running 16 bit Windows app in XP - share.exe error

[imported_navboy]

I have a 16-bit Windows app with a few .ddb database files and a handful of dll's that go with it. On my Windows 95 PC that i'm getting ready to retire (even tho it still runs fine) the program runs without a hitch as long as the dll's and db files are in the same directory with it. I do not have share.exe installed on the Win95 machine.

I'm trying to run it on my XP Home machine and it appears to run just fine until the part where it access one of the .ddb files, and then it throws an alert that "SHARE.EXE has to be loaded before running the application." I have tried placing a share.exe entry in the c:\autoexec.bat just in case the program is looking for it there, but no joy, and none of the compatibility mode stuff worked. I think what is happening is that it goes to put a file lock on the db file and the mechanism for doing that (something OTHER than share.exe) isn't available in XP and so maybe XP is generating the alert?

At any rate, any suggestions other than to get VMWare and run a VMWare Win95 machine? I'm 95% of the way there, just can't deal with file locking apparently.

 

[Nothinman]

share.exe exists in XP so have you tried running share in cmd, then running your app from there?

But frankly you shouldn't put as little time into this as possible, your real efforts should be invested in getting the data out of those database files and into something written in the past decade and hopefully still supported.

 

[imported_navboy]

Originally posted by: Nothinman
share.exe exists in XP so have you tried running share in cmd, then running your app from there?

But frankly you shouldn't put as little time into this as possible, your real efforts should be invested in getting the data out of those database files and into something written in the past decade and hopefully still supported.

Nod, tried that, no luck, i think because the share.exe is only good for the that instance of the command shell it's run in, whereas my app is a 16 bit Windows (not a DOS) app, and doesn't run in that shell, even if invoked from there. Either that or just running share.exe doesn't do the job. In older versions of windows, it had to be run at boot by either of the startup files.

Nod, i could copy it out line by line on the old 95 box, but it would take weeks (there are 5 database files with hundreds to thousands of lines), and worse still, there is no current counterpart to it - was a custom app compiled by Novell Appware, long defunct. Surely there were other 16 bit Windows apps that locked files for editing - was hoping someone somewhere had figured out something in the XP environment to allow for old apps to do that on the 16 bit Windows environment (WOW, or whatever it's called) as if they were not in a multi-user environment so it wouldn't think share.exe needs to be loaded.

 

[bsobel]

Vmware Player or Windows Virtual PC, move that existing box over and call it a day (run it in that VM)
Bill

 

[imported_navboy]

I mentioned avoiding VMWare in my first post thinking for sure there was a simple workaround to get file locking happening in the WOW system in XP.

Having not purchased VMWare for this environment, if i get just the player, where do i get the Win95 image? I was under the impression you had to buy player and create the image and then i could use it. Is there a generic Win95 image around somewhere for that?

 

[Nothinman]

Player is free, as is VMWare Server which can be used to create images.

Is there a generic Win95 image around somewhere for that?

Doubtful since you still need a valid license from MS to run Win95 so it would be illegal to distribute such an image.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Nothinman
Player is free, as is VMWare Server which can be used to create images.

Is there a generic Win95 image around somewhere for that?

Doubtful since you still need a valid license from MS to run Win95 so it would be illegal to distribute such an image.

Yeah. MS Virtual Server 2005 R2 is free too. Either VMWare or VS2005 should work well in this case. And, as Nothingman notes, it's doubtful that a generic Win95 image is available legally.

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: navboy
I mentioned avoiding VMWare in my first post thinking for sure there was a simple workaround to get file locking happening in the WOW system in XP.

Having not purchased VMWare for this environment, if i get just the player, where do i get the Win95 image? I was under the impression you had to buy player and create the image and then i could use it. Is there a generic Win95 image around somewhere for that?

No, but there are plenty of tools for converting that exisitng 9x machine to a VM. As others have stated vmware server is free and could be used, as is MS Virtual PC.

 

[imported_navboy]

thanks for the info .... i notice now that Virtual PC 7 is out and now free at MS ...

i threw away the Win95 media for that machine a couple years ago, but have a copy of Win98 or ME lying around somewhere - i'm thinking that since both are pre-NT architecture hopefully the app would run in either of those.

 

[bsobel]

That 9x box still runs right? Should be able to find tools to conver that machine to a vm (google for P2V [physical to virtual] and Windows 95). Should find plenty of tools and instructions.