If you see a message like "Bad command or file name" then you need to get QBASIC on your machine.

Unfortunately this isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. You might want to get someone to walk through this with you.

On the Internet

There are probably a lot of other places to find it too. Using a search engine like www.google.com and searching for "qbasic.zip" usually does a good job. If you end up looking for qbasic this way, be sure to get the "version 1.1 interpreter". That is the version of qbasic I used to write this book. It is the most easy to use, and least complicated. Once you are used to 1.1, you can try and find 4.5 which has some very nice features.

Once you have qbasic.zip, you then need to unzip it and move qbasic.exe and qbasic.hlp to c:\windows\command . Someone who is familiar with "zip" files can help you do this.

Windows 95

QBASIC is on the Windows 95 CD-ROM. Put the Windows 95 CD in your CD-ROM drive. It will pop-up a window that you can go ahead and close (click on the "X" in the upper right corner of the window).

DOS Or Windows?

There are two ways to get the QBASIC files onto your computer. Using the DOS prompt is the fastest method, but you need to know your CD-ROM drive's drive letter (e.g. "d:", "e:" or "z:"). The method described in the "Windows Explorer" section is a bit slower, but you don't need to know the CD-ROM drive's drive letter.

DOS Prompt

You should already be at a DOS prompt from trying to start QBASIC. This makes things easier. I am going to assume your CD-ROM drive is drive letter "d:". If it isn't, substitute the correct drive letter in the "copy" command below. Type the following (<Enter> means "Press the <Enter> key"):

 c: <Enter>
 cd \windows\command <Enter>
 copy d:\other\oldmsdos\qbasic.* <Enter>

That should have copied qbasic.exe and qbasic.hlp to your computer. Skip to the "Finished" section to check if all went well.

Windows Explorer

If you don't want to try the DOS method, Windows Explorer can also be used to get QBASIC on your computer. We need Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer) to copy the QBASIC files from the CD and into your c:\windows\command directory. Click on the "Start" button, then "Programs", then "Windows Explorer". On the left you will see a list of the drives on your computer. Look for the CD-ROM drive (it has a little picture of a CD and it should say "Windows95" next to it). Click on the picture. In the right column you will see a list of directories on the CD.

Finding QBASIC.    Double-Click on "Other", then double-click on Oldmsdos. Now you will see a list of files. Go through the list until you find the two files with the name Qbasic. One is QBASIC itself, and the other is a help file.

Selecting the two QBASIC files.    We want to copy these two files to the c:\windows\command directory. Click on the first Qbasic file to turn it blue. This means it is selected. We also need the other Qbasic file. Press and hold the <Ctrl> key while you click on the other Qbasic file. They should both be blue now. This means they are both selected.

Copying To The Clipboard.    Press the <Ctrl> key and hold it down while pressing the C key. This will copy the files to the clipboard.

Destination C:\Windows\Command.    Now click on "Tools" on the Windows Explorer menu, then click on "Go To...". Type this:

 c:\windows\command

Pasting From The Clipboard.    Now press the <Ctrl> key and hold it down while pressing the V key. This will paste the qbasic files from the clipboard and into the c:\windows\command directory.

Finished

Whew! That should do it.

You can close Windows Explorer (if you used it), get back to your DOS prompt window (C:\WINDOWS>_ or C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND>_) and type:

 qbasic