8 Easy Steps to Run Turbo C in Windows Vista

This tutorial is about running a  turboc compiler in windows vista in full screen mode.

i know ! running decade old turbo c compiler in vista doesnt make any sense when you have much advanced compilers.but there are some cases where you have to run turboc on your vista machine,just because your university doesnt use any other advanced compiler other than your grandpa’s compiler “turbo c”.

Here is a neat explanation provided by our reader Saikanth.

Please look at the alternatives for Turbo C++ IDE before reading this post. Continue reading it only if you want to use BGI graphics (consider Allegro Gaming Library if you want an easy to use Graphics solution for C\C++) or for code compatibility for your Textbook. You might consider changing your textbook if your University\College allows for new code. Continue only if you have no other option than using the DOS based Turbo C++ 3.0.

You will want to follow the tutorial if you plan to use Linux, Mac OS, Windows Vista or Windows 7 in but have to use Turbo C++ in full screen environment so you are stuck with Windows XP or older version of Windows.
Installtion Of Dosbox
Dosbox is an x86 emulator with dos. It is available for Linux, Windows and Mac. It can be used to run legacy DOS applications and Games. We will use to run Turbo C++.

Dosbox may be present in the repository if you use Linux. Use your package manager to install dosbox.

Windows and Mac installers\binaries can be found in the official website.

One-Time Setup
Place the installed Turbo C++ or Turbo C++ Setup in a folder. You might want this folder to mount as drive inside the dosbox. For that find the dosbox.conf file and add appropriate lines in the [autoexec] section. For example, if you want to mount a directory MyDosFiles as c:, then you must write the following in the dosbox based on your OS. For Windows (Vista or 7) you will need to add the following lines:
mount c c:\MyDosFiles
if the directory is in c:\
In Linux and Mac, it will be something like:
mount c /home/username/MyDosFiles
if the directory is in /home/username i.e. the home directory.

If you just plan to use Turbo C, you might as well launch the Turbo C++ IDE each time you start dosbox by adding folowing extra lines in dosbox.
c:
cd tc
tc.exe

Here I have assumed that you have installed version of Turbo C++ in the tc directory in MyDosFiles.

Also, you might want to add
fullscreen = true
at the top of the dosbox.conf file to start it in full screen.

Now, you can Launch dosbox and enjoy.

To quit, you will need to quit the IDE and type in exit at the prompt.

Hope this helps. Please post back comments and feedback. Also share if you get stuck somewhere.

if you have any difficulty following above tutorial ,you can follow the tutorial given below or post comments.

Another tutorial:

so i assume you have turbo c compiler in your vista machine.when you double click on tc.exe,you get the message as shown below.

“this system does not support fullscreen mode.choose close to terminate the application”. now if you click ignore you will see a very small screen ,which wont help much in writing programs.

how to run turbo c then?

step 1: go and download dosbox software here. install the downloaded software.

step 2:copy all your turboc files in one folder in c drive.i mean copy all the files in the bgi,include folders,and all other folders into a new folder.you should have all those files under a single folder.

step 4: run dosbox

step 5: at the prompt in dosbox window ,type  “intro mount”

step 6: type mount c c:\tc               ( if “tc” is the nameof folder you copied all files of turbo c)

step 7: type “c:”

step 8: type “dir’ in front of c:\ and type “tc”

that should be all.select ok at the prompts that pop-up .and the next time you start turboc from dosbox ,press alt+enter.

happy programming.!

  • you cant use keyboard shortcuts like ctrl+f9 and others ,you will have to use mouse for that.
  • dont forget to clear the text under options>>directories in turboc before you compile the program.
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47 Comments

  1. ashish
    Posted January 12, 2009 at 1:48 pm | Permalink

    hi,
    thanx for the help but just tell me one thing that, how to start tc from dosbox ?

  2. admin
    Posted January 14, 2009 at 8:11 pm | Permalink

    run dosbox from your desktop or programs.then type “intro mount”.you will get instructions to mount your tc folder.

  3. prashob
    Posted February 18, 2009 at 2:31 am | Permalink

    Is there a way to run a c++ program exe, developed on turbo c on windows xp? normally the “this system does not support fullscreen mode.choose close to terminate the application” error pops up.

