xp dos "attempt to access an invalid address" "cannot execute"

[HarryHydro]

Hi Folks:
Please forgive me. I'm having a Micro-Rant. This is a Dell laptop
running XP. This is a work computer that get's it's so-called
'updates' automatically. I have a load of older utilities - DOS based
- and NONE of them work anymore. From Explorer, when clicking I get
the error 'attempt to access an invalid address'. From the CMD window,
which does open, I get "The system cannot execute the specified
program'. OK. Maybe it's out of memory? I type MEM. Hangs solid. No
response. It's sitting like that now as I type, the CMD window with the
cursor blinking under the last thing I typed. There. I closed the
window with the X. I don't see too many posts of this topic that are
recent, but one says reinstalling the system will fix it. That's not
an option for me. Any help appreciated. maybe just a reason WHY!
Thanks!
Harry

 

[Guest]

Windows XP does not contain DOS. Your CMD window is just that - a window to
enter commands. Most DOS programs won't run on XP because they access memory
and resources directly.

Reinstalling XP won't solve your 'problem', so don't even try.

MD

 

[philo]

Hi Folks:
Please forgive me. I'm having a Micro-Rant. This is a Dell laptop
running XP. This is a work computer that get's it's so-called
'updates' automatically. I have a load of older utilities - DOS based
- and NONE of them work anymore. From Explorer, when clicking I get
the error 'attempt to access an invalid address'. From the CMD window,
which does open, I get "The system cannot execute the specified

<snip>

XP does not have any real mode dos

but instead of using cmd you can try command...

however even that may do you no good.

additionally, since you are using XP I'm assuming your machine is at least
moderatly hi-end...and many dos apps will not even work with a faster CPU...

If the app is small enough to fit on a floppy...try boot to real dos with a
floppy and running the app from there

 

[Guest]

Hi,
Win XP does not allow Direct Memory Access at any cost.. The Command Prompt
is just a Virtual Box... Try to get rid of prehistoric DOS programs as they
are likely to be obsolete in Vista...

Regards
Ahmad
Microsoft Student Partner - India

 

[Pop`]

Windows XP does not contain DOS.

Oh, it definitely has a Disk Operating System (DOS)!

Your CMD window is just that - a

window to enter commands.

NO, it's a place to enter DOS commands, among many other things. What you
mean is, it isn't MSDOS!

Most DOS programs won't run on XP because

they access memory and resources directly.

Oh, they cetainly will! MANY programs will run just fine. Some won't;
that's true. But there's a hell of a lot more to it, and that blanket
statement is flat out wrong.

Reinstalling XP won't solve your 'problem', so don't even try.

MD

Wrong.
DOS = Disk Operating System. Of COURSE XP has one!
What you mean is, there is no MSDOS Operating System! DOS does NOT =
MSDOS!.

Many MSDOS commands still work, and most of them ARE available from the
command prompt. In fact, many more things can be done from the command
prompt than MSDOS ever contained. Just as many MSDOS programs will work,
depending on what sytem resources they use and whether there is a
compatability mode for them. And many won't, too, but not for any of the
reasons you posted.

 

[Pop`]

Hi Folks:
Please forgive me. I'm having a Micro-Rant. This is a Dell laptop
running XP. This is a work computer that get's it's so-called
'updates' automatically. I have a load of older utilities - DOS
based - and NONE of them work anymore. From Explorer, when clicking
I get the error 'attempt to access an invalid address'. From the CMD
window, which does open, I get "The system cannot execute the
specified program'. OK. Maybe it's out of memory? I type MEM.
Hangs solid. No response. It's sitting like that now as I type, the
CMD window with the cursor blinking under the last thing I typed.
There. I closed the window with the X. I don't see too many posts
of this topic that are recent, but one says reinstalling the system
will fix it. That's not an option for me. Any help appreciated.
maybe just a reason WHY! Thanks!
Harry

That's normal for some MSDOS based programs, unfortunately. You'd need the
MSDOS operating system to get soem of them to work, others will work fine,
depending on what kind of system and resource calls they make.
XP is an operating system, and MSDOS is an operating sytem; perhaps
that will help in understanding it a little? That's why you'll find some
people trying to say there is no DOS with XP. Or course not; it's an
operating system, same as XP is. However, to a degree, XP can run many
MSDOS commands, even those from other versions of MSDOS such as choice.exe
and some others for batch files. Complex installations though usually will
need the actual MSDOS operating system to work correctly.

HTH
Pop`


BTW, reinstalling isn't likely to help much. You might have some luck with
a compatability mode, say for win98 or 95, but you gave no details to judge
that on so it's hard to say.

 

[Pop`]

Hi,
Win XP does not allow Direct Memory Access at any cost.. The Command
Prompt is just a Virtual Box... Try to get rid of prehistoric DOS
programs as they are likely to be obsolete in Vista...

