microsoft’s Windows® XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008, both 32 and 64 bit versions of the operating systems. With enhanced support for dBASE III, dBASE IV (Version(s) 1,2,3), and dBASE V for MSDOS, dbDOS is the easiest way to keep your mission critical applications up and running for years to come.
dbDOS is a Virtual Machine (VM) environment that we have configured specifically to allow the various versions of dBASE for DOS to run without any changes to the dBASE executables or the dBASE compiled programs you have created. You can use the same dBASE files immediately without requiring a conversion!

 

[TrainableMan]

Alonda, This thread is over two years old. Please do not come to our forums and spam paid software or you will be banned.

Thread closed.