 Windows, PC-DOS, MS-DOS and various other registered
trademarked names used in this article are owned by the corporations indicated. These
names are used for identification purposes only herein.
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The IBM-PC and DOS
When introduced in 1981, the IBM-PC came with a 16-bit 8088 Intel processor (i.e. a
processor in which data are manipulated by the processor in 16-bit binary
"chunks") and a corresponding 16-bit operating system called "PC-DOS"
(for "disk operating system"), produced by Microsoft. Although the operating system is
a kind of software, it has a special privileged role. It provides the connection between
all other software applications written for that operating system and the hardware. It
controls disk formatting, writing and reading from disks, copying and deleting files, and
a literal host of other relatively "low-level" functions. Although PC-DOS, later
renamed by Microsoft "MS-DOS," went through at least six major versions, with
additions and improvements along the way, it still retained its fundamental character as a
16-bit "real mode", command line driven system. The "real mode" part
of that signifies that DOS programs can address memory and hardware directly (addressing
"real" physical memory locations and hardware address "ports"), with
relatively little control by the operating system of these critical functions. The result
was that one program could overwrite memory or device parameters in use by another program
(including DOS itself) and crash the whole system. Unfortunately, such direct memory and
hardware addressing gave much greater speeds, so any demanding DOS program (including
virtually all music-related software and games) almost invariably used these
instability-producing programming
methods. The other major disadvantage of DOS systems was that they could only
"see" 640 KB of memory directly and had to perform all their functions in that
memory (the famous "640K limit"). Any more memory beyond that could only be
accessed slowly and inefficiently by "paging" memory above the limit into addresses within
the limit (using an "expanded memory manager").
Protected Mode Processors and Operating Systems
In the middle '80's, Intel introduced the 80286 processor, first used in the IBM PC-AT.
This processor had the capability to run in so-called "protected mode," in which
the processor could take over control of memory and hardware accesses from software
programs, thereby preventing them from overwriting each other's code. At the time, this
characteristic was little used, since so much software was DOS software written to use
"real mode." However, the 80286 protected mode could address a much larger
amount of memory than the 640 K of DOS. With the introduction of the 80386 chip a few
years later, however, the advantages of greater memory access capability became
inescapably apparent. Also, the 80386 could run in 32-bit protected mode, thereby speeding
up computing dramatically. What was needed was a protected mode operating system that
could really use those advantages.
16-bit Windows
The Microsoft Windows "operating environment" had been around for a number of
years, as a kind of overlay for DOS that produced an attractive and more intuitive
graphical environment in an otherwise basically command line-driven system. However, in 1990,
Microsoft released Windows 3.0, which, for the first time could run in protected mode and
use all the memory which protected mode made available. This was still a 16-bit operating
system and still had to maintain ability for DOS programs to run in real mode, so it
wasn't a "pure" protected mode operating system. A year later, when version 3.1
was released and rapidly adopted worldwide, Windows 3.1 became the new computing paradigm
for Intel PC computing. Of course, since Windows 3.1 had to maintain compatibility with
DOS applications, the real mode parts of it still remained and still led to frequent
"crashes."
32-bit Windows
In 1995, Microsoft released the first version of 32-bit Windows, Windows 95. Windows
95, like its predecessors, had to maintain compatibility with 16-bit Windows and DOS
applications. Even though it was a 32-bit operating system, parts of the
"kernel" (the most "basic" part of the operating system) still
used 16-bit instructions and still allowed real mode operation, again for
compatibility. It has been hotly argued in some computing circles whether Windows 95 and
its successors, Windows 98 and Windows Me, are "really" 32-bit protected mode
systems, given the 16-bit core functions and the still ubiquitous (though less frequent
than earlier versions) crashes which occurred with systems running these operating
systems.
Windows NT, 2000 and XP
The key to gaining better operating system and application stability was to remove the
ability for DOS and Windows applications to address memory and hardware directly. This was
one of many important new aspects of the philosophy behind Windows NT and successors Windows
2000 and XP. This was done successfully (although some who have seen the infamous
"blue screen of death" too often in these operating systems might argue that point) in these "business"
operating systems, but at the price of making many DOS-based games and multimedia music
applications inoperable. While all will run DOS applications, any such
applications that directly
address hardware would not run at all in Windows NT (which, unfortunately, included almost
all games and many piano software applications like the Miracle Piano Teaching System).
DOS programs could be run in "separate memory spaces" in these operating
systems, which effectively wall off any misbehaving DOS or 16-bit Windows program from
bringing the whole system down, but at the price of compatibility, particularly in NT.
Getting Old Software to Run
The purpose for this long dissertation on the fundamentals of operating systems and
hardware is to provide the reader a basis for understanding the major reasons for the
failure of older software to run properly in newer operating systems. First and foremost
of these is attempts by the software to directly access memory and hardware resources. Of
course, you can't rewrite the program, and, as is often the case, the manufacturer of the
software either is no longer in business or doesn't support it anymore, so you can't get
any tech support. Windows NT, 2000 and XP all allow you to run the program in a
"separate memory space," as indicated above. To do this, go to the program
shortcut, right click on it to bring up the context menu, choose Properties and select the
Shortcut tab. Click on the Advanced ... button. Check the Run in separate memory space
box, then OK out of all these windows and try it. This may or may not allow the program to
run, but at least should "limit the damage" if the program crashes.
