Early 1990s collection of PC software found (self-made)
A couple years ago, my father was cleaning my old closet and found a box of 3.5" disks that I had completely forgotten about. Long ago, around 1995, I had a hard drive crash and lost the source code to essentially all of my personal source code. (I think it was a physical head-into-platter crash; in any case no files could be recovered)
At the time I was trying to establish my own software shop, going by High Magic Software and then later by Providence Software. I had also written some inventory programs for the local library and other local businesses. But that crash -- for me, it was like having ones house burned down.
While that was kind of bad for me at the time -- it was 1995, the Internet was just around the corner (in terms of being widely available via dial-up in even small towns). Thus, I ended up going to college instead, and have kept quite busy ever since.
Anyhow - during the pandemic, I had time to explore those old 3.5" disks and migrate the content over using a USB 3.5" drive reader. Then I recently acquired an original IBM PC 5150, and I've been able to verify what's-what. I use to also run a BBS from 1989 until my 1995 crash, so those disk were just random backup disks.
It's turned out those disk had some built executables of some of my old utility software. No source code, but at least some of my old tools still existed.
I'm going to call the set as VUC (voidstar utility collection) v1.0 and place it as public domain. They are all under 32K and I've verified that they do still run on my IBM PC 5150 (8088). Most of them are from around 1991.
If possible, I'd like for them to be available at WinWorld. Point me in the right direction on who to contact for this.
Here is a summary of the 24 utilities (CDIR being my personal favorite):
PROGRAM SIZE/DATE DESCRIPTION
============= =========
2ARJ.EXE 9K/???? Convert ZIP2ARJ |works by invoking SHELL commands to PKZIP and ARJ
ADDZIP.EXE 6K/1991 Add ZIP Comment |works by invoking PKZIP -C, can search wildcards and uses provided file as the comment
ANSMACRO.EXE 6K/1991 ANSI Macro |uses ANSI.SYS to define keyboard macros
MACRO.KEY |support file for ANSMACRO.EXE
MACRO.LST |support file for ANSMACRO.EXE
ASK.EXE 10K/???? * Ask User |used in scripts to ask a question and then uses ERRORLEVEL to determine the response to the question
ASKDEMO.BAT |an example of how to use the ASK.EXE errorlevel results
CARRIER.EXE 6K/1992 Carrier Detect |examines COM port to see if a carrier is present, returns different ERRORLEVEL if so (requires a FOSSIL.SYS driver)
CDIR.EXE 15K/1995 * ColorDIR 3.1b |use “cdir ?” because “cdir -h” seems to causes lockup
CDIR30.EXE 11K/1991 ColorDIR 3.0 |funny “cdir -h”, can run out of memory if there is a large number of files in the folder
CHATTRIB.EXE 20K/1991 ChangeAttributes |really just my intro to Pascal and using the OPRO GUI library
CLOCK.EXE 9K/1991 Clock In/Out |writes current time to a specified command line filename, I used it to track my time at my first job
DELALL.EXE 7K/1991 DeleteAllFiles |delete all files of a given wildcard; typically I used this to remove extra FILEID.DIZ
DELSIZE.EXE 7K/1991 DeleteSize |delete files of a specified byte size; typically I used this to remove 0 byte files
EDIT.EXE 31K/1991 TextEditor |I believe this is a real-mode program and limited to editing files no longer than 64KB
FILELIST.EXE 15K/???? Make FileList |Scan a directoy structure and list all the files in specified output file (e.g. FILELIST.TXT
MR.EXE 10K/???? * Memory View |shows what is current consuming system memory; I had a newer version that also reported CPU type, was similar to CheckIt
NUKE.EXE 7K/1990 * Nuke 1.0 |nuke all contents of a specified folder and recursively remove all subfolders) (safe to run with no command line arguments
PHONE.EXE 22K/1992 Phone Database |a later demo of using the OPRO library for a simple database entry system; a later version included the ability to attach and preview TIF images with entries
QMATH.EXE 7K/???? * QuickMath |command line math calculator, like "qmath 5.2+(4.8-3.5)*2"
REBOOT.EXE 3K/???? * Reboot the System from Command Line
SEARCH.EXE 6K/???? * Search for File |wildcards supported, recursively search specified folder; provides summary of total bytes used by all the found files
TERMINAL.EXE 11K/1991 (Simple) Terminal|my first attempt at a simple terminal connection program, and included Zmodem support
TEXTATTR.EXE 4K/1990 * Show all IBM PC text attributes|help remind what code is what effect
TIMEIS.EXE 5K/???? What Time Is It |writes the current time and date to DOS screen in plain-text, but this output cannot be pipped to a file
TSAR.EXE 7K/1992 Text Search and Replace|scan a text file and replace content based on command line arguments
XMIT.EXE 5K/???? Xmit Time |estimates file transfer times using command line arguments
At the time I was trying to establish my own software shop, going by High Magic Software and then later by Providence Software. I had also written some inventory programs for the local library and other local businesses. But that crash -- for me, it was like having ones house burned down.
