DOS Question in Knoppix (resolved)

Kelmo, tried DosBox, it didn't work -=- my program fires up, and must be doing some kind of check, at the beginning, and locks up with a display of the 8x87 fpu and memory available - and freezes. Can't imagine why - the program is back in the 1987's - so checking for a DOS version, or something else, can't be an issue. I think it may be checking for something that is "known" in a DOS install.

I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet, cut my Linux partition down a few gig, and place a small Win98 partition on the drive, just to get this DOS program to run.

Either that, or do what Fingers99 suggested, first try the two suggested DOS emulators, and then, God forbid, have to scrub the whole Nueral Net program, and export the data (somehow), and find something else.

Oh well, Thanks for all the help...
Cuddles

Hmmmm, this is odd. Way back when, when I had my Knoppix install, I downloaded tons of windows games into a folder under my home directory, and WINE played them fine. Maybe DOSBox is finicky, but I think the problem is that DOSBox doesent support the game correctly. You can also try DOSEmu, and if yor really set on making a partition, don't install an OS on it. Give about 100 MB to a FAT partition and just run it from there, or if it truly can't work in Linux..... awww MAN.

I did a little searching and there are certainly people out there busily dumping 4GL stuff into MySQL.

A Google or joining the MySQL list would probably give you the answers.

This (going to MySQL) would be my approach. Of course, you may need to get the thing running in order to do the dump!

Razor-X, Perhaps you also happened to have a copy of Windows somewhere on your hard disk? Wine needs access to all the various Windows DLL's in order to run anything.

fingers99, whilst it is easy to take data from one backend database and shove it into a different one, the difficult is re-implementing the functionality of the application that sits in front of the database. ISYS is not a backend SQL database engine, it is an application program.

Cuddles, I would have a try with DOSEmu first. If you don't happen to have a copy of MSDOS, then use the copy of FreeDOS that comes with DOSEmu.

THO

THO,

I think the problem with the program, why it is dieing, is it expects to read all of its data files, as a DOS file system :?: Which means that if it is being emulated, it won't work.

I tried, and failed - almost thought I scrambled my whole Knoppix install - to create a DOS partition using qtparted. I booted to the CD, tried running qtparted, and thought that what I wanted to do was: 1) decrease the size of my Linux Swap (2.0gig), down to 500meg, and 2) insert a DOS partition of the available free space from resizing the Swap (1.5gig)

Qtparted seemed to go through all the motions, but the displays never changed to the values I was tring to set them too. i.e. Linux Swap never changed from 1.999gig down to 500meg. And then I couldn't figure out how to "insert" a new partition. After I thought I screwed up my complete hard drive install of Knoppix, I quit qtparted, and tried to reboot into Linux, fortunately, I didn't do anything that messed around with Knoppix, and it booted fine. But all the partitions are the same as they were, no changes.

Problem is that inside qtparted, my hda reports that I have my first partition as Linux Ext3, as the primary and hda1, then hda2 as a secondard, and under -=- indented -=- I have hda5 as my Linux Swap. I tried to resize the Swap, and it didn't change, and I tried to resize the secondard (which has the swap under it), and it didn't work. I don't want to resize the EXT3 partition, if at all possible, I would want to increase it, considering that "it" is my main file system for Linux. It just won't work.

My above attempt was to gain a partition that I could make into a FAT or VFAT partitioned drive, and load a "striped down" Win98 into it. Then load my ISYS program onto the VFAT partition, and possibly run the ISYS program directly from Wine. But, I am seriously affraid of screwing up my Linux install. Not to mention, wouldn't LILO go haywire when I get another OS installed without it being setup for it???? In essence, I am installing Windoze AFTER installing Knoppix, which is kinda the "reverse" of the normal order.

I looked at DOSEmu, and got completely lost - before getting the program - I looked at its install and HOWTO - and about half way through the documentation, I didn't have a clue what I was doing, or how I was going to do it. So, I bailed out.

I think what the problem is, is, Linux is too powerful for a little small town girl like me. I can get it to run, and I can get around in it, enough to do somethings, but, when it comes down to doing stuff like this, I think I should have just stuck with (yuck, puke) Windows. As someone said in another post, Windows does everything for you, you don't have to deal with CFDisk, or QTParted, or having to work out your Linux and Swap partitions, or even if you didn't realize that, maybe, you should have kept a small partition for Windows, or the size of the Swap isn't right, etc... ( this is being said as a "true blue" noob, here )

And, when I look in these Forums, all I see is my noob questions, and my need to be "hand holded" through stuff that "I KNOW" how to do in Windows, and am completely lost doing here in Linux. I am getting better, I have setup new users, groups, configurations, done updates and upgrades, and installed numerous packages. But, stuff like this, is what drags me down. It should work, but it doesn't, and when I think I have a direction for resolving it, I can't do it. I know they have "on-the-fly" partition managers, used a few, with extreme scariedness, in WinNT. But, this is scary stuff. I have only been running for just under two months, completely, on Linux. I could easily scrub my hard drive, repartition it again, the RIGHT way, and then go back through everything all over again - but - what am I going to do after I have been running more likely in years? Reformat, and reinstall? Not a good option, and not something that should need to be done.