  4. admin
    Posted February 18, 2009 at 5:14 am | Permalink

    i dont understand why you are not able to run an exe file on WINDOWS XP developed using turbo c++.i have done it gazallion times .send me the code ,may be i can find what is causing that problem.

  5. ishara
    Posted February 28, 2009 at 6:52 am | Permalink

    i ran turbo c through dos box in windows vista but still it says unable to open include file…i have even changed th dirctory path but still it shows the same error…please suggest something

  6. admin
    Posted March 2, 2009 at 11:33 am | Permalink

    tell me how you changed the directory and to what did u change by typing it below

  7. sten
    Posted March 3, 2009 at 12:48 pm | Permalink

    hey after running DOSBox .72 m unable to type backslash i dune know y?
    ma keyboard is workin fine but …. in this case !!!! help me ot plz thax…

  8. oscar
    Posted March 10, 2009 at 10:52 pm | Permalink

    dosbox does not include include files how do i include them?

  9. admin
    Posted March 11, 2009 at 3:16 am | Permalink

    copy paste all files in the include folder to bin folder.mount the bin folder ,that should work.

  10. Anand
    Posted May 9, 2009 at 1:43 pm | Permalink

    how to type backslash in the dosbox console??

  11. shanthan
    Posted May 11, 2009 at 2:57 pm | Permalink

    thank you iwill try it now

  12. Posted May 18, 2009 at 3:56 am | Permalink

    hey i cannot read/write files in C++ using DOSBOX in Vista

    i mean whenever i run my program,,,,,

    it says …. “…cannot create abc.obj “

  13. Posted June 27, 2009 at 5:29 am | Permalink

    i can type backslash in the dosbox console . How can i do it ?? please answer for me !!!

  14. kanchan sharma
    Posted June 30, 2009 at 7:51 am | Permalink

    I have use the steps as given by you to access the turboc on windows vista( version sp1) but could not be succed. there is not full screen of truboc compiler still now. please help me.
    Thank you.

  15. shiva
    Posted June 30, 2009 at 5:43 pm | Permalink

    thankx for dosbox.
    still i am unable to ren c program. it shows message unable to include cos.obj .
    pl help me . its urgent.

  16. admin
    Posted July 21, 2009 at 12:15 pm | Permalink

    i think you havent cleared the directories under options

  17. pradeep
    Posted August 5, 2009 at 6:11 pm | Permalink

    I have copied and pasted all the files from include to the bin folder, the alt+f9 done successfully, but when i run the program by ctrl+f9, the whole window closed. whats the problem?

  18. admin
    Posted August 5, 2009 at 6:42 pm | Permalink

    did u try compiling using mouse? does it repeat again?

  19. raj
    Posted August 11, 2009 at 12:15 pm | Permalink

    i have tried installing DOS box….but actually can u guys give me an example how to run a “hello world” program ……coz when i try to run “tc” —-its giving a prompt message as windows doesn’t support x64 bit computer some kind of message …..

  20. admin
    Posted August 11, 2009 at 9:22 pm | Permalink

    it has come to my notice that the following tutorial is not sufficient since i see so many requests to clarify things.
    i will put the screen shots by this sunday.
    sorry for the inconvenience.

  21. Nisha
    Posted August 19, 2009 at 4:35 pm | Permalink

    hello sir,
    i followed all steps in sequence ,but i get a problem..
    whenever i try to run (by mouse)it gives error unable to open file COS.OBJ
    plz help me out

  22. Naitik
    Posted August 31, 2009 at 9:29 am | Permalink

    Thanks

  23. Venkat
    Posted September 16, 2009 at 8:11 pm | Permalink

    Hey people…
    the instructions given above is kinda stupid… lemme give you clear instructions
    first copy tc file to c: ….
    open dos box
    then type “intro mount”
    then type “mount c:\tc\bin”
    then type “c:”
    then type “tc.exe”

    your file will open…press alt+enter
    it will enter full screen

  24. krishna
    Posted September 20, 2009 at 8:26 pm | Permalink

    I complied program in turbo C ,the alt+f9 done successfully, but when i run the program by ctrl+f9, he its giving a prompt message “Not an EXE” .
    error is”Building filename\TCDEF,LIB”
    Please help.
    thanks

