How to bring files into DOS VM?

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mtrodgers99

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I've followed instructions from two different helpful threads to set up a Virtual Machine that has an MS-DOS 6.22 environment. I'm using a trial version of Parallels desktop 6 for MAC. I found threads telling me how to set up the environment, create a virtual hard disk, format it to be bootable. I've done all that successfully. I'm stuck, however, on getting files from the MAC environment into this virtual machine.

I read several threads about renaming the *.hdd file to a *.dmg file, and then using Finder to copy the files to it. I've tried that. When I double click on the renamed file, I receive this error message: THE FOLLOWING DISK IMAGES COULDN'T BE OPENED.
DOS_VM-0.dmg (Reason: not recognized).

I also tried connecting the VM CD-ROM virtual drive to a disk image of the folder that contains the files that I wish to copy to the virtual hard drive. The VM boot messages tell me that the CD-ROM virtual drive is letter "R". I can change to drive "R", but when I execute the DIR command, I receive this error:

CDR103: CROM not High Sierra or ISO-9660 format reading drive R
Abort, Retry Fail?

The files that I want to copy are a Clipper application executable, and its associated dbf and ntx files.

If I can get this to work, I will buy a copy of Parallels desktop.

Thanks for any help you can provide.
 
I've just set up a DOS 6.22 VM and I've managed to get all files across using either a USB floppy drive floppy disk images. I actually installed DOS from disk images. If you have a disk image in .IMG or .DMG then you should just be able to rename to .FDD for Parallels to recognize it. So, depending on how many files you have, you could create floppy-sized images in OS X, rename to .FDD and attach to your VM. If you have files on floppies already, you could get a cheap USB FDD from a well known auction site; I paid 99p for mine :o)
 
Files too big for VM floppy?

The largest file that I need to bring in is over 2 meg. Since real floppies are 1.44 meg, can I assume that the VM floppy is also that size?
 
In that case I'd be tempted to burn the files to a real CD, attach the physical drive to the VM, make sure you have the correct drivers loaded in DOS and access the files on CD.
 
CD-ROM drivers

I burned the files to a CD. I received the same error when I try to read the R drive; "CDROM not High Sierra or ISO-9660 format reading drive R".

I also tried doing something I read in other threads. I used Disk Utility to make a disk image file of the CD with the files. Then I renamed the file from ".dmg" to ".iso". I connected the ISO file to the CD drive in the VM configuration.

I had the same error. I'll keep searching for a way to get these files copied into the VM.
 
It was the file format, somehow.

My wife had the brilliant idea of using my Dell Windows XP machine to burn the files to a CD, instead of using the MAC to do it. The VM was able to read this disk, so I could copy my files into the VM. YAY!

Can a MAC burn a CD to look like a Windows/DOS CD?
 
That's interesting. I'm glad you got there in the end. I'm not sure I have an answer to your last question as CDs / DVDs I burn in OS X are readable on Windows machines (I have several physical / virtual machines and I always check after burning that discs can be read).

I must admit, though, that Im not totally clear about filesystems that are used when discs are burned on various machines (ISO 9660, Joliet, UDF, etc). I guess your DOS VM strictly expects ISO 9660 (depending on driver loaded at the time) and OS X doesn't use that by default, yet uses another that Windows understands...?

I'd be interested to know how you're maximising your DOS memory under parallels: I started a thread here but no responses yet :o(
 
still not 100% of the way there

Regarding your memory question, I didn't worry about it. The Clipper application uses only DOS standard memory. IIRC, thats 640K. The virtual machine has 1GB of memory. The Clipper application shows free memory as 136K, so I believe it is not aware of anything over the 640K. Curiously, when I run the Clipper application on my Windows XP machine, it shows 199K free.

I still have one problem to resolve. How can I get a file out of the virtual machine for the odd occasion when I must edit a file to correct a bad value? DOS does not seem to be able to write to a CD. Even though I have the DOS.img file from which I copied DOS still linked to the floppy, I receive a "not ready" error when I try to write to the floppy.

I'm surprised at how difficult this is.
 
Got it! I needed to connect the virtual machine floppy drive to "floppy.fdd". Then I could write to that drive. I exited the VM and used "show package contents" to reach the actual file. I made a copy of that file onto the desktop and changed the extension to ".img". I double clicked on the disk image and voila I had my file that I wrote to the floppy.
 
My situation is opposite. I originally used over 100 DOS 1.44 floppy disks attached to my Mac using a USB external floppy drive. Now that DOS windows are not supported by Parallels, I moved my DOS files into the DOS Prompt in my Windows VM by going to START ---> RUN ---> COMMAND. So in this command prompt, the files work fine. But now I want to go the other direction - from the files under the command prompt back to either a floppy disk from the USB floppy drive or directly to my desktop to run the files under a program called: Boxer, with is a DOS emulator for the Mac. But all my DOS files for the last 20+ years are all residing in Parallels under the command prompt. It was easy to put the files there. But now, how to I retrieve them out of there? Thank you in advance :)
 
Hm... Does parallels mounter work for this disk? If not I would suggest to add the second hard disk to the DOS VM. But it's significant that this added disk must not be expanding, i.e. plain disk. Than you need to copy your data to this disk within guest OS.
And then you can dd this image onto flash in OS X or mount it somehow in host. This second disk just a raw image with a file system you had setup in DOS. Hope it will help.
 
Hi,
The guest was a DOS 6.22 VM, but any DOS 5.0 or later version may be used(to save memory in the DOS VM). When done: set filesharing to yes in the \NET\SYSTEM.INI file.Copy netshar.exe and wg1049.exe to the \NET directory.
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You use another virtual os "windows 7" has floppy disk (which open the dos floppy disk image). You can copy file into the floppy disk in the Windows 7.
Finally, You can copy file from disk A: to disk C in the MS-DOS virtual os.
 
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