dos-program in windows me: problem

[Tiftof]

When I'm running a dos-program in windows me, it runs in qwerty. My windows me is configured in azerty. What should I do that my dos-programs also use azerty in windows me?

[Spyder Veteran]

http://www.zdnet.com/products/stories/revi...2698997,00.html

We live in an increasingly multilingual world, and the PC keyboard has done a good job keeping up. From Albanian to Ukrainian, and five U.S. (English) layouts, including three versions of the Dvorak keyboard. These keyboards do more than add the odd umlaut to the mix. The French keyboard, for example, is also referred to as the AZERTY keyboard. A-Z-E-R-T-Y are the six characters you get typing QWERTY on a French keyboard.

To select the AZERTY keyboard, open the Control Panel in the Start menu. Double-click on Keyboard, then select the Language tab and click on Properties. Under Keyboard layout, select French and click OK. In the Keyboard Properties dialogue box click OK again. However, if you are using Windows 95, 98, or Me, these settings will not be carried over into DOS mode. The AZERTY "code page" disappears when you open a DOS box.

In Windows versions prior to Window Me, the DOS utility KEYB.COM maps a language's "code page" and country code to the keyboard. The CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files can be configured to boot these settings automatically. In the CONFIG.SYS file, to load the French keyboard enter these two lines:

DEVICE=C:WINDOWSCOMMANDDISPLAY.SYS con=(ega,,1)

Country=033,850,C:WINDOWSCOMMANDCOUNTRY.SYS

And in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, add these three lines:

MODE con codepage prepare=((850)

C:WINDOWSCOMMANDEGA.CPI)

MODE con codepage select=850

KEYB fr,,C:WINDOWSCOMMANDKEYBOARD.SYS

As you may have already concluded, the country code for France (fr) is "033." The number 850 represents the Multilingual (Latin 1) code page used by most Western European languages. In most cases, as long as the keyboard layouts you are using do not require different code pages, all you need is the first part of the last line: KEYB FR, which can be executed at a command prompt in a DOS box.

Microsoft has preserved compatibility with legacy DOS programs throughout the Windows line (Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me). In order to speed up the boot process and improve stability in Windows Me, Microsoft eliminated this "Real Mode" support for terminate-and-stay-resident programs such as KEYB.COM. This means that the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT settings described above won't work, and neither will the KEYB command.

These and other environment settings were moved to keys in the Windows Registry. The key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSet ControlNlsCodepage

stores the National Language Support (NLS) functions. The values in this key are set using the International tab in the System Configuration Utility. To bring up the System Configuration Utility click on Start ? Programs ? Accessories ? System Information. Under Tools, select System Configuration Utility. Or click on Run in the Start menu, type in MSCONFIG and click OK. When the utility comes up, click on the International tab. Under Language select the target language. The proper code page and country code will be inserted into the Registry key.

This is the way it is supposed to work. A bug in MSCONFIG.EXE version 4.90.0.3000 (that ships with Windows Me version 4.90.0.3000) causes the path to the KEYBOARD.SYS driver to get corrupted. This bug was patched in version 4.90.0.3001, which can be requested from Microsoft. If you don't have version 3001, the workaround is simple. In the entry next to Keyboard Data File Name delete everything but "KEYBOARD.SYS" (in other words, delete the path). Then click OK and reboot the system.

The language settings applied in the System Configuration Utility affect DOS, not Windows. The Windows settings are set in the Control Panel as described above.