  25. R saikanth
    Posted October 14, 2009 at 12:37 pm | Permalink

    Hi guys this is sai. I have some steps to run a c program from turboc
    First goto Turboc directory there will be an exe file name Tc.exe. Then open it check for the directories path and as well as the include header files path in options-> directories. then open a c program press alt+f9, if any errors found then resolve it after then press only f9 to make an exe file as well as obj file, after then press ctrl +f9 to output. if an output is not visible then press alt+f5 for out put. If u any one of them having doubts regarding this just mail to me to the given address rsaikanth@yahoo.com or call to me at 9963333297

  26. vasu
    Posted October 29, 2009 at 6:39 pm | Permalink

    hey anybody can compile a “c graphics program” using dosbox please help

  27. Chiranjit
    Posted November 1, 2009 at 11:45 pm | Permalink

    hey after running DOSBox .72 m unable to type backslash i dune know y? ma keyboard is workin fine but …. in this case !!!! help me ot plz thax…plz gve me solution 4 that……

  28. CodeMaster
    Posted November 7, 2009 at 4:33 am | Permalink

    thnks gd post, solved my problems real fast, best method to include all files other then changing directory path to the virtual…………….
    thanks

  29. Gopi krishna
    Posted November 21, 2009 at 12:56 pm | Permalink

    I tried the below commands…
    1. Opened the Dosbox
    2. Intro mount
    3. mount c c:\tc\bin
    4. c:
    5. tc.exe

    It opened the program but i when i try to compile.. it is giving the message saying that “unable to include stdio.h.
    Hence i am unable ot urn it

  30. Rahil
    Posted November 22, 2009 at 11:45 am | Permalink

    Hi my OS is vista i am able to write in C: but not ‘\’ this sign…..then i discovered it could be done with combination of ‘ctrl+}’ but it goes on next line directly pls help….n if i give it as

    c:\
    tc

    it shows error ..help me…..
    rahil_lakhani8@yahoo.com

  31. pradeep
    Posted December 10, 2009 at 3:44 am | Permalink
  32. VProgrammer
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 12:43 am | Permalink

    Hello Organizer.

    I have done every thing to run a programme.
    They were running absalutely fine until i used
    they compiled , they run, but didnt showed me the output of the figure.

    I Hav windows Vista OS.& m using dosbox 2 run my programms.

    I would b thankful for ur reply.

  33. VProgrammer
    Posted January 14, 2010 at 12:44 am | Permalink

    graphis.h

  34. KINNA
    Posted January 23, 2010 at 4:20 pm | Permalink

    THANK GOD…..
    THANK U SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH………….

  35. shimaz
    Posted February 1, 2010 at 1:11 pm | Permalink

    now i can use turbo c in full screen mode, bt now the problem is i cn’t use important symbols eg. ( “, { ,}).. wat should i do now??

  36. ZOeb
    Posted February 5, 2010 at 5:02 am | Permalink

    hey admin, can u tell me how to run Turbo C on Windows 7 (64bit)
    the error msg is…
    “The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you’re running. Check your computer’s system infomation to see whether you need an x86 (32-bit)or x86 (64-bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher”
    plz do reply….
    thx

  37. Saikanth
    Posted February 19, 2010 at 10:31 am | Permalink

    Please look at the alternatives for Turbo C++ IDE before reading this post. Continue reading it only if you want to use BGI graphics (consider Allegro Gaming Library if you want an easy to use Graphics solution for C\C++) or for code compatibility for your Textbook. You might consider changing your textbook if your University\College allows for new code. Continue only if you have no other option than using the DOS based Turbo C++ 3.0.

    You will want to follow the tutorial if you plan to use Linux, Mac OS, Windows Vista or Windows 7 in but have to use Turbo C++ in full screen environment so you are stuck with Windows XP or older version of Windows.
    Installtion Of Dosbox
    Dosbox is an x86 emulator with dos. It is available for Linux, Windows and Mac. It can be used to run legacy DOS applications and Games. We will use to run Turbo C++.

    Dosbox may be present in the repository if you use Linux. Use your package manager to install dosbox.

