Solve : MS-DOS icon Missing/Inability to fully resize DOS window?

1.	Solve : MS-DOS icon Missing/Inability to fully resize DOS window?
Answer» After a clean reinstall of XP on a Dell 2400, I found that the familiar MS DOS icon was gone, and in its place, at the Command Prompt location, is just a black square with "C:\." Years ago, I wrote a large DOS program which I continue to use to manage financial information, and since the reinstall, I find I can't adequately resize a DOS window, or get things to lay out properly in a full SCREEN DOS window. I think the missing Icon may have something to do with this irritating SITUATION, which I confess I don't have any idea how to explain or correct. Maybe some of you RECOGNIZE the symptoms and have a suggestion to offer. PREVIOUSLY, I have only had to click on the dos icon, select full screen mode, and go about my merry way. Now, no matter what font or screen layout I specify, the dos characters are too small and difficult for these old eyes to read. I will appreciate any help available on this subject.To modify the Cmd.exe shortcut on your desktop: R.Click the icon Select Properties Select the Shortcut tab and make a note of your current settings In the Target dialog box type: %windir%\system32\cmd.exe /X/Q/V/T:1f/E:ON /K prompt $p$g In the Start in dialog box type: C:\ In the Run dialog box make sure Normal window is shown Edited to add: If you'd like to open Cmd.exe from your keyboard enter a letter, say C, in the Shortcut Key dialog box. After clicking Apply and Ok whenever you use Ctrl+Alt+C the Cmd.exe window will open Select the Options tag In the Display options pane bullet fullscreen Click Apply then OK When you left click the icon the Command Prompt window should open with a blue background and white lettering. If you are not happy with the new screen display go back to your original settings. If you want to reduce the window size you can use Alt+Enter to toggle between full and small screen presentations. Good luck Dusty: Thanks for the information you furnished. I'm at a different machine now, but I'll try it later and post results. By the way, where do you find such stuff as this. I'd like to find a manual or reference book of some type with this info. Thanks very much. Quote from: Dusty on August 20, 2008, 08:29:10 PM %windir%\system32\cmd.exe /X/Q/V/T:1f/E:ON /K prompt $p$g The cmd.exe parameters come from cmd/? the prompt parameters come from prompt/? both entered at the cmd prompt. How to set up a shortcut comes from sites like this. I also subscribe to Techrepublic which I find useful. Never heard of a book covering all tips, if there was one it would be about 5g pages. LOL Dusty: Finally had a chance to implement your solution - it works just fine. Thanks again for all your help. Now if I could just find my old MS-DOS icon ...SystemRoot/system32/shell.dll.......Patio: Thanks for the suggestion, but the system reports no icons in the shell.dll file. Of course, I found a slew of icons in the shell32 folder, but, alas, the old, familiar MS-DOS icon is not among them. It's no biggie, of course, any old icon will do, but I guess I just got used to the original (and I wonder just what happened to it during my reinstall). Thanks again. Google MSDos icon and click on images in the upper left side... C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\MORICONS.DLL - it's not quite the old familiar icon but might suit.Msdos is not available on win 2k/etc...........The c:/ is..Okay - here's the authoritative skinny on this important issue. The REAL MS-DOS icon is where I now assume it has always been - contained within a file named ... are you ready for this? ... C:\Windows\System32\PIFMGR.dll. I don't really know just how to express my complete and utter humiliation after searching, searching, and more searching, and never finding this fairly-obviously-named file. But there it is, and now we can all sleep soundly again. I completely forgot about pifmgr..... Great Detective work on your part ! !Let’s be honest, more than a few of us still have a DOS application we like to run once in a while. Concern about losing access to these old family favorites may be keeping some of us from upgrading out of XP long after we would otherwise have done so. If you’ve tried running a DOS application under the Win 7 beta or Vista, you are already aware of the problems. The new operating systems will run DOS applications, but not very enthusiastically. For one thing, shortcuts created for running DOS-based programs under Win 7 or Vista will display only an unattractive blank vanilla icon on the desktop. For another, all you get to run your DOS application in is a cramped little window almost too small to be usable. Here’s a way to improve on both of these situations and enhance your DOS experience under Win 7 or Vista. It is adapted from a posting by Edward Mendelson on a Word Perfect-DOS site a year or so ago. First, be sure you have copied all the files you need for your DOS program to a folder you can locate again when prompted. Now right-click on the desktop. Select New from the menu, then Shortcut, and then enter cmd.exe when asked for the location of the item. Click on Next, and type the name you want to use in the shortcut. For example, if the program you want to use is Professional File, as it is in my case, type in Pro File and then click Finish. Next, right-click on the resulting generic shortcut and choose Properties. Select the Shortcut tab and note what is now displayed in the Target field. Do not alter what you see there, but move the cursor to the right of cmd.exe, type a space, then add this text: /c c:\(folder location)\(executable file name). In my computer this would be /c c:\PF\PF.exe. Notice that the text to add begins with a forward slash, then the letter "c", then a space, then the folder location. Now you are ready to select your icon. Click on Change Icon button and type moricons.dll or pifmgr.dll in the space under "look for icons…" at the top. Click OK and select the icon you want from the choices offered. Click OK again, and your new shortcut, complete with a new icon, will be displayed on the desktop. The next step is to help resolve the problem of the cramped window you get to work with for your DOS application. You can’t actually increase the number of lines allocated to the DOS window, but you can make it bigger by choosing a larger font size. Right-click on your new shortcut and then the Font tab. Now select the Lucia Console font size you want. I find 20 about right, but you can pick a larger size if you prefer. The working window will enlarge in response to the font size change. Click OK, and you will finally have both a shortcut icon of your choice for your DOS application, and a window large enough to actually use. [recovering disk space - old attachment deleted by admin]Make your own. http://www.rw-designer.com/online_icon_maker.php