While that was kind of bad for me at the time -- it was 1995, the Internet was just around the corner (in terms of being widely available via dial-up in even small towns). Thus, I ended up going to college instead, and have kept quite busy ever since.
Anyhow - during the pandemic, I had time to explore those old 3.5" disks and migrate the content over using a USB 3.5" drive reader. Then I recently acquired an original IBM PC 5150, and I've been able to verify what's-what. I use to also run a BBS from 1989 until my 1995 crash, so those disk were just random backup disks.
It's turned out those disk had some built executables of some of my old utility software. No source code, but at least some of my old tools still existed.
I'm going to call the set as VUC (voidstar utility collection) v1.0 and place it as public domain. They are all under 32K and I've verified that they do still run on my IBM PC 5150 (8088). Most of them are from around 1991.
If possible, I'd like for them to be available at WinWorld. Point me in the right direction on who to contact for this.
Here is a summary of the 24 utilities (CDIR being my personal favorite):
PROGRAM SIZE/DATE DESCRIPTION
============= =========
2ARJ.EXE 9K/???? Convert ZIP2ARJ |works by invoking SHELL commands to PKZIP and ARJ
ADDZIP.EXE 6K/1991 Add ZIP Comment |works by invoking PKZIP -C, can search wildcards and uses provided file as the comment
ANSMACRO.EXE 6K/1991 ANSI Macro |uses ANSI.SYS to define keyboard macros
MACRO.KEY |support file for ANSMACRO.EXE
MACRO.LST |support file for ANSMACRO.EXE
ASK.EXE 10K/???? * Ask User |used in scripts to ask a question and then uses ERRORLEVEL to determine the response to the question
ASKDEMO.BAT |an example of how to use the ASK.EXE errorlevel results
CARRIER.EXE 6K/1992 Carrier Detect |examines COM port to see if a carrier is present, returns different ERRORLEVEL if so (requires a FOSSIL.SYS driver)
CDIR.EXE 15K/1995 * ColorDIR 3.1b |use “cdir ?” because “cdir -h” seems to causes lockup
CDIR30.EXE 11K/1991 ColorDIR 3.0 |funny “cdir -h”, can run out of memory if there is a large number of files in the folder
CHATTRIB.EXE 20K/1991 ChangeAttributes |really just my intro to Pascal and using the OPRO GUI library
CLOCK.EXE 9K/1991 Clock In/Out |writes current time to a specified command line filename, I used it to track my time at my first job
DELALL.EXE 7K/1991 DeleteAllFiles |delete all files of a given wildcard; typically I used this to remove extra FILEID.DIZ
DELSIZE.EXE 7K/1991 DeleteSize |delete files of a specified byte size; typically I used this to remove 0 byte files
EDIT.EXE 31K/1991 TextEditor |I believe this is a real-mode program and limited to editing files no longer than 64KB
FILELIST.EXE 15K/???? Make FileList |Scan a directoy structure and list all the files in specified output file (e.g. FILELIST.TXT
