Hello Bob!

12 May 08 02:13, you wrote to me:

 RC>> DOS does not run natively, it is **EMULATED**

 BK>  Which does not stop programs from running. And that is the
 BK>  command line functions that are emulated.

Everything that makes DOS as you know it, is emulated, that includes that
which constitutes the 640k memory specification, XMS and EMS memory.

When no console window is open, background, foreground, minimised,
maximised or otherwise, it aint running..

 RC>> While a fair amount of DOS programs will run in this
 RC>> environment, if the program is written in such a way as to
 RC>> try to control any hardware, NO CAN DO, ITS NOT GOING TO
 RC>> HAPPEN. Unless it makes calls to the OS to do so.

 BK>  Most dos programs do not try to run hardware directly. Most I
 BK>  have tried work just fine.

There are some out there that do, but the HAL (Hardware Abstract Layer),
will prevent them.

Furthermore 16bit apps will cause the VDM (Virtual DOS Machine) to draw
more system resources than 32 bit apps would, so given the choice when one
wants to run programs in a non-gui window, get the 32bit ones.. Also known
as console apps.

I once mucked around with vmware server, the windows version of parallels
and MS Virtual PC, they allow one to create a virtual machine.

They create virtual hdd's, in the form of a big file or a series of smaller
ones, you then tell the vm server how much of the host machines physical
RAM to use etc..

I setup FREEDOS to run in one of these virtual machines and it consumed
more processor cycles than a Virtual machine I setup for the other 32bit
OSes I tried, like Ubuntu.

 RC>> There will be other considerations, such as a apps ability
 RC>> to deal with long file names, directory names with spaces
 RC>> etc.

 BK>  That can be a problem, but they work once you make the filenames
 BK>  compatible, or use 4dos.

Not logical if Windows requires the filename formatting.

 BK>  However, how do you access your hard drive without a disk
 BK>  operating system?

Semantics...

Without Windows, anything DOS couldnt access my hard drives.

Remember HAL?

==
Ross
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... A Independent: A Democrat who is in denial.
--- GoldED+/W32 1.1.5-30413