Computer Hope
Microsoft => Microsoft DOS => Topic started by: Knr2000 on September 03, 2018, 10:53:07 AM
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Hi all! I have a Compaq LTE 4/25 laptop and am looking for a drivers from the integral trackball to use it as a mouse for dos games. Any suggestions?
Thanks!!!
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Unless a DOS driver was ever created for it in the past which has gone missing due to its age, its very likely that the driver was only ever made for Windows 3.x and maybe 95. I dont know of any wrapper program to get Windows drivers to work within DOS only. You might be forced to construct your own drivers.
During the period that that laptop was made controls in DOS were mainly Joystick or Gamepad through Game Port https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_port
One option might be to find a Mouse or Track Ball that is external to laptop that connects through 9-pin serial that has DOS Drivers for it readily available.
In my travels through that time period there were very few applications that ran DOS only environment that gave Mouse/Track Ball functionality. Almost all DOS software was keyboard driven controls.
If you have Windows on it running and run the program while Windows is running and you have drivers for the track ball for Windows working, you might be able to run a program in DOS that has mouse/track ball control options and have Windows translate the controls to the DOS environment but I am thinking that sort of stuff with Windows/DOS co-existent functionality for the Mouse/Track Ball didnt happen until 95 or 98, and prior controls were strictly devices intended for DOS only environment support. Additionally games or software in DOS that had control options other than keyboard controls usually required manual configuration of non-plug-n-play settings where your telling it everything it needs to function as was sound cards that I had that had the Game Port option, as well as if it was a 9-pin serial device there was a serial configuration for it such as which com port the device is at and all that because there was no auto sensing like USB unless a DOS program checked for device handshake at COM1 and then COM 2 and all the way through say COM 4 and then time out with no device found if a handshake to device not found which I can see being made possible but never seen a software that did that that was DOS only.
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MOUSE.COM should be in the DOS installation directory. You can run it either manually or add it to autoexec.bat, but it should detect and allow MS-DOS Applications that support the Mouse to use it. Integrated Mice are typically connected internally either via Serial or PS/2. (probably the latter for the 4/25).
If you cannot find a MOUSE.COM to use, you can find it online. here (https://www.uwe-sieber.de/util_e.html) is one source with a number of alternatives and different versions of various DOS Mouse Drivers. Cutemouse and the Microsoft Mouse Driver(s) are good starting points.
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Thank you very much for the awesome responses I think I may have a overspoken myself. I got windows 3.1 to run but I need a driver for the trackball that is integrated with the laptop can any help with that thank you 🙏 😀
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The suggestions are above ^^^