Windows 8.1 compatibility

[hans]

I recently got a new computer with Windows 8.1, and I've had some compatibility issues.  These have been discussed as part of a sidebar on the General Discussion>"Comment on current events (silly)" thread 
(http://ua.reonis.com/index.php?topic=2976.0)
but I figure the topic deserved one of its own, here.   

SSI's wonderful game/construction kit Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures (FRUA or just UA for short) works using DosBox.  I use D-Fend as my front end for running DosBox. 

UAShell also requires DosBox to run. 

Dan Autery's terrific TOOLBOX art hack program also runs with DosBox, and likewise his SHOW art file viewer. 

I had much trouble with Anthony X. Hughes' FRUA98 hacking program until I followed ProphetSword's advice and ran (installed) the Visual Basic runtime executable
https://support.microsoft.com/kb/180071/EN-US/
and then re-installed FRUA98. 

My (admittedly ancient) copy of JASC's Paint Shop Pro 3 appears unrelentingly incompatible with Windows 8.1.  It's the program that I have used over the years to create all of my UA art.  The shareware version at the UA File Archive is likewise incompatible, but the Paint Shop Pro v5.0 evalution edition seems to work fine: 
http://frua.rosedragon.org/pc/misc/psp50ev.exe 
Perhaps I'll hunt down a used, full version if I like it... 

MIDPAK, which I've used to convert many Midis to *.XMI sound files, also works with DosBox.
http://frua.rosedragon.org/pc/misc/midpak.zip

Anyways, as the need arises to use other UA hack programs, I'll post successes or failures here, and I hope others will also post problems and/or solutions here, as well.

[Ishad Nha]

Windows XP has a Compatibility mode that should handle this. In Windows Explorer, right click on the affected program and choose the Properties line on the context menu.
Windows 8.1 may not have this.

[ProphetSword]

Windows 8.1 does indeed have compatibility mode. However, just like in Windows XP, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

[ProphetSword]

In regards to JASC's Paint Shop Pro 3, it looks like the program was originally released in 1993.  That means it is likely a 16-bit program, which means it won't work in 64-bit Windows operating systems.  Your only options here are to find an updated version like (like Paint Shop Pro 5, which I also tested and had no issues with), or to run a virtual machine with an older operating system installed (like Windows 98 or Windows XP). 

As mentioned in the other thread, there are ways to get Windows XP working in a virtual machine on Windows 8.1.  Another option is to find out if they had a DOS version of the same program (during that era, a lot of programs were made for both Windows and DOS) and try to run it in DOSBox.

Sorry.

[PetrusOctavianus]

Windows 8...<shudder>

[hans]

These fine programs from Dan Autery will also run using DOSbox:

Always
Backedit 
Framedit 

They can all be found here, of course:
http://frua.rosedragon.org/pc/hacks/

additional: 

Iconedit will also work with DOSbox. 
Itemedit, ditto.

[Ishad Nha]

Windows 8 is different to XP, I am trying to learn how to do things the 8.1 way... The Start menu is now a splash screen! It might not be the stuff of nightmares but it is different.

[GoldBoxFan]

I just found a site at http://www.temulator.com/

There is a video showing it working at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYnbhKilIXc

It might work with those programs that aren't running in windows 8.1, like ckithack. Don't have time to test it. Have to go to bed. (What happened to the smiley for sleeping?)

[ProphetSword]

Where does one get ckithack?  What other programs don't run in Windows 8.1?

[Donnie Ewald]

http://frua.rosedragon.org/pc/hacks/HackCKITrel4.txt
http://frua.rosedragon.org/pc/hacks/HackCKITrel4.zip

[ProphetSword]

What am I missing?  I didn't have any issues running this program in Windows 8.1:

[GoldBoxFan]

Well, it won't run on mine on DOSBox and certainly not CMD.EXE. On my other computer I had to run it through DOS. Toolbox is saying it won't run either. But maybe those other files mentioned in the text might fix that. As long as my other computer works, I really don't want to deal with this. A windows 95/98 emulator would probably solve all my problems. If my other computer fails I'll probably move over to DC.

[ProphetSword]

So, you're wanting it to run in DOSBox?

[GoldBoxFan]

So, you're wanting it to run in DOSBox?

I don't mind where it runs, I would like to hack on this computer. I've never been able to get ckithack to run from uashell. If there are individual hacks which do the same thing and still work, I could use them. Not sure what they would be named though.

The cmd.exe in Windows 8 isn't MS-DOS in any event. Apparently they finally got rid of it. I have a 64-bit computer. Can't even use the debug command.

On the other hand, I did get Toolbox running with those extra files. So I can make new art.

[Jaesun]

One emulator solution possibly worth mentioning is VMWare Player https://www.vmware.com/products/player

I tried their V6 of the FREE player a few years back, and it worked PERFECTLY. As long as you have the discs, you can have a complete virtual Windows 95 or 98 on your computer, and everything ran just fine. I tried FRUA and even my old Duels of the Plainswalker CD's (Man I miss that game!) You should be able to also run all of those old windows utilities for FRUA just fine as well. Unfortunately, they no longer offer a FREE version (they do however have a trial period for the latest version). And also sadly, it is a tad expensive.

Just throwing that out there, as an alternative to DOSBox.