11 replies to this topic

[befrielse]

Have now solved my boot up problem on my USB stick and looking instead for the optimal menu program? It should contain submenus and be small. What do you think here on reboot.pro is the best menu program? Apart from a simple batch file?

[steve6375]

What I find most useful is to put grub4dos on. Then put on both FreeDos and MS-DOS. Then have a FreeDOS folder for FreeDos programs, a MSDOS folder for MSDOS programs and a DOSTOOLS folder for general DOS programs and utilities. When you boot, the PATH will be set to \MSDOS;\DOSTOOLS;\FREEDOS for an MSDOS boot or \FREEDOS;\DOSTOOLS;\MSDOS for a FreeDos boot.

Then I have these menu's in grub4dos

1. Boot to MS-DOS as A:
2. Boot to MS-DOS as USB = HDD0
3. Boot to MS-DOS as USB = HDD1
4. Boot to FreeDOS as A:
5. Boot to FreeDOS as USB = HDD0
6. Boot to FreeDOS as USB = HDD1

This means I can boot either as a floppy (A: prompt) or as a hard disk (C:) prompt from a USB stick. If I want to run a program like FDISK, then I usually want to boot as A: or as USB= HDD1 so that when I format HDD0 I format the systems hard disk and not the USB pen! Also some programs expect HDD0 to be the system hard disk. Having the choice is very useful.

title 1 FreeDOS C: USB=HDD0

rootnoverify (hd0,0)

chainloader /kernel.sys



title 2 FreeDOS C: USB=HDD1

map (hd0) (hd1)

map (hd1) (hd0)

map --hook

rootnoverify (hd1,0)

chainloader /kernel.sys



title 3 FreeDOS A: USB=FDD

map (hd0,0)+1 (fd0)

map (hd1) (hd0)

map --hook

chainloader (fd0)/kernel.sys

rootnoverify (fd0)

map --floppies=1

map --harddrives=1





title 4 MSDOS C: USB=HDD0

find --set-root /io.sys

chainloader /io.sys



title 5 MS-DOS C: USB=HDD1

map (hd0) (hd1)

map (hd1) (hd0)

map --hook

rootnoverify (hd1,0)

chainloader (hd1,0)/io.sys



title 6 MS-DOS A: USB=FDD

map (hd0,0)+1 (fd0)

map (hd1) (hd0)

map --hook

chainloader (fd0)/io.sys

rootnoverify (fd0)

map --harddrives=1

map --floppies=1

For the FreeDos boot files, RMPrepUSB has a FreeDos folder with the FreeDos boot files in it. These have different names from the MSDOS files, so you can have both on the same drive and they can co-exist.

[nando4]

Have now solved my boot up problem on my USB stick and looking instead for the optimal menu program? It should contain submenus and be small. What do you think here on reboot.pro is the best menu program? Apart from a simple batch file?

I use Dougmenu - a fantastic piece of software. At the bottom of this link is the source code of a late version. Would be great if someone could continue to develop it.

[Wonko the Sane]

I got the idea that befrielse asked for a DOS menu program (which is not a grub4dos menu, and not the source for one) .
A good list is here:
http://www.resoo.org...ftware/menu.htm
I personally like AUMENU, but in nothing like the shell/dos menu, "de gustibus non est disputandum" .


Wonko

[wendy]

Here's some ancient program that had a menu system more advanced than Windows.

Not hard really. It's the sort of OEM shell that microsoft sort to ban.

[Rui Paz]

Hi,

Just recently disassembled a old K62-300 running Windows 98 with a dos menu system called g-menu, i did some googling but couldn't find it online probably because its very old.

Upload my copy to a file host, its shareware but fully functional...



The menu its fully customized from the interface itself and can be set to run locked so it can be used by users that can't do changes.

Download: http://www.datafileh...d-42dc86a5.html

[Rui Paz]

Here's some ancient program that had a menu system more advanced than Windows.

Not hard really. It's the sort of OEM shell that microsoft sort to ban.

Hi Wendy,

Your screen shoot seems nice can you share the menu system?

TIA

[Wonko the Sane]

Just recently disassembled a old K62-300 running Windows 98 with a dos menu system called g-menu, i did some googling but couldn't find it online probably because its very old.

You need to better your google-fu :
http://cd.textfiles....er/pier01/046a/
The whole directory is about menu systems, get this file:
http://cd.textfiles..../spitfire/sf046
save as "sf046.txt" to have a list of the files in the previously mentioned directory.
The one you mentioned should be "GBMNU101.ZIP":
http://cd.textfiles....6a/gbmnu101.zip


Wonko

[Rui Paz]

You need to better your google-fu :


Wonko

You are probably google-fu master i have only the blue belt

By the way using your google-fu can you help locating the one Wendy is talking about?

It seems this one MenuBank but so far didn't find the complete archive...
http://cd.textfiles....netwaresl/MENU/

[Wonko the Sane]

You are probably google-fu master i have only the blue belt

Probably?

google-fu master?

Kids, .... I am The Finder!


Wonko

P.S.:
The list of files on that CD is here:
http://cd.textfiles....S/D2K/FILES.BBS
it seems like that Kendell Menu is the actual menu of the CD and is not among the archives

[wendy]

This is softcomp.rar.

You might have some difficulty, since softcomp was a software company that went out of business in 1994.

However, it seems to be made by Kendell software, and configured by them.

It seems to leave lots of files of name sbchain or something in random directories. It's safe to delete these - they seem to be memory unloads.

In the end, i started off using a 4dos script (menuhelp.btm), and then bypassed the menu completely.

 softcomp.rar   113.55KB   957 downloads

It seems that the menubank files are indeed what's needed. But ye need m2.exe, m2.mnu and a few other files from my package to work.

[Rui Paz]

This is softcomp.rar.

You might have some difficulty, since softcomp was a software company that went out of business in 1994.

However, it seems to be made by Kendell software, and configured by them.

It seems to leave lots of files of name sbchain or something in random directories. It's safe to delete these - they seem to be memory unloads.

In the end, i started off using a 4dos script (menuhelp.btm), and then bypassed the menu completely.

 softcomp.rar   113.55KB   957 downloads

Thanks Wendy for sharing, i know there is allot of other possibilities to build menus like wbat but that need some time and work.
http://www.horstmuc.de/ui.htm