How can I run DOS & Win98 COPY PROTECTED programs on a new PC.
Here is my problem. I have several DOS & Windows 98 software programs which I use in my business, which I would like to run on a new PC. Most of the companies are from the late 80's & 1990's and out of business or don't support older versions of their software. One Company went bankrupt but told me I could use their software on another machine as long as I tossed the original machine (which I did do), but my floppy copy protection did work at that time. (I assumed it would always work) Since most of these programs were copy-protected (when I bought them), they used the old copy protection, using the floppy disks to transfer useablity from one pc (when that hard drive went bad to another.
To make a long story short, The hard drive & Power Supply I have is now on its last legs. and I can't install them on any new machines as all the floppy disks no longer work to transfer these programs. I have the original floppies but floppies are not recognized. However the programs still work fine on that machine.
My Original PC is setup on two partitions. Because I still had a licensed copy of DOS on Drive C, Windows 98 installed on Drive D instead of Drive C (which is a partition of 338 Megabytes (not Gigabityes), Windows 98 installed on 2nd Partition of 28 Gigabytes. So when I bought my programs and installed them, they all worked fine. DOS bootable disk was on Drive C and Windows 98 was on Drive D: Therefore to backup these programs so they work, i would have to make a combination IMAGE of DRIVE C and DRIVE D together.
For the moment, I made an image of both with MACRIUM (using the 4.2 version) since the version 5 no longer allows you to restore to just any drive. I have also made a Paragon image backup, just in case the hard drive goes soon.
HERE IS WHAT I NEED TO KNOW.
Most of the programs, I will still have to run (a few in DOS, most in Wint 98). I'm fine with this, especially if I can run XP in a different partition.
I thought of using VMWARE to make a virtual operating system, so I can boot up to those programs from a newer machine and use them anytime. but after using the vmware it seems you Need a REMOTE or LOCAL NETWORK IP Address to copy it as a virtual drive . I was disappointed that I couldn't just copy it to an empty partition on the same PC or maybe to a portable drive.
Since I can't use it in a virtual machine, what are my options? Can I make an ISO of something that large and mount it as a drive (in XP) with Daemon Tools or PowerISO? Or do I have another option?
what is the best way to mount or continue using these programs on a newer machine?
2ND QUESTION
will there still me the 640k Memory barriers and the VGA resolution barriers?
any help would be appreciated.
thanks john davies
Here is my problem. I have several DOS & Windows 98 software programs which I use in my business, which I would like to run on a new PC. Most of the companies are from the late 80's & 1990's and out of business or don't support older versions of their software. One Company went bankrupt but told me I could use their software on another machine as long as I tossed the original machine (which I did do), but my floppy copy protection did work at that time. (I assumed it would always work) Since most of these programs were copy-protected (when I bought them), they used the old copy protection, using the floppy disks to transfer useablity from one pc (when that hard drive went bad to another.
To make a long story short, The hard drive & Power Supply I have is now on its last legs. and I can't install them on any new machines as all the floppy disks no longer work to transfer these programs. I have the original floppies but floppies are not recognized. However the programs still work fine on that machine.
My Original PC is setup on two partitions. Because I still had a licensed copy of DOS on Drive C, Windows 98 installed on Drive D instead of Drive C (which is a partition of 338 Megabytes (not Gigabityes), Windows 98 installed on 2nd Partition of 28 Gigabytes. So when I bought my programs and installed them, they all worked fine. DOS bootable disk was on Drive C and Windows 98 was on Drive D: Therefore to backup these programs so they work, i would have to make a combination IMAGE of DRIVE C and DRIVE D together.
For the moment, I made an image of both with MACRIUM (using the 4.2 version) since the version 5 no longer allows you to restore to just any drive. I have also made a Paragon image backup, just in case the hard drive goes soon.
HERE IS WHAT I NEED TO KNOW.
Most of the programs, I will still have to run (a few in DOS, most in Wint 98). I'm fine with this, especially if I can run XP in a different partition.
I thought of using VMWARE to make a virtual operating system, so I can boot up to those programs from a newer machine and use them anytime. but after using the vmware it seems you Need a REMOTE or LOCAL NETWORK IP Address to copy it as a virtual drive . I was disappointed that I couldn't just copy it to an empty partition on the same PC or maybe to a portable drive.
Since I can't use it in a virtual machine, what are my options? Can I make an ISO of something that large and mount it as a drive (in XP) with Daemon Tools or PowerISO? Or do I have another option?
what is the best way to mount or continue using these programs on a newer machine?
2ND QUESTION
will there still me the 640k Memory barriers and the VGA resolution barriers?
any help would be appreciated.
thanks john davies