Printing from a Dos program, help please!

[hopeful_builder]

hi all, friend of mine runs a car bodyshop.

They use a dated piece of dos software called bodymaster on an old dell with a dated HP Printer. The reason they haven't upgraded is they can get the dos based program to print on any other printer.

Do you have any recommendations please?

 

[Raumarik]

Get a new version which is compatible, the company who writes it offers annual support contracts.

Your mate is running a business, he needs to invest in this to make it work. Firstly he should ask himself what he'd do if the HDD went bang? I'm guessing like most small companies he'd be screwed.

There is absolutely no reason to continue to use old software, there's always a more modern very out. but at a push you could:

1. Make a VM of the old dell.
2. Host it on new hardware and try to get printing to work from the VM to the host PCs printer. Personally I can't see why it wouldn't with a bit of tinkering.

He'll have to upgrade eventually though this just delays the inevitable.

 

[brendy]

Does the dell have windows installed at all?
If so, share the printer out then in dos run net use and connect via \\pcname\printersharename and use the persistent switch.

or alternatively this may work, again deendant on having windows gui OS installed.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/258878