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jhartlov

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DOS Applications hang on shortcut start at NTVDM

I have several legacy applications that I am have used for years.  Some include Borland Turbo Pascal, and C++, Paradox, d/Base and such.  I just moved to a new laptop.  I went from a Dell Latitude series with a Pentium M processor and 1GB of RAM to an HP TC4400 with a Core Duo Processor and 3GB of RAM.  After the switch, my apps seemed to sorta stop working.

If I start a cmd shell, and start the application, it works.  However, if I try to start app (95% of the time) it hangs at NTVDM.

Can anyone think of way I can fix this?
Avatar of Frankco
Frankco

Hi jhartlov,

This issue can occur if any one of the following files are missing, damaged, or not located in the %systemroot%\System32 folder:

Autoexec.nt
Command.com
Config.nt

Try this:

1.  Insert the Windows XP CD.  
2.  Click Start , click Run , type cmd , and then click OK .  
3.  Type the following commands, and press ENTER after each command:

expand D:\i386\config.nt_ c:\windows\system32\config.nt

expand D:\i386\autoexec.nt_ c:\windows\system32\autoexec.nt

expand D:\i386\command.co_ c:\windows\system32\command.com

exit

cheers,
frankco

 
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caddlady

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Hi jhartlov,

Just a note. From my experience replacing just the autoexec.nt file works in most cases.

cheers,
frankco

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ASKER

frankco

i expanded all three files, and it did not work.  Still doesn't work.  any other ideas?
caddlady;

this didn't work either.
Okay....

Here is the weird thing.  If I set the shortcut to start in a window, everything works fine.  However, if I start it in full screen mode it hangs at ntvdm.  Any ideas?
Have you tried running it in a Win95 compatibility mode or at a lower resolution?
caddlady;

It seems to only be an issue under full screen mode.
That seems to be due to the difference between Graphics and Text modes with the NT Virtual Dos (NTVDM).

If you start it windowed, the press Alt + Enter to switch to full screen does it still hang?
That is a good question.  I just checked.  To answer your question, no.  It does not hang if started windowed, and then switched to full screen mode.
also, can you tell me how to make my "cmd" shell in full screen mode go back to 80x25 instead of 80x50?
Go to Start then Run and type CMD.
On the Tile Bar of the CMD prompt window, Right-click and Go to Properties
On the Layout tab, set the Screen Buffer Size to 80x25 and the Windows Size should be set to 80x25.

It will ask you if you want to set it for just that cmd window or every cmd window from now on.  

Good Luck!

Caddlady