MR.EXE 10K/???? * Memory View |shows what is current consuming system memory; I had a newer version that also reported CPU type, was similar to CheckIt
NUKE.EXE 7K/1990 * Nuke 1.0 |nuke all contents of a specified folder and recursively remove all subfolders) (safe to run with no command line arguments
PHONE.EXE 22K/1992 Phone Database |a later demo of using the OPRO library for a simple database entry system; a later version included the ability to attach and preview TIF images with entries
QMATH.EXE 7K/???? * QuickMath |command line math calculator, like "qmath 5.2+(4.8-3.5)*2"
REBOOT.EXE 3K/???? * Reboot the System from Command Line
SEARCH.EXE 6K/???? * Search for File |wildcards supported, recursively search specified folder; provides summary of total bytes used by all the found files
TERMINAL.EXE 11K/1991 (Simple) Terminal|my first attempt at a simple terminal connection program, and included Zmodem support
TEXTATTR.EXE 4K/1990 * Show all IBM PC text attributes|help remind what code is what effect
TIMEIS.EXE 5K/???? What Time Is It |writes the current time and date to DOS screen in plain-text, but this output cannot be pipped to a file
TSAR.EXE 7K/1992 Text Search and Replace|scan a text file and replace content based on command line arguments
XMIT.EXE 5K/???? Xmit Time |estimates file transfer times using command line arguments
Comments
PART 2... (these are "not self made" titles, which I have available, but I haven't reviewed/verified that they all can be shared or not at this time)
In addition to finding pre-built executables of some of my own programs, I found a collection of OTHER software. A lot of this is probably already captured in WinWorld archives or other sources. But just in case, here is a summary...
(unknowns - these don't run for me, probably not 8088 compaible)
ENWA.EXE ???
HEXIT.EXE hexEditor?
INTERLNK.EXE InterLink
INTERSVR.EXE InterLink Server 1.10
SPEED600.EXE Landmark Speed Test v6.00
MOUSE.COM Microsoft Mouse Driver 9.00
LIST.COM LIST Version 7.5f 10/26/90
CURSOR.EXE CURSOR R1.03 Laptop cursor utility (help change size and blink rate of cursor, helps to make it more visible on certain laptops)
Z.COM Switcher of video mode 2.05
DR.COM IBM Disk Repair (1985 version) with help file
MOSLO.COM Mo'Slo v 1.32b (help run Ultima7 on a Pentium)
DERIVE.ZIP DERIVE 3.0 (Math related)
Converge.zip (I'm not sure what this is)
LANT50.ZIP LANtastic 5.0
wcpedit.zip WingCommander Prophecy Editor
WZ60WN16.EXE (WinZip 6.0?)
WZIPREG.EXE
PNC-Q8x.ZIP Quarterdecks QEMM 8.0
QEMM75.ZIP Quarterdecks QEMM 7.5
SC301.ZIP SystemCommander 3.01
INFQ96-x.ZIP Quicken 96 (for DOS)
NLSEPT94.ZIP NeverLock '94
CDEMUL.ZIP CD Emulator for DOS
NOTE: any years listed below are approximations based on the file dates.
code\Delphi2.zip Delphi2 58mb 1997 (install folder)
code\FORTRAN.ZIP WAITFOR77 FORTRAN Compiler 3.1 233KB 1992 WATFOR77 Fortran Compiler for the PC (3.1)
assembler\visasm9b.exe 3541KB 2000
assembler\wookie154.exe 554KB 2000
assembler\helppc21.zip 255KB 2000
assembler\hiew655.zip 706KB 2000
assembler\24143004.pdf Pentium Processor Family Developers Manual Vol3: Architecture and Programming Manual 4264KB 2000
Assembler\24319102.PDF Intel Architecture Software Developer's Manual Vol2: Instruction Set Reference 6615KB 2000
Assembler\27302101.pdf Embedded Intel486 Processor Family Developer's Manual 4745KB 2000
assembler\aoaTOC2.pdf The Art of Assembly Language (Fully contents) ~2000KB 2000 Table of Contents only, seems to be x86 focused, over 1000 pages; page PDFs for FORWARD and chapters 1-6
assembler\asmfaqh.zip 2000
code\asm\(misc) grep.com, make.exe, objxref.com, tasm.exe, tcref.exe, tlib.exe, tlink.exe, touch.com 221KB 1989
code\avatar ~300KB 1991 AVATAR was an alternative to ANSI, as a way to express more advanced text console commands (like windowing) in less space (for modems)
code\btree 778B 1991 BTREE library (and some networking code, NETBIOS); TurboPower, probably in Pascal
code\OPRO ObjectPro 6x 720KB 1999 TurboPascal library for many application development features (like menus)
code\Pascal (many Pascal related utility libraries, including Forum 2.5C, Zmodem, GIF viewer, VOC player, TSR, SoundBlaster player, source) 7500KB 1990-1994 121 ZIP files (there is a FILES.LST and FILES.BBS file, but many files remain undocumented)
MathCAD (install folder, not installers) 12MB 1994
IC-MC5Wx.ZIP MathCAD 5.0 5x 140KB 1994
maple.exe MAPLE 15mb 1998
PUB95_x.ZIP Microsoft Publisher 95 6x 1800KB 1995
AHED American Heritage Dictionary 3 13mb 1993
NWLITE.ZIP Netware Lite 383KB 1994
PPS110.ZIP 82KB 1993 (I think this is some music editor or perhaps Amiga related?)
QMODEM.ZIP 407KB 1999
ACIDWARP.ZIP (video demo) 27KB 1993
ILLUSION.EXE 71KB 1990
OOZE.ZIP 87KB 1993
ORBIS.ZIP 3KB 1993
ADOBEPxx.ZIP AdobePublisher 9x1440KB 1996
BARR-FPx.ZIP Fractal Design Painter 3.1 for Windows 7x 1440KB 1996
KIDPIX.ZIP EGA/VGA PCX Drawing program 1575KB 1996
PSP32BIT.ZIP Paint Shop Pro 3.12 (for Windows) 1908KB 1996
(fli) (several FLI animation examples) 1700KB 1990-1991 (StarTrek Warp, Dreamer, Roller Coaster, face sneezing, 1701)
3DS 3D Studio 4 10x 1200KB 1996
ANSIDRAW.ZIP ANSI Paint 2.1 (TheDraw alternative) 342KB 1993
ANSIHELP.ZIP Text File notes on how to do ANSI animation 4040KB 1986
ANSIPICS.ZIP Sample of various ANS examples 1730KB 1993
ANSISND.ZIP TSR programs for doing ANSI sound 130KB 1993
ANSIU12.ZIP ANSI utilities (ANSI to AVATAR, ANSI viewer without ANSI.SYS) 255KB 1993
TDRAW450.ZIP TheDRAW 4.50 241 1993
UDRAW100.ZIP UltiDraw (TheDraw competitor/alternate) 43 1993
ZANSI.ZIP NANSI and ANSI alternative (faster), with ASM source 23KB 1993
Then a bunch of games, which are probably not appropriate for WinWorld so I won't list all of them. However I do want to list a couple items of interest (a couple very early titles, '81 or '82):
PC-RR.ZIP Railroad LEWIS Software 83KB
MATHRESx.ZIP 2x 360KB (by Apogee) Math Rescue I think?
(the entire set is about 1.5GB - that's probably with a few titles both compressed and uncompressed)
For those titles that are permitted and not already obtained, I'd love to share them in WinWorld so that they can get archived. I highly respect what WinWorld team is trying to do - these "ancient programs" are like relics, sacred scrolls; they collectively represent how the Information Age began. Each program is a creative work, like an art. So a verified repository archive is a good thing.
v*
https://github.com/voidstar78/VUC4DOS