Fix This Program Cannot Be Run in DOS Mode

Before we begin this article let us clear what a dos actually is.

DOS, stands for Disk Operating System that is running from a hard disk drive. They are operated by a command line interface and allows the users to perform tasks by issuing command to the program through lines of texts.

But sometimes Dos on your computer starts showing an error, like “This program cannot be run in DOS mode.” The errors can be for either for Microsoft or for Mac Books and through this article you can figure out why such an error is occurring and how can you solve these errors.

Though it is not necessary for you to be a computer techy genius in order to solve the program errors, it is necessary for you to know your computer programs through and understand what you are doing. In case you are not sure what you are doing it is better to seek professional help because there are chances that you can cause further problems rather than solving it. So it is necessary to be confident in yourself. Without further ado let us get into why such errors occur in programs and how can you solve such program errors.

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Why such Program Errors Occur?

Errors showing that this program cannot be run in DOS mode may occur because of numerous reasons each having different factors and different solutions. The basic and core reason is that the part of software that is designed to run on DOS mode is not compatible to run with the Windows DOC compatibility software. The working, solutions and how the programs run can be different for both Microsoft and Mac OS because both are two differently designed software’s.

Error on Mac Systems:

Mac systems and programs have a different functioning in comparison to the Windows one and in between these two the error showing that this program cannot be run in DOS mode is often experienced by MAC users more. This may be because when you buy or download a software for your MAC but when you try to run the program it shows you that it is not supported by the DOS mode on your system.

In order to get rid of this problem, it is advised for you to check the extension of the file you have downloaded. If the extension is .dmg then the file’s association to the DiskImageMounter is most probably wrong and you can fix this problem immediately yourself by following a few steps that are given below.

Select the file in finder and then press command – I. Select DiskImageMounter and apply to all in the Open with Section. Now, if you double-click on the file, it should properly mount the disk image with the installer.
The other reason ca be that you may have downloaded the file in .exe extension which is generally for Windows users and not for Mac operating systems. In such a case it is advised to run a Windows program on your Mac from within Boot Camp.

Such problems are not very hard to overcome though they occur on Macs the most it can easily be solved but you need to make sure that you know your computer and systems well enough ad have an idea about what you are doing.

In case you are not MAC user and you have a Windows Operating System do not worry we have got you covered on that one as well. Though this error reading that the program cannot be run in DOS mode is usually in Mac OS in no way does it mean that they cannot occur in Windows OS. They do and in case that happens with you, you just have to read below to know as to why it happened and what you need to do to in order to fix it.

Error On Windows:

To overcome such problems and errors in Windows is not a big deal all you need to do is follow some basic steps. Several solutions occur for solving the error problems on Windows Operating System but the most basic and easiest ones include either changing the settings for MS DOS compatibility mode or booting the computer in DOS mode and another third reason you can find in the end which can be effective if none of these two words.

Changing the settings for MS DOS compatibility mode:

Some versions of Windows make it easier for MS Dos programs to detect programs in DOS mode which can fix the issues that are causing the error.

All you have to do is to first enter the “command” in the Start Menu text box if you have a newer version of Windows. If not, then start off with the next step.
On systems that are using Vista or older versions of Windows, select the Run option in the Start Menu, and then enter “command”.
After you hit Enter a DOS-mode window will appear. Right click on the title bar of the window, and select Properties, followed by the Advanced option. After this a dialog box will appear.
Select the option labeled “Prevent MS-DOS-based programs from detecting Windows” and run the program that generated the error message again.

In case the error does not solve by changing the settings, you can move onto the next step which is by booting your system.

Booting the computer in DOS mode:

If the program that is showing the error is from an older windows version than it is advised to start the computer with the installation disc in the appropriate drive. This will boot up the computer into DOS mode.

In newer versions of windows, boot disks can be created by a simple blank USB drives.

In order to do that download the Rufus software and then start the program and connect a USB drive. Select the inserted drive under the Devices drop-down menu and make sure the “Create a bootable disk using:” option is selected.
Select Free DOS from the drop-down menu, and click on Start. Copy the program that produced the error onto the USB drive as well.
Once the operation is completed, restart your computer with the USB drive inserted.
This will boot the computer into DOS. Find the software using DOS commands such as “cd x”, where “x” is the name of the directory in which the software is located.
Run the software that is giving the error message from the command line. Your problem will have been solved by now hopefully.

These are some tips and tricks which you can use in order to solve problems your system is showing related to DOS. In order to solve such small problems, you do not have to be a computer genius as you can see. All you have to do is be confident in yourself and have a knowhow of your system and that will be enough for you to fix the problem yourself. We hope all these steps were useful for you and at least one of the steps helped you in overcoming your problem. If not the cause is something else and you need to see an expert for that.