Regards
Ahmad
Microsoft Student Partner - India

Or set up a dual boot with XP and MSDOS operating systems. That's the best
of both worlds. I love the blazing speeds of pure MSDOS.

Pop`

 

[HarryHydro]

Hi Pop!

Thanks for the knowledgable insight. It looks like most of the
respondance assume that these programs never worked on this system.
They did and they all seemed to stop working at the same time (probably
after an update). Even the MEM that "CAME WITH THE SYSTEM" doesn't run.
No reasons given.
I just came back from a Trendmicro scan that found a xqnejdos.dll
infected. I can't find anything in google. I could rename it, but
it's still 'running' so I can't delete it. I don't know what called
it. I guess I'll find out on the next restart.
I like your idea of dual-booting. This is work's computer and I
can't play with it that way, but I do have a boot-chip with DOS 5.0 on
it. It runs all the automation software. We do natural gas so there
are lots of apps for flow computers. I even have a chip with windows
98 on it! The fancy Radio Configuration softwear would run in 3.1.
Tecnically, it's all I need to get work done. There are some XP
utilities for Airlink radios, but that farts on XP on a regular bases
using the COM port.
My description of DOS on a Chip: With the computer off, I plug the
chip in a USB port, turn the computer on, reach back in the case for
the cable, and I'm at a DOS prompt already! I press FA <enter> and
about a second later the application is running. I plug in my serial
cable, do the work, exit the app, unplug, and here's another beautiful
part! I press the power button to shut it down! What a concept! No
routine 'three-finger salutes'. XP wouldn't even be up yet. XP's
something like 3 minutes grinding away on the hard drive in the
morning. My 266 at home running 98SE is faster booting and it's
cram-packed with ham software!
I have a 486 laptop with DOS and qbasic, running a basic program I
wrote to poll about 8 microwave radios through a Porter Switch. It
runs and runs all by itself, recording, graphing, it opens the internal
modem and calls me (pager) when there's a problem, just perfect. I had
it on a desktop running 95. Well, "that system isn't supported any
more"-( like XP SP1 ) so they gave me a new XP computer with a
processor that's twice as fast!. The polls would go out OK, but the
responses took seconds sometimes to be 'gathered' in the system.
Sometimes it was quicker, sometimes it took seconds. Overall, this
qbasic was running slower than on a 286 (which BTW is almost my
ultimate DOS computer!). I put that aside, bought my own old Laptop as
mentioned, and use that instead. The XP machine now just sits.
I think XP and Vista should automatically install a dual-boot
option. I'm sure the web-browsing toys wouldn't need it. I have
already decided I will never buy another copy of XP or Vista, Win64 or
whatever is in the works. My wife is constantly complaining about the
network performance of the DirectWay satellite. Restart and it's fine
for a while. I'm tired of screwing with it. I might buy a new
computer, but it won't be running 'new' bloatware. I even run Chipmunk
Basic on my PowerMac G5! (Now that's fast Basic!)
Hydro

 

[HarryHydro]

Hey Pop!
I renamed that corrupt file xqnejdos.dll, and now the DOS apps
work! Even MEM! Go figure. I'm not definate that was the problem, but
it's working now... Thanks to 'ol Trendmicro, on top of all this other
antivirus, antispam, antimalware crap on this machine.
Hydro

 

[Jeremy C B Nicoll]

Hi Folks: Please forgive me. I'm having a Micro-Rant. This is a
Dell laptop running XP. This is a work computer that get's it's
so-called 'updates' automatically. I have a load of older utilities
- DOS based - and NONE of them work anymore.

Lots of people ar replying saying that DOS stuff would never work. I
presume the OP meant that until extremely recently all the DOS stuff
did work under XP, but that a recent update has killed it.

Which updates were applied recently? (Add/remove should show that.)
Consider uninstalling them one by one, perhaps?

 

[Pop`]

Hey Pop!
I renamed that corrupt file xqnejdos.dll, and now the DOS apps
work! Even MEM! Go figure. I'm not definate that was the problem,
but it's working now... Thanks to 'ol Trendmicro, on top of all this
other antivirus, antispam, antimalware crap on this machine.
Hydro

Glad to hear everything's working now. One of the problems with issues such
as yours is that most people think only the latest & greatest os is the only
os that should be run; they're forgetting the very huge installed base of
computers out there still running dos and at blazingly fast speeds to boot
even on old, slow cpu's. It's kind of an inbred, often unintended culture
that's being lost in the world of gui. I've even got an old 8080 CP/M
machine stashed away in the attic somewhere that still worked last time I
tried it. I imagine the 9" diskettes are faded to oblivion by now, but ...
..

In the future, you'll find some pretty savvy guys over in alt.msdos.bacth.nt
for using MSDOS apps with XP, and alt.msdos.batch has some pretty savvy
folks, too. I'm not curently subscribed to them, but there are a couple
other good MSDOS groups, too.

