The Major BBS Forums

Installing Free Edition in VM using Windows XP. I read the instructions if installing in a VM using dos 6.22. What if I wanted to install in a VM using Windows XP? How would the instructions differ? I did not see where I could configure the telnet port or the telnet address. I also have tried using NetSerial by PCMicro which emulates a modem. I set it up for com4 and told the setup to do so and tell it to go online is shows up in netserial as connected but the bbs setup says one moment please and never moves from there. It also shows as 7E1 instead of 8N1. So, asking for directions as this is totally new to me, MajorBBS. I do run several bbs's and am familiar with many bbs software packages. I even have one using NetSerial and it works fine.

Thanks in advance for any help.

I have not tried setting it up in a Windows XP VM but I will have a look at it for you. The issue may be the network drivers that the galacticomm ICO (internet connectivity option) requires. This is what allows Telnet access.

Is there a specific reason you want to run it in Windows XP over a DOS VM?

I will get back to you.

Someone else in the community may have already set it up this way and hopefully they respond.

Well, the VM is already setup for another bbs system using Windows XP and I thought I should try it. I also would have to dig around for my old DOS 6.21 diskettes. I may just have to do create another VM assuming my old diskettes are still readable. That and the fact I may have to make an iso out of it, if that is even possible.

ruben figueroa wrote:
> Well, the VM is already setup for another bbs system using Windows XP and I
> thought I should try it. I also would have to dig around for my old DOS
> 6.21 diskettes. I may just have to do create another VM assuming my old
> diskettes are still readable. That and the fact I may have to make an iso
> out of it, if that is even possible.

https://winworldpc.com/product/ms-dos/622

Thank you for the link, I've downloaded the Virtual PC VHD one and the latest that says 6.22.2220 pre-release. Well, it gives me something to tinker with. However, I am still interested in running Majorbbs in a Windows XP VM.

If you are curious you can view my bbs's that are online via web and telnet at: http://www.rdfig.net/public/bbs.htm

ruben figueroa wrote:
> Thank you for the link, I've downloaded the Virtual PC VHD one and the
> latest that says 6.22.2220 pre-release. Well, it gives me something to
> tinker with. However, I am still interested in running Majorbbs in a
> Windows XP VM.
>
> If you are curious you can view my bbs's that are online via web and telnet
> at: http://www.rdfig.net/public/bbs.htm

You might look at SWSVPKT, it's useful to emulate a packet driver for DOS NTVDM under XP.
You install it as a Network "driver", load it in DOS and then use it
You need to boost the FILES first for MajorBBS to work under DOS (change the CONFIG.NT under System32)
I haven't tested it with GALICO1/PIPER but seems to work fine w/ MajorTCP.

Note: MajorBBS + Galico1 + piper under DOSBOX works nicely under XP

In my WG 2.0 days, I did quite a bit of work to try to get the board running under windows. It just never worked out all that well. There is an option within the settings regarding the "need to run board under windows/desqview/etc" but I believe that option was never designed to work with a modern installation of windows. It had to do with attaching your board to a com port specifically for real-mode timing iirc.

At any rate, It's best to put bbsv6 under Dos. You may be able to get away with Freedos, or MS-DOS 7 (https://winworldpc.com/product/ms-dos/7x). In my more recent attempts to virtualize WG 2.x I used MS-DOS 7, and it worked pretty well.

If you have luck with Windows XP, let us all know! It could be good information. :D My goal was to get the old MS-DOS based board into an operating system that supported remote management. The world of virtualization has made that an easier task though, now, so I stopped trying and instead focused on virtualizing MS-DOS, was wasnt always an easy thing to do. ;)