Subject Re: DBase IV Borland 2.0 legay software access
From Tim Ward <tim@goldengrovenurserydotcodotuk>
Date Sun, 7 Sep 2025 14:31:10 +0100
Newsgroups dbase.getting-started

On 07/09/2025 13:26, David Lane wrote:
> I have been using DBase IV (Borland 2.0) since the early 1990s for a long term animal population monitoring project. The computer I was using for this programme crashed around 2013. The large data file is on floppies and I also still have the original programme files on a set of floppis but am have difficulty re-installing the programme from these floppies onto a another computer.
> Is there a solution to this problem i.e. uploading my own discs or perhaps this legacy software is still available for download from the internet (preferably for free). It's now time to pubish and I still need to use this programm to analysis data from the final survey years.
> Thanks for any advice
>
> Dave
>
>
Hi Dave,
Were you using the dBaseIV directly to manipulate your data or was it
through a program you had written in dBaseIV?
If you're just using dbf tables the good news is that the latest version
of dBase still has most of the same commands that the old dos version
had. It'll cost to purchase but you should easily be able to access your
data.
If it's via your own code in a program and you need to get that running
it should still be possible. There is a product, dBdos, that allows
older dBase dos programs to run - a dos emulator as I understand it. I
don't have any experience with this unfortunately although there is info
on the dBase website and also a dbdos newsgroup.

good luck
Tim