getting file names off the screen

[dos4me]

Back in 1981, I wrote the first instructional program on the IBM PC... PRIVATE TUTOR in IBM BASIC. I picked up a technique to find what files were on the dikskette (now in a folder), by clearing the screen, then doing a "FILES *.abc". But I don't recall where I went from there to use the files. I must have used a PEEK into some location, probably a screen buffer.

#1 - Does anybody know how I did it?!?!

#2 - Does anybody know an expensive place to get 5 1/4 " diskettes copied to a USB stick or anything else more modern?

[Mikrondel]

>>Does anybody know how I did it?!?!

Well the IBM basic way was probably along the lines of
DEF SEG = &HB800
X = PEEK(0)


but QBasic has the SCREEN() function which tells you what character is at a certain location on screen.

That said, there are much better ways to get file listings than reading the screen.

>>Does anybody know an expensive place to get 5 1/4 " diskettes copied to a USB stick or anything else more modern?

Why do you want an expensive place?

Anyway, there's a chance the disks have become demagnetised if they've been sitting on a shelf for fifteen years. A proper data recovery service can probably still read disks like that, but that'll cost you.

If they're still readable, however, just copy them yourself. If you don't have a 5 1/4" drive, get one from eBay.

Tell me more about what you're interested in doing!

If you haven't heard of DOSBOX, it's a DOS emulator that provides much better DOS compatibility than Windows' virtual DOS environment. You may want to look into that if you're trying to get old programs to function.

[dos4me]

Thanks for the response. Bummer for old age. Of course I meant an inexpensive way. $75 is too much. I did not realize that EBay had 5 1/4 drives, or that I could hook them up to my computer.
What I would like to do is see if my original PRIVATE TUTOR programs run. It was basically COURSEWRITER which ran on IBM Mainframes, redone to run on the IBM PC. An IBM Exec early on said that interactive instruction would never run on the PC because it was too slow. That may have been the same guy who said that the maximum market for computers the size of the IBM 650 was 50. I don't have any of the original Basic listings and want to see if the .EXE will work 25 years later. All of this is just a stroll down memory lane.

[Mikrondel]

This... wouldn't have anything to do with you, would it?
cgi.ebay.com.my/IBM-Private-Tutor-Learning-to-Program-in-BASIC_W0QQitemZ350033096641QQihZ022QQcategoryZ4193QQcmdZViewItem

Just in case it does, consider contacting the seller and asking him to email you the files. He seems to have access to a 5 1/4" drive. You may want to send him a picture of your disks to prove that you own a copy.

Anyway, with regards to connecting a 5 1/4" drive to your PC... many PCs these days come without floppy drives. However the motherboard will often still have a floppy disk socket on it. If you have the right cable you can connect a 5 1/4" drive to the same socket that a 3.5" floppy drive is normally connected. If you have a laptop, forget it.

You might be surprised by how many people still use the likes of QuickBasic. A more active forum that I frequent (under the name Artelius) is locate here: www.network54.com/Forum/13959/