Answer»

After a clean reinstall of XP on a Dell 2400, I found that the familiar MS DOS icon was gone, and in its place, at the Command Prompt location, is just a black square with "C:\." Years ago, I wrote a large DOS program which I continue to use to manage financial information, and since the reinstall, I find I can't adequately resize a DOS window, or get things to lay out properly in a full SCREEN DOS window. I think the missing Icon may have something to do with this irritating SITUATION, which I confess I don't have any idea how to explain or correct. Maybe some of you RECOGNIZE the symptoms and have a suggestion to offer. PREVIOUSLY, I have only had to click on the dos icon, select full screen mode, and go about my merry way. Now, no matter what font or screen layout I specify, the dos characters are too small and difficult for these old eyes to read. I will appreciate any help available on this subject.To modify the Cmd.exe shortcut on your desktop:

R.Click the icon
Select Properties
Select the Shortcut tab and make a note of your current settings

In the Target dialog box type:
%windir%\system32\cmd.exe /X/Q/V/T:1f/E:ON /K prompt $p$g

In the Start in dialog box type: C:\

In the Run dialog box make sure Normal window is shown

Edited to add: If you'd like to open Cmd.exe from your keyboard enter a letter, say C, in the Shortcut Key dialog box. After clicking Apply and Ok whenever you use Ctrl+Alt+C the Cmd.exe window will open

Select the Options tag
In the Display options pane bullet fullscreen

Click Apply then OK

When you left click the icon the Command Prompt window should open with a blue background and white lettering.

If you are not happy with the new screen display go back to your original settings. If you want to reduce the window size you can use Alt+Enter to toggle between full and small screen presentations.

Good luck
Dusty:
Thanks for the information you furnished. I'm at a different machine now, but I'll try it later and post results. By the way, where do you find such stuff as this. I'd like to find a manual or reference book of some type with this info.

