Russel, Have you considered using a virtual machine for those old 16bit apps? I remember using a microsoft virtual machine for DOS software, but that was= several years ago. Google is your best friend, and I am almost sure that someone solved the pr= oblem of running old apps in Win8.1 Good luck, Jean-Paul (AC9GH) PS: I am now using a Macbook Pro (OS X Maverick), and Parallels 9 for deskt= op, so I have several virtual machine to run win8.1, ubuntu and debian. I k= now I can create a winxp VM, but I have not had a need yet. On Mar 1, 2014, at 9:24 PM, RussellMc wrote: >>=20 >>=20 >> * > Been fiddling with a Dell Venue 8 Pro (64 GB) / W8.1* >=20 > *> for about 6 weeks now. I'm starting to think I like it.* >=20 >=20 >=20 >>=20 >>=20 >>=20 >>=20 >>=20 >> *Installing Classic Desktop and Double Commander from Sourceforge willgi= ve >> you a measure of comfort.I have yet to find the popular substitute for 7= zip >> or Windows defender though...* >=20 >=20 > I added a Win 8 PC to my stable late last year. (7.x, XP misc, ... ) > I found WIN8 seemed to make it not only hard but essentially impossible t= o > do some regular tasks. > I soon sought out 'Classic shell' [ http://www.classicshell.net/ ] based = on > others' recommendations and it seems to work well enough - ie essentially > inisibly. >=20 > My greatest 'loss' with WIN8 is that it is a 64 bit version and declares > itself incapable of running older "unsupported 16 bit applications". > I still use enough of these that this is a significant loss. >=20 > I run an older than latest version of XXCOPY (31 Jan 2001 file date, > version 2.44.4) as it serves my need better than alternatives. This progr= am > has worked superbly in almost all cases up until now. > It runs in WIN8 but functions slightly differently than heretofore in som= e > cases. This may be a WIN8 compatibility issue or is possibly due to Class= ic > Shell or ... - uncertainty about the cause of any obscure problem is one = of > the prices you pay for installing something that overlays the O/S in some > manner*. Experts may know how likely this is to cause problems in any > given case. Lesser beings must wonder or spend time seeking out opinions > and fixes which may or may not be relevant. [XXCOPY stalls when attemptin= g > to copy files with illegally long files names between a SATA connected > drive and an external USB connected drive, both of which use the assigned > system path names. It recovers to dark blackness (aka DOS box pretence) o= n > escape with no complaint and the OS allows the offending files to be move= d > away. However, using "SUBST" to rename the destination "subdirectory" as = eg > Y: allows operation to proceed uninterrupted. It even appears to correctl= y > copy the offending files with unaltered contents or sizes or filenames. > Using the arcane and ancient "FC /B ...." returns a claim of integrity fo= r > copied files. It may be that other combinations of source and destination > work OK or differently or not at all or octarine - I'll find out when I > need to know. Hopefully.) >=20 > Over time I've found it useful enough to assign (strictly "SUBST") paths > to logical drive names rapidly and easily that I've made simple batch fil= es > (urk!) to assign X: Y: and Z: as desired. > These are name WAZON, WAYON and, of course, WAXON**. > I did have a WAXOFF but found it unnecessary, simply incorporating a WAXO= FF > command within WAXON prior to assigning Y: to some new path. This did, of > course, slightly decrease the humour of such operations. >=20 >=20 >=20 > Russell >=20 > * Age of program is not the point if it worked OK in a prior OS version - > the change of OS or ??? is.. >=20 > ** Honest ... >=20 > @echo off > cls > subst x: /D > subst x: . >=20 > You get a harmless error on first invocation in a new command interpreter > due to lack of X: > It didn't seem worth bothering about and provides warning that this is th= e > first invocation on this occasion. >=20 > Very useful for photo processing operations where eg a project can > consistently refer to X: based files > I have no doubt at all that there are better or vastly better ways of doi= ng > this using real OS features. > I'm possibly happy to learn them if the say >=3D 1 year cost benefit retu= rn > is positive and in most cases delighted t do so if the 1 day cbr is. > Otherwise ... . >=20 > R > --=20 > http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .