Desktop opens new desktop when right click with mouse

[chuck jones]

History:  Drive C: is using a msdos program with the config from Windows 98.  Drive d:  is using windows 2000 upgrade over windows 98.  SP4 has been installed for windows 2000.

The desktop icons work as they are suppose to, however, after I get the program up and want to exit when I click on "File" the program is shutdown.  Just as if I had clicked on the "x".  Another issue is that when I wanted to add a shortcut to the desktop right clicking on the desktop pulls up another desktop.  I cannot use the right click function at the desktop.  Any suggestions?

[patio]

Are you saying you have a dual-boot setup ? ?
Win98 on C: and Win2K on D: ? ?
If so where is the DOS program installed to C: or D: or both ? ?

Since Win2K is NT based this may be why it won't run properly on Win2K

Boot to Win2K on D:
Open Windows Explorer and find the .exe for the DOS program wherever it is installed.
Right click it and choose "create shortcut". Then drag it to a blank area on the current Win2K desktop.
Re-boot;    right click the new shortcut and set all the program properties the same way you have them for Win98...

See if this helps.

[chuck jones]

Thanks for the reply.  After re-reading my original post I see that there might be some confusion in my statement.  My dos program resides on C:/.  The dos program operates the way it is suppose to.  When running Windows 98 I needed some dos residing on C:/.  I copy/paste the config.sys which included ECB to the c: drive and placed it in a folder named dos and it worked fine for all this time.  This being my first try on Windows 2000 to make this system work I left the c: drive alone hoping the program would work ok and it does.

During install I clicked on the option to use two operating systems and not to use ntfs.  In windows 2000 if I left click on an icon on the desktop (say windows explorer) the program will come up without any problem.  When I click on "file" the program will shutdown as if I click the "x" and send me back to my desktop.  If I right click on my desktop to add a shortcut the desktop will then reload.  So I cannot right click at all on the desktop I havent tried it anywhere else.  The problem with the "file" button only showed up after I installed SP4.

Windows 2000 does a dual boot giving me a choice of which system I want to use.  The original purpose for mating the two systems(98) was to give the capability of saving a history file to cd's for the possible viewing at another time.  I could tweak the program enough to get it to do what we wanted.  I am very close to retiring and I am trying to give this system a little more life.  The company depends on it.  I am concerned that a newer operating system would be better as the computers that are being bought now even use usb keyboards which I couldnt get to work.  I even used a usb to ps/2 adapter for the keyboard and mouse and the keyboard wouldnt work.  I dont know what I will do when I cannot get ps/2 any more?  Right now I am using the older models that are replaced with the newer computers.  The older models are ps/2.   chuck

[patio]

Boot to Win2K on D:
Open Windows Explorer and find the .exe for the DOS program wherever it is installed.
Right click it and choose "create shortcut". Then drag it to a blank area on the current Win2K desktop.
Re-boot;    right click the new shortcut and set all the program properties the same way you have them for Win98...

I would try this method for now...remove any existing shortcut for the app in Win2K

In the meantime i'll do a little more research but i suspect it will take some finagling since Win2K is NT based. And i'm assuming there is an install of DOS underneath that Win98 partition.

Be patient.

BTW Chuck, what app is this ? ?This may be helpful.

[chuck jones]

Thanks for your interest.  The application is "Simplex History Recording Terminal".  It monitors all of the alarms, troubles that come across our Fire Alarm System.  I have two such units with multiple terminals attached.  The system functions fine with Windows 98.  I have had the system working with Windows 2000 with some minor problems.  I examined the desktop problem and the windows explorer problem a little more last night.  When I have windows explorer opened the "file" is the only part of the status bar that doesnt function properly I just dont get it.  I have had the system working like it was suppose to with minor problems with the dos application.  When I boot up into dos I stop at c: prompt instead of continuing into the program and activating the .exe to bring the program up.  When I stop at C:  the message says that I am using automatic configuration files and that my autoexec and config files have been renamed autoexec.upg and config.upg.  Thest files reside in a folder that windows 2000 created called dos7.  I changed the files back to autoexec.bat and config.sys but nothing has changed.  I moved them to the c: prompt like the original app would have them and still nothing.  I searched for the dos ,exe in windows and could not find it anywhere.  I looked into autoexec.nt and config.nt and found that the dos startup file had been added but still it will not boot up into the program.  I changed the default at bootup so that the dos o/s would boot first.  When I get to the c: prompt I can type in the .exe and the program boots up like it is suppose to.  With windows being ustable the way it is I am going to reload the dos program and windows 2000 tonight and see if a fresh install on both will help.   Thank you for your time on this project....chuck

[patio]

They need to be incorporated into the autoexec.nt and config.nt files in the root directory...not the Windows directory for this to work...

Make sure to backup your originals.

p.s. This may not work without an install of DOS under Win2k which i doubt you have...

You could always try an install of FreeDos on top of Win2K but this may get a bit messy.

[chuck jones]

Thanks I will give it a try tomorrow...chuck

[patio]

I was unable to find any reference to this application...do you know who the author is ? ?

[chuck jones]

The software was created by the "Simplex Fire Alarm Company" that we received about 1985.  At that time it ran on dos 6.0.  We ran it this way for a long time.  The software allows the user to record all the history that comes across the fire alarm system.  The user can then run all kinds of reports for their use.  I started expiermenting with what I could do with the software that the company does not support anymore around 2000.  Using floppys for the recording material of the history at times for unknown reasons it wouldnt except the floppy and cancel the download.  At that time there was no provision to start the process again.  I thought that if I could use cd's it would be a better media and the better storage.  So thats what started this.  I could not get ahold of the source code but there were a number of .bat files that I could work with.  The first thing I did was force a copy of the two data programs that we use all the time.  By copying these two files to c: no matter what happened then I could work with them.  I was able to mate windows 98 and make the systems work well together.  My purpose now is to get windows 2000 working with the system and maybe xp.  We are using 2000 on all our computers and xp is starting to used as the next genration of o/s.  I am afraid that in the near future that 98 will be droped from video and cd burners that I need in this process like 95 has been.  Just want to do the best for the company that I can for they are not ready to get rid of this program.  Retirement is just around the corner....thanks for you concern.....chuck