OLD PROGRAMS (EG, SUPERCAL5 v.5 FOR PC) WONT GO FULL-SCREEN IN VM WINDOWS XP

Discussions about using Windows guests in VirtualBox.
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Broytsch
Posts: 39
Joined: 22. May 2021, 12:19

OLD PROGRAMS (EG, SUPERCAL5 v.5 FOR PC) WONT GO FULL-SCREEN IN VM WINDOWS XP

Post by Broytsch »

In my Windows XP computers, these programs run in a window. The window has the empty square symbol at top right, meaning that it is the largest window available (clicking on this square reduces the size of the window frame). There is also the usual MINUS symbol, which drops the program down onto the taskbar.

When displaying in the largest window available (empty square at top right), the long established method for making the program display in 100% full-screen mode is to press ALT and, while holding this key down, press ENTER (or RETURN).

You revert to windowed display by pressing ALT + RETURN a second time.

In Windows XP running as a VM in VirtualBox, this combined keystroke has little effect. When first pressed, the window becomes only slightly larger, and its frame and top line disappear. This is too small a display for serious work, even on a 19" monitor. And, of course, it is a frustrating behaviour when you know that the program will run in full screen mode n "real" XP.

As in "real" XP, the normal windowed display is again obtained by pressing ALT+ RETURN a second time.

What is the procedure (if there is one) for making the basic windowed display of this type of program enlarge to fill the whole screen?


RUNNING THESE PROGRAMS IN "REAL" XP

The programs I am talking about run in the DOS emulator in Windows XP. (They won't run in later versions of Windows except by installing a virtual environment like Oracle VirtualBox.)

Once installed, they can be run from the desktop via a shortcut. There are two screen settings available in PROPERTIES by right-clicking the shortcut:-

1. Full Screen

2. Window

The WINDOW setting is the one to use in both a "real" and a "virtual" XP machine. In "real" XP this makes the program run in a window, and then ALT + RETURN make it run in true full-screen mode. If you change to the full screen setting in the shortcut PROPERTIES, the display is small, and strangely shaped.

So, in real XP, it is simple to get full-screen display:=

- Set SCREEN to WINDOW in the shortcut properties.

-The program then displays in a standard window, a lot smaller than the full screen.

- Press ALT + RETURN and the program displays in true full-screen mode.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: OLD PROGRAMS (EG, SUPERCAL5 v.5 FOR PC) WONT GO FULL-SCREEN IN VM WINDOWS XP

Post by mpack »

DOS runs in a text mode, it isn't a graphics mode so it can't be arbitrarily sized. Plus AFAIK you can't change the physical monitor's display mode in a VM.

VirtualBox does not provide an ideal environment to run DOS programs in Windows. DOSBOX might suit you better. Or even FreeDOS if you don't mind dedicating a PC.

Fyi, the "DOS emulator" feature in XP is called NTVDM, and it still exists in later Windows, including Windows 10 - but only in 32bit versions. Also it is now disabled by default, you have to enable it in "Optional Features".
Broytsch
Posts: 39
Joined: 22. May 2021, 12:19

DOS PROGRAMS WILL NOT RUN IN FULL-SCREEN MODE IN VM (WINDOWS XP)

Post by Broytsch »

[mod edit] Originally posted to a second topic by the OP.

In my original Windows XP computers, of which I have three, my DOS programs run from desktop shortcuts. These shortcuts have to be set (in PROPERTIES>SCREEN) to run in a window (not set to full-screen) for my next step to work as intended.

1. The programs then start in a normal window showing at top right that it is the largest available size (square button).

2. To make the program run in full-screen mode (filling the whole VDU screen, and covering all the desktop) I use the long-established command ALT + RETURN (or ALT + ENTER).

In the same version of Windows iistalled as the VM in my VirtualBox (XP Pro SP3), with the same shortcuts in the same setting, this command (2 above) does not work properly. The frame of the window disappears, as does the desktop background, but the size of the program as displayed is only slightly larger than it was in the window.

This is strange when the version of Windows XP is exactly the same as the one installed on my "real" XP computers.

I have a 19" monitor, but the programs are not convenient to work on when displayed in a reduced size - especially the spreadsheet and the accounts program.

Can this problem be overcome?
Last edited by mpack on 3. Jun 2021, 14:09, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Note
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: DOS PROGRAMS WILL NOT RUN IN FULL-SCREEN MODE IN VM (WINDOWS XP)

Post by mpack »

You already created a topic to discuss that problem, and you got an answer which you have not acknowledged.

I will merge your new post into the existing topic.

Also, I just noticed that this topic was created in "Windows Hosts" where it clearly does not belong. I'll move this topic to "Windows Guests".
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