With the introduction of Windows 2000, a new feature was added: the so-called
"compatibility mode," installed by default in Windows XP and readily enabled in
Windows 2000 (for instructions, see Microsoft Knowledge
Base article 279792 - HOW TO: Enable Application Compatibility-Mode Technology in Windows
2000 SP2 and SP3). By using compatibility mode, one can cause Windows 2000 and XP to
operate somewhat like ("emulate") earlier versions of 32-bit Windows (Windows
95, Windows 98, and Windows Me), but not 16-bit Windows. Thus, if you have a program which
ran fine in an earlier version of Windows, but won't do so in 2000 or XP, you can use compatibility mode to
have the operating system provide an environment more like that of the Windows version
under which it ran properly.
Compatibility mode is accessed in similar ways in both 2000 and XP. Go to your program
shortcut, right click on it, and select Properties from the popup menu. This will bring up
a tabbed display. Go to the Compatibility tab and check the Compatibility mode box. Choose
the compatibility mode from the drop-down menu. Generally, you'll want to choose either
the latest version of the operating system that you know the program worked with or, if
the program is really old, choose Windows 95. Then click on OK to exit this. Now try to
run the program. With luck, you may now have it working. There is even a program
compatibility Wizard available in XP to help you with this process. You can run the Wizard
from Control Panel. Compatibility mode does not guarantee that your errant program will
run properly, but it will give you a fighting chance. As they say, "if at first you
don't succeed, try, try again." If one compatibility mode doesn't work right, try
another.
There are some (as in, many) other differences between NT, 2000, XP and earlier
versions of Windows. Another important one is that Windows 2000 and XP utilize a new type
of font technology, called OpenType, rather than the TrueType technology of earlier
versions of Windows. Although OpenType is supposed to be "backward compatible"
with TrueType, some older programs will install TrueType fonts that are not fully
compatible with OpenType. There is no easy fix for this problem, which produces scrambled
or blocked out characters on your screen. There are some font conversion programs
available, but these are not really tools for the average home user. Of course, if you get
to the point that you're talking about having to learn how to convert fonts, it may just be easier and
cheaper to buy new software.
Hardware Changes
Of course, just as the operating system software has changed, there have been a
virtually innumerable number of important advances in the hardware of computing. Most of
these have been positive, but one has had a fairly serious impact on some programs,
particularly the Miracle Piano Teaching System. This program
uses an 8x14 pixel font, which has, unfortunately, been eliminated from the on-board ROM
of most modern video cards. The result is "scrambled" characters on many of
the Miracle menus. If you're running the DOS Miracle (or trying to), you'll almost certainly
need a handy little free fix for this available in the form of an installable
DOS device driver that restores 8x14 font support. You can find out more about this, as
well as download the fix, at FIX8X14 - 8x14 font
fixer.
The View From Windows Vista®
Vista comes in many "flavors" and two rather different versions, a 32-bit
one that most people will use and a 64-bit one for "power users". The 64-bit
version does not support 16-bit (i.e. DOS and Windows 3.x) software at all,
so these programs will not run in 64-bit Vista. 32-bit Vista can, in
principle, run this software, as well as much software written for Windows
versions up through and including Windows XP. However, it is often not easy
to get legacy software to run under Vista.
About 80% of "legacy" software (DOS and Windows) can be gotten to work
after a fashion - if you're willing to work at it. There is no single
problem with software install and operation that can be cited as preventing
software from installing and running under Vista. The most prevalent
problems are security-related ones and can be solved if you search Vista
Help efficiently. In fact, Vista Help is often, by far, the best way of
finding the necessary dialogs to allow programs to run or install. The error
messages you get are often less than informative. For example, when you get
messages that sound like "File Not Found" errors, they are often telling you
that security settings for that file need to be changed, not that the file
doesn't exist where its supposed to be.
One of the most common problems with installation and execution of
Windows XP software is the need for explicit Administrator privileges to
install and run it. Just being logged into an Administrator account won't be
enough. Usually, these problems can be solved by starting the software
manually (not from autorun) from Explorer, right-clicking the install
program name and choosing Run as an Administrator from the popup menu. Some
programs will also require you to set the compatibility mode to Windows XP
or 2000 before you can install them properly.
Many of your legacy Windows programs (including most piano software) will
work with sufficient effort, but you'll find that their Help won't work! The
reason is that Microsoft, in its "wisdom", has decided to eliminate the
older (i.e. a couple years ago) Help format reader (winhlp32.exe) from the
Vista distribution. You can download it from the MS support site, but only
if you use IE as your browser to allow Microsoft to verify that you have
"genuine" Vista.
Most providers of older Windows software don't offer support for the
older Windows XP versions under Vista. Often, they have eliminated all
support for those versions. They have "Vista-certified" versions that they
will sell you. This will cost you extra money, but if you're not a computer
expert, it may save you a lot of time just to upgrade all your software.
Why Bother?
Sadly, one of the most important reasons that people with an interest in music and
piano learning software should care about how to make their older software work on newer
machines is that some of the best software is no longer available in updated versions.
Mostly this is due to "consolidation" in the software industry (a euphemistic
way of saying "business bankruptcies"). That's not to say that there isn't good,
up-to-date software out there for music and piano, but the options are fewer and may not
be right for everyone. I hope that this article gives you an understanding for why
old software doesn't always work well with newer systems and how one can go about
remedying at least some of the problems. These "fixes" aren't guaranteed to work
in all cases, but they are sure better to try than throwing the software and/or hardware
away! |
