C&G / DOS v4.2 - Not Enough Core & Prt. Problems

[Tim Pace]

We received new computers recently running the Windows 2000 operating system. We use the DOS v4.2 of C&G, but we're having problems with a "not enough core" error msg., as well as with printing. Seems that as soon as we open the program in a DOS command prompt, immediately many print requests are generated and sent to the default Windows printer. Each report contains just one page upon which we find the letter "n" in the top left corner. I have no clue...... Any suggestions would be most apreciated

[Tim Pace]

In addition to my original problem desc., I wanted to also say we're currently using the Sentinel-C ver.A hardware block for the parallel port to enable our C&G to run.

[Larry P]

Tim,

I am by no means an expert on this. One thing I did notice is that your version of the Dos program IS NOT y2k compatible. I discovered just a couple of weeks ago that the ephemeris that version will give you the wrong answer on solar observations. Let me repeat that. DO NOT use that version of Dos to do solar observations.

As for your current problems check the LPT port settings. I think that you need EPP as the setting there. That is however a guess from memory. Perhaps some of the support folks from C. & G. could check behind me and confirm this.

Now for exactly what you want to here. My advice is to throw out the Dos version and start using the Intellicad version. Yes there is a steep learning curve. And, yes you will lose some productivity while you are learning. But, as someone who has made the transition, trust me on one thing. After you have been using nothing but Intellicad for 6 months, you will wonder why you waited so long to start. There are so many possibilities with Intellicad that just aren't there with Dos.

One last bit of advice, sign up for an Intellicad Training class. Work through the sample survey provided in the tutorial that comes with Intellicad and go to the class ready to learn. You will not<br

[Larry P]

Sorry about that. My message got cut short. What I was saying is that you will not regret it.

Also, out of a sense of fairness I guess I should mention that I hope to be very soon teaching a Beginners class

[Chris Mace]

Larry P is correct in that 1. You version is not Y2K compliant ( see http://www.cgss.com/_fvrsn.html ). 2. You should upgrade to C&G for Windows. 3. The hardware lock(s) for C&G should be set to ECP or EPP ( preferrably a combination of ECP, EPP ) in your systems BIOS/CMOS/Setup ( i.e. press such and such key to enter setup. Consult your computer's manual on how to enter your computer's BIOS ). We have noticed that on some of the newer machines that the parallel port communication mode is set to Auto or PS/2. The parallel port settings recommended from rainbow are what I stated above. However, I am not sure that this will help the printer problem as it sounds like queued jobs are being printed. Keep in mind that DOS did not have a queue and printed directly to the printer. Since the printer ( I assume it is Windows based ) does not know how to deal with the data comming in from DOS as Windows based printers come with drivers to interpret data.
However, there are problems with DOS programs in Windows 2000 ( see below ). It is rumored that Windows XP will have better DOS support, but, I have not seen XP yet so I can not confirm that. As for the "Core" problem this has to do with memory. I could not find any information on the internet to see if this is a Windows 2000 memory function; DOS memory function or if it is memory allocation in programming ( i.e. SU.exe ).

Update 24 Sept 2001 By Cmace source: http://is-it-true.org/nt/nt2000/utips/utips19.shtml

Windows 2000 is an enhanced version of NT, not an enhanced version of Windows 98 or Windows 95. If you are a Win9x user and a game player, you could run your games in a pure DOS environment by rebooting Win9x to load a pure DOS environment. This is not available under Windows NT or Windows 2000. DOS compatibility is the same in Windows NT and Windows 2000. There is no DOS code in either. What you have available is a DOS shell which emulates the DOS operating system. As an emulator it will be slower than real DOS. As an emulator, the compatibility is not perfect. There are DOS programs that will run in a real DOS but which will fail in the Windows NT or Windows 2000 DOS shell. Luckily Windows NT and Windows 2000 support dual boot such that you can have your cake and eat it too: run either Win9x or Windows 2000 at your choice. Be sure to install Win9x first and then install Windows 2000 into a separate partition.

Chris Mace
C & G Software Technical Support
Charleston, WV
Phone: 1-800-367-1157
FAX: (304) 347-8991<br