Hi Bob,

This "feature" has existed in all versions of Windows by establishing a
"virtual" DOS subsystem. However you may find that some such "DOS" programs
won't work under this virtual DOS subsystem, particularly under Win2K or XP
if they try to talk directly to hardware.

Russ Poffenberger
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At 05:36 AM 3/21/2005, you wrote:
>I obtained a program from the USCG called posaid2.exe which is used to
>convert loran
>navigation numbers to latitude and longitude. It appears to be a DOS file.
>I first
>ran it as a DOS file in a DOS (command) window on my WXPSP2 computer and
>it worked
>fine. Later I double-clicked on it in Windows Explorer. I was surprised to
>see it
>start up and open it's own DOS window, ready to run by pressing the proper
>command
>keys. I never saw that happen in any previous version of Windows.
>
>Is this a (new) feature of XP that it will run DOS files from within
>windows? Or
>is this something peculiar to the executable file? Or something else that
>I don't
>understand?

Russ Poffenberger
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