    Windows and Mac installers\binaries can be found in the official website.

    One-Time Setup
    Place the installed Turbo C++ or Turbo C++ Setup in a folder. You might want this folder to mount as drive inside the dosbox. For that find the dosbox.conf file and add appropriate lines in the [autoexec] section. For example, if you want to mount a directory MyDosFiles as c:, then you must write the following in the dosbox based on your OS. For Windows (Vista or 7) you will need to add the following lines:
    mount c c:\MyDosFiles
    if the directory is in c:\
    In Linux and Mac, it will be something like:
    mount c /home/username/MyDosFiles
    if the directory is in /home/username i.e. the home directory.

    If you just plan to use Turbo C, you might as well launch the Turbo C++ IDE each time you start dosbox by adding folowing extra lines in dosbox.
    c:
    cd tc
    tc.exe

    Here I have assumed that you have installed version of Turbo C++ in the tc directory in MyDosFiles.

    Also, you might want to add
    fullscreen = true
    at the top of the dosbox.conf file to start it in full screen.

    Now, you can Launch dosbox and enjoy.

    To quit, you will need to quit the IDE and type in exit at the prompt.

    Hope this helps. Please post back comments and feedback. Also share if you get stuck somewhere.

  38. admin
    Posted February 19, 2010 at 1:32 pm | Permalink

    Thank you very much for your valuable input Mr.Saikanth.I hope your tutorial will solve all the un-answered queries.

  39. greatcoder
    Posted February 25, 2010 at 5:55 pm | Permalink

    hi sir,
    i have installed dosbox and mounted drives.
    when I compile a graphics program in ‘c’ it compiles successfully.
    but when I run it,it displays BGI ERROR: GRAPHICS NOT INITIALISED (use initgraph).
    but i have used initgraph in the program…..
    plz tell me what to do,,,,,,

  40. greatcoder
    Posted February 25, 2010 at 5:56 pm | Permalink

    i am using turbo c compiler.

  41. neha
    Posted March 9, 2010 at 8:07 pm | Permalink

    hey i have installed the dosbox after running th command “intro mount” for the next command am not being able to type “:” as well as “\” , i am using windows 7 what shud i do plz suggest?

  42. ashish
    Posted March 12, 2010 at 8:44 pm | Permalink

    i was able to use c and graphics.h

  43. shruti
    Posted March 16, 2010 at 12:21 pm | Permalink

    i have installed dosbox and mounted drives.
    when I compile a graphics program in ‘c’ it compiles successfully.
    but when I run it,it displays BGI ERROR: GRAPHICS NOT INITIALISED (use initgraph).
    but i have used initgraph in the program…..
    plzz do reply soon

  44. dheeraj
    Posted March 22, 2010 at 7:03 pm | Permalink

    hey! thanx a very good post,
    just dont forget to add each and every file that ur source file is using(files in include directory or graphic files) in bgi directory in bin folder.
    m sure this will help u too.

  45. Prude_boy
    Posted March 31, 2010 at 8:15 am | Permalink

    Hello friends, well I use TC++ in Vista(without Dosbox).By changing the properties,I managed to get it full-screen, but still there is a fatal error.Even when I type my program ditto from the textbook, I get this error-Unable to open file ‘iostream.h’and about other header files.2nd error is about the compiler not being able to create the.obj file.
    Now a friend of mine suggested that I go to Options/directories and change the Path name of the include,source,output and library files, but I don’t know what exactly to specify and how.Please suggest some tips to help me.
    By the way, my TC++ applicatons path is :’C:TC’.I will be very very thankful if u help me friends.
    You know I am a real duffer and I suppose its a good thing to help those less blessed than us.

  46. pukhraj tonk raj
    Posted April 5, 2010 at 7:35 pm | Permalink

    very very thanks to admin ,,it is da simple way to run c++,by using the given tutorial ,
    any one can enjoy there practice wid help of it.so persons who are facing such type of problems please please please follow the instruction ,and you will enjoy further

  47. mahesh rajput
    Posted April 14, 2010 at 10:07 am | Permalink

    Hello,
    I want know how to istall tc in window xp operating system. give best me solution

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