Member Avatar for Kamex

Does anyone know if Windows Longhorn will be able to read FAT16 partitions like Windows XP, or is it too early to tell?

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Dani AI

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Longhorn later shipped as Windows Vista, and Vista retained support for legacy FAT filesystems (FAT12/FAT16/FAT32). In short: a modern Windows build will still be able to read a FAT16 partition, so the worry about the OS silently dropping FAT16 access is resolved by the final product.

For the practical problem you raised — moving files between IBM DOS 5.0 and a modern Windows install without reworking hardware — the least-invasive and most reliable paths are emulation or a dedicated exchange volume. Emulation: use DOSBox (or a lightweight VM) to run the DOS programs and mount a host folder as a DOS drive; that avoids repartitioning and most hardware conflicts. Example workflow: make a host folder like C:\DOS_EXCHANGE, start DOSBox and mount c C:\DOS_EXCHANGE, then copy files into that folder from Windows and access them inside DOSBox. For disk-image workflows, imgmount in DOSBox will mount floppy/hard images you can move around safely.

If you prefer dual-boot real DOS, create a small dedicated FAT16 exchange partition and back up the MBR/partition table before touching the disk. Floppy or ZIP images, or CD images burned from the host, are other low-risk transfer media when DOS cannot see modern USB drives natively. If games require low-level hardware access (timing, old sound cards, copy-protection), consider PCem or a VM configured to emulate the required legacy hardware rather than changing RAM/board configuration.

Tie-ins to earlier replies: ’s desire to keep DOS files accessible is best met with DOSBox or a small exchange partition; the hardware concerns others mentioned argue strongly for emulation first. Always back up before repartitioning.

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Member Avatar for Dani

I don't think Longhorn is going to be released until 2005-2006 (or was it 2007?) so I think it's too early to tell. If it were easy to make FAT32 support backwards compatible with FAT16, I can't see any reason why Microsoft wouldn't do it. But I don't think they're going to kill themselves supporting a file system that can't support more than 2 gigs.

Member Avatar for Catweazle

I'm not sure, but I don't think it will according to what I've heard. Nobody who uses FAT16 should've been allowed to survive the '90s anyway :p

Member Avatar for Kamex

The reason I ask is that I'm using FAT16 to dual-boot with IBM DOS 5.0. It's the only way I can play the older games. Even if FAT16 is no longer supported by Longhorn, I can still use DOS on my computer, but without the ability to transport files to it, things will become much more complicated.

Please don't give me a talk about how I'm living in the past, because I was born in 1987, and was only permitted to play educational games when I was little. I only discovered most of these games about 6 months ago. How can my judgment be clouded with nostalgia if I only discovered the games recently?

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Sorry, I just couldn't resist the comment :)

Those older DOS games should work just fine if you dual-boot with Windows 98, by the way. And you can even get most of them to run under Windows XP with a little persuasion.

See this article.

Member Avatar for Kamex

Before attempting to install DOS, I tried to get Windows 98 working. It simply doesn't go because I have too much ram in my computer (1gb). I found a site that told me a line to put in an ini file to fix the problem, but I can only do that once the OS is installed, and the installer has the same problem. "Not enough available memory".

As for old computers, that's far too short term a solution for me. Old computers die, it's what they do, and it wouldn't last forever.

I apoligize if I gave an impression of hostility. :) I'm just overly sensitive about it because my brother has been nagging me to get rid of the games ever since I installed them. Games with completely different gameplay styles simply cannot be compared with eachother no matter how far apart their release dates are.

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Is your RAM a single module or two 512Mb ones?

You have two options to get success. If you have two 512Mb mnodules, pull one out, install Win 98 then fix things up, put the other module back in, and install XP.

If you have a single 1Gb module, borrow a smaller one, even if it's 128 Mb or 256Mb. Install 98, carry on as before.

All it takes is a little lateral thinking. Don't give up at the first hurdle, eh?

Member Avatar for Kamex

Well, I had been trying to get DOS games to work long before I discovered the majority of them I'm using now. A Doom TC I liked to play was not running on my new computer, and I tried for 3 straight years. :)

I was going to remove the RAM. I have a Dell Dimension 8200 which, ironically enough, started with 512mb (2 256 sticks, and two dummies). My brother had a near identical computer, and he was no longer able to use his ram because the new motherboard he was getting did not support RD when he got a new computer. So he gave it to me. My friend installed it for me (as I am rather hardware illiterate) with me, my brother, and another friend there to watch.

When I actually went to temporarily downgrade to 512, I couldn't, because I didn't know what sticks were originally there, and neither could anyone else who had been there. I was told by Dell tech support that if the wrong ones were removed, my computer would be fried. Fun stuff!

In the end I simply couldn't do it for this reason.

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Dell tech support told you wrong!

You can run that PC with only one module installed, and it simply needs to be in memory slot 1. You'll most likely find that the slot numbers are printed on the board beside the slots ;)

Edit:

oops, sorry. If that Dimension uses RAMBUS memory it'll need to be used in pairs. I'll check that one out tomorrow. It's late and I'm tired :)

Member Avatar for alc6379

Dell tech support told you wrong!

You can run that PC with only one module installed, and it simply needs to be in memory slot 1. You'll most likely find that the slot numbers are printed on the board beside the slots ;)

Edit:

oops, sorry. If that Dimension uses RAMBUS memory it'll need to be used in pairs. I'll check that one out tomorrow. It's late and I'm tired :)

The 8200 does use RAMBUS memory, just an FYI. But, you won't "fry" the system, it just won't POST until you put that memory in. It might not boot, but it will at least give a memory beep.

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Any idea which slots need to be used together, Alex? I haven't had 'hands-on' with RAMBUS myself :)

Member Avatar for caperjack

There is a dummy stick for RamBus so you can run just the one is just like a stick of ram but has no memory on it .RamBus has to have chips in both slots.
now where you could get one I don't know but I can get one at my local computer store .

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