So,
I guess what I need is: Why did QTParted seem to go through the motions of resizing a partition, and not do anything? How do I resize the Swap down to 500meg, considering that in QTParted, my swap resides under a SECONDARY partition, do I resize the SWAP part, or the SECONDARY part? How do I "add" a DOS/WIN partition after gaining the space from the resize of the Swap? How do I get that partition setup as a Win drive, and still keep LILO from blowing away my "real" boot into Linux?

I hope my thinking is going somewhere here, my theory is: If Wine won't work with the above, I can possibly setup LILO (later) to boot to the WinOS partition, and get the program working that way. (am I getting better here?)

Thanks to all, for past, current, and future assistance. ( I don't want to give up my Linux :D )
Cuddles

Quote:

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I hope my thinking is going somewhere here, my theory is: If Wine won't work with the above, I can possibly setup LILO (later) to boot to the WinOS partition

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I'm not sure you can get Lilo to do that, but can get Grub to.

Why not (instead of using qtparted), run cfdisk from the CD.

You can then delete the swap partition, split it up how you like, use it to format the drives and so on.

What you're trying to do is pretty difficult, so I'd not be hard on yourself.

If all else fails, consider getting hold of another (small or cheap) HD or borrow one -- everyone seems to have 2gig hard drives lying around collecting dust -- and pop a DOS onto that. If this thing ran from windows, then, IIRC, DOS 6.2 should run it fine.

AS I can see, QTPartED can't resize swap partitions (multiple cases of the same) is somseone has done that successfully, sue me. So, just use cfdisk, what's so scary about that? I mean on my old (pathetically old) comp I did a debian install, which I did the partitioning using cfdisk, and (unfortunately) did not install X right, thats how I learned Linux, experimentation through BASH.

Scary = Repartitioning a LIVE hard drive.

Scary is also HOT SWAPPING interface cards inside your computer - thats what I mean by scary.

( of which, both of these things should not be done )

You don't pull out computer cards, from inside your computer, while it is booted, and running. And this whole thing about re-partitioning while it contains data on it, is scary. I guess it isn't as scary as it COULD BE, I can always start from scratch again. I haven't gotten too much data/programs/configs on the new system that I couldn't just start again, but the whole thing of resizing a hard drive data partitions while stuff, and is being used, is something, I would think, is not for the faint of heart.

I think I am going to take your idea Fingers99, I actually have two 2 gig hard drives (was wondering where I was going to be able to use them), I'll just pop one of them into the new system. Boot to the Win98 CD, and install to the 2 gig hard drive....

OOOPS -=- just a thought :!: If I install Win98 with its install CD, won't that mess up the boot, or is it the MBR?, for LILO and Linux???? I don't want to boot Win98, I want to always boot Linux, but need to install Win98 though. Doesn't Win98 change the MBR, or at least, will it change what LILO and Linux need to let me continue to boot into Linux???

I think I am going with this "other" hard drive idea, it is less costly, has less chances of failure, and -=- if I can figure out, ahead of time, the changes that a new hard drive, with Win98, is going to do to my current Linux install - I think that will be this weeks project.

So, answers need to be for the following:
Install 2gig hard drive as new device - hd? - install Win98 to that device, not to boot to it, and still allow Linux/Knoppix to boot as it is currently. Then I can try to use Wine, or even DOSEmu, with this drive, from within Linux OS. If all else fails, I can boot to the second hard drive, with a limited Windows install, just to run on LOUSEY PROGRAM - shessh, what is the World coming to? When you got to jump through all these hoops and rings, just to get one durn DOS program, DOS (shessh), to run????

Awaiting ideas, and thoughts on this one...
Cuddles
Fingers99 - just a thought - If I used CFDisk to delete, and then re-add the Linux Swap partition, doesn't Knoppix do some kind of "formatting" to the Swap during the installation? The Linux Swap isn't just a partition without any form of formatting is it? During the install of Knoppix it did do something, when it asked what the Swap partition was, so, if I delete the Swap, and then re-add it, wouldn't I need to do what the install did, to the new partitioned Swap??? Just a thought

To the last point, don't worry too much about swap. A 2.4 kernel will run (so Mandrake fans inform me!) without swap. That can be sorted out later. (Anyway, once you have that old 2gig drive in there and have done whatcha gotta do with the DOS prog you can turn it into a nice /home partition so you can reload Knoppix on the old drive without wrecking it.

As to the order of the hard drives: Windows always expects to be the first HD on the first IDE channel: hda. So, that's where you should install it.

As long as you've got a boot floppy you'll be able to get into Knoppix (and as long as you have a CD, you'll be able to fix it).

Go for it, girl! I'm off to bed!

Cannot resize swap partition while in use. 'noswap' at boot prompt should help.