Thanks very much. Quote from: Dusty on August 20, 2008, 08:29:10 PM

%windir%\system32\cmd.exe /X/Q/V/T:1f/E:ON /K prompt $p$g

The cmd.exe parameters come from cmd/? the prompt parameters come from prompt/? both entered at the cmd prompt.

How to set up a shortcut comes from sites like this. I also subscribe to Techrepublic which I find useful.

Never heard of a book covering all tips, if there was one it would be about 5g pages. LOL Dusty:

Finally had a chance to implement your solution - it works just fine. Thanks again for all your help. Now if I could just find my old MS-DOS icon ...SystemRoot/system32/shell.dll.......Patio:

Thanks for the suggestion, but the system reports no icons in the shell.dll file. Of course, I found a slew of icons in the shell32 folder, but, alas, the old, familiar MS-DOS icon is not among them. It's no biggie, of course, any old icon will do, but I guess I just got used to the original (and I wonder just what happened to it during my reinstall).

Thanks again.
Google MSDos icon and click on images in the upper left side...

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\MORICONS.DLL - it's not quite the old familiar icon but might suit.Msdos is not available on win 2k/etc...........The c:/ is..Okay - here's the authoritative skinny on this important issue. The REAL MS-DOS icon is where I now assume it has always been - contained within a file named ... are you ready for this? ... C:\Windows\System32\PIFMGR.dll. I don't really know just how to express my complete and utter humiliation after searching, searching, and more searching, and never finding this fairly-obviously-named file. But there it is, and now we can all sleep soundly again.
I completely forgot about pifmgr.....
Great Detective work on your part ! !Let’s be honest, more than a few of us still have a DOS application we like to run once in a while. Concern about losing access to these old family favorites may be keeping some of us from upgrading out of XP long after we would otherwise have done so. If you’ve tried running a DOS application under the Win 7 beta or Vista, you are already aware of the problems. The new operating systems will run DOS applications, but not very enthusiastically.

For one thing, shortcuts created for running DOS-based programs under Win 7 or Vista will display only an unattractive blank vanilla icon on the desktop. For another, all you get to run your DOS application in is a cramped little window almost too small to be usable.

Here’s a way to improve on both of these situations and enhance your DOS experience under Win 7 or Vista. It is adapted from a posting by Edward Mendelson on a Word Perfect-DOS site a year or so ago.

First, be sure you have copied all the files you need for your DOS program to a folder you can locate again when prompted. Now right-click on the desktop. Select New from the menu, then Shortcut, and then enter cmd.exe when asked for the location of the item. Click on Next, and type the name you want to use in the shortcut. For example, if the program you want to use is Professional File, as it is in my case, type in Pro File and then click Finish. Next, right-click on the resulting generic shortcut and choose Properties. Select the Shortcut tab and note what is now displayed in the Target field.

Do not alter what you see there, but move the cursor to the right of cmd.exe, type a space, then add this text:

/c c:\(folder location)\(executable file name). In my computer this would be /c c:\PF\PF.exe. Notice that the text to add begins with a forward slash, then the letter "c", then a space, then the folder location.

Now you are ready to select your icon. Click on Change Icon button and type moricons.dll or pifmgr.dll in the space under "look for icons…" at the top. Click OK and select the icon you want from the choices offered. Click OK again, and your new shortcut, complete with a new icon, will be displayed on the desktop.

The next step is to help resolve the problem of the cramped window you get to work with for your DOS application. You can’t actually increase the number of lines allocated to the DOS window, but you can make it bigger by choosing a larger font size. Right-click on your new shortcut and then the Font tab. Now select the Lucia Console font size you want. I find 20 about right, but you can pick a larger size if you prefer. The working window will enlarge in response to the font size change. Click OK, and you will finally have both a shortcut icon of your choice for your DOS application, and a window large enough to actually use.

[recovering disk space - old attachment deleted by admin]Make your own.
http://www.rw-designer.com/online_icon_maker.php

Solve : MS-DOS icon Missing/Inability to fully resize DOS window?

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