"DOS" is far from dead, which is something many people are surprised to
find out.

The trick of course is to be certain you have -good- archives of the
executables so that repairs can be made as needed, which it sounds like
you're pretty well aware.
Even today I still have a few of my old dos apps around for special jobs
that normally take hours to run under the gui.

 

[Pop`]

Inline:

Hi Pop!

Thanks for the knowledgable insight. It looks like most of the
respondance assume that these programs never worked on this system.
They did and they all seemed to stop working at the same time
(probably after an update). Even the MEM that "CAME WITH THE SYSTEM"
doesn't run. No reasons given.

That's in important distinction to make when posting to newsgroups. As soon
as people have to start guessing or make assumptions, the results can be
pretty diverse.

I just came back from a Trendmicro scan that found a xqnejdos.dll
infected. I can't find anything in google. I could rename it, but
it's still 'running' so I can't delete it. I don't know what called
it. I guess I'll find out on the next restart.

If you ever do have to delete something like that, you can often
delete/rename them from either Safe Mode or the Command Prompt in
particular.
Be careful: You might discover what that file's for sooner or later and
need to replace it. If you forget that it's infected somehow, well, ...
<G>. It's not part of XP AFAICT and besides the name looks like a dos name
so unless it was malware, which I don't think it is, you may eventually need
to get a good copy of it.

I like your idea of dual-booting. This is work's computer and I
can't play with it that way, but I do have a boot-chip with DOS 5.0 on
it. It runs all the automation software. We do natural gas so there
are lots of apps for flow computers. I even have a chip with windows
98 on it!

Win98, IFF it has all the updates applied to it, may well be a good second
OS for you. Then you'd have about the latest version of MSDOS too; 6.22, I
think it was.
It can be a bear for the inexperienced to get a dual boot system going,
so start with a test bed you can afford to make mistakes on. So if your
"chip" is a plug 'n' go, it might be just what you need.

The fancy Radio Configuration softwear would run in 3.1.

Tecnically, it's all I need to get work done. There are some XP
utilities for Airlink radios, but that farts on XP on a regular bases
using the COM port.

Remember, you can set "compatability" modes to win98 or 95 with winXP also.
It's no cure-all, but sometimes it works to straighten out an app that runs
but not quite right.

My description of DOS on a Chip: With the computer off, I plug the
chip in a USB port, turn the computer on, reach back in the case for
the cable, and I'm at a DOS prompt already! I press FA <enter> and
about a second later the application is running. I plug in my serial
cable, do the work, exit the app, unplug, and here's another
beautiful part! I press the power button to shut it down! What a
concept! No routine 'three-finger salutes'. XP wouldn't even be up
yet. XP's something like 3 minutes grinding away on the hard drive in
the morning. My 266 at home running 98SE is faster booting and it's
cram-packed with ham software!
I have a 486 laptop with DOS and qbasic, running a basic program I
wrote to poll about 8 microwave radios through a Porter Switch. It
runs and runs all by itself, recording, graphing, it opens the
internal modem and calls me (pager) when there's a problem, just
perfect. I had it on a desktop running 95. Well, "that system isn't
supported any more"-( like XP SP1 ) so they gave me a new XP computer
with a processor that's twice as fast!. The polls would go out OK,
but the responses took seconds sometimes to be 'gathered' in the
system. Sometimes it was quicker, sometimes it took seconds. Overall,
this qbasic was running slower than on a 286 (which BTW is almost my
ultimate DOS computer!). I put that aside, bought my own old Laptop
as mentioned, and use that instead. The XP machine now just sits.
I think XP and Vista should automatically install a dual-boot
option. I'm sure the web-browsing toys wouldn't need it.

No, web browsing wouldn't need it for most cases. I wouldn't hold my breath
waiting for default dual-boots, though; it's just not the market.
You -could- specify such an animal at places like Gateway and Dell
probably. Personally I'm not worrying about Vista at all yet, and won't
until it's been out for about a year before I consider updating to it. At
the moment XP Pro and a few old msdos apps are doing everything I need and
more; I don't update for the sake of updating.

I have

already decided I will never buy another copy of XP or Vista, Win64 or
whatever is in the works. My wife is constantly complaining about the
network performance of the DirectWay satellite. Restart and it's fine
for a while. I'm tired of screwing with it. I might buy a new
computer, but it won't be running 'new' bloatware. I even run Chipmunk
Basic on my PowerMac G5! (Now that's fast Basic!)

Don't be too quick to say "never", but at the same time, IMO, don't buy for
the sake of buying unless you know there will be a benefit in it to you
yourself. IMO you can't beat XP for its networking abilities, and they're
important to me, but ... that's me and not necessarily anyone else.