I have a Tandy 1000 SX with MSDOS 4.01 loaded on it to support an external 2GB SCSI drive. I've tried extracting what looks like a keyboard driver (driver.sys) from the disk images of Tandy DOS for the 1000SX, but the when I try to load the driver, it complains about an invalid keyboard definition. Is there a keyboard driver I can load to properly map the Tandy keyboard in DOS 4.01 or would I have to downgrade to Tandy DOS 3.3 and be stuck with a bunch of 20MB partitions?
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Tandy 1000 SX - Keyboard driver for Microsoft DOS?
- Thread starter raifield
- Start date
Agent Orange
Veteran Member
DRIVER.SYS is not a keyboard driver. It is normally used in association with floppy drives. The 1000SX does not require that you "map" the keyboard. I would suggest thay you do not attemp to mix files of different DOS versions. The 1000SX originally came with MS-DOS 3.20.00. MS-DOS 4.01 was an attempt to fix the bugs in MS-DOS 4.0. You may want to try MS-DOS 6.2. I currently run 6.2 on my 1000SX with a SCSI HD and without any problems, including the keyboard. Which brings me to ask this. Are you using the Tandy 1000SX keyboard or something else?
deathshadow
Veteran Member
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- Jan 4, 2011
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that's what I was wondering -- just because it's a 5 pin din doesn't mean a AT or even XT keyboard will work on a tandy.
There's really no reason to need to 'remap' or use a driver, so something else must be really screwy... NOT that I'd EVER use DOS 4 on ANYTHING. I'd sooner use 2.1 than 4... though Agent Orange is right, get yourself a copy of DOS 6 on that. DOS 5 at the very least.
geoffm3
Veteran Member
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the older versions of MS-DOS better if you have a memory limited machine like the SX (provided you can stand the 32MB partition limitation)? You really only get the benefit of the ability to save space in conventional memory if you have RAM beyond 640kB to take advantage of high memory (at least as far as DOS 5.0+ is concerned)...Seems like 4.01 was a bit of a porker (hence DOS 5.0). Someone else probably has a better picture than I do. 
I think 2.11 was supposed to be the "best" as far as RAM usage goes.
I think 2.11 was supposed to be the "best" as far as RAM usage goes.
Chromedome45
Veteran Member
Great Hierophant
Veteran Member
Memory requirements rarely decease with later versions of an OS compared to earlier versions. HMA usage was pretty much a feature we associate with later DOS versions (4.0 to 6.22). 2.11 is better as far as RAM usage goes, but the SX came with 3.2. Most people cannot stand the 32MB partition limitations of DOS 3.3. Tandy DOS 3.2 supported up to four 32MB partitions but via a nonstandard method that required loading a device driver.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the older versions of MS-DOS better if you have a memory limited machine like the SX (provided you can stand the 32MB partition limitation)? You really only get the benefit of the ability to save space in conventional memory if you have RAM beyond 640kB to take advantage of high memory (at least as far as DOS 5.0+ is concerned)...Seems like 4.01 was a bit of a porker (hence DOS 5.0). Someone else probably has a better picture than I do.
I think 2.11 was supposed to be the "best" as far as RAM usage goes.
Chuck(G)
25k Member
The problem with using older versions of DOS is that there were major changes in the system API periodically, so you may run into applications that will not run on 2.11. DOS 3.0 was a major upgrade, and I'd probably pick something like 3.2, 3.3 or 3.31 as a better choice. Still small, but more or less fully functional for later programs.
geoffm3
Veteran Member
That's kind of what I was thinking. I've been meaning to try out a copy of 3.x on the 1000HX I have to see if it works a little better with some programs I've run into problems with.
That is the keyboard I have. Found it in the dumpster alongside the Tandy. Running "KEYB US,,C:\KEYCNVRT.SYS" still gives me the error about missing a keyboard definition file and loading the keycnvrt.sys file as a device driver does nothing.
I took an imaged Tandy 1000SX DOS disk and booted off of that and the keyboard works correctly, but I can't find anything on the disk to suggest that it is loading a specific file. I feel like this is an obvious issue that I'm just not understanding.
In DOS 4.01 (which I installed because it was the only version I have on 5.25 disks), some of the keys don't map correctly. For example, the "7" number pad key should also double as a backslash key, but it doesn't in MSDOS. Instead, the number pad's period key gives me a backslash. There are several oddities such as that. I've been picking and choosing the Tandy-specific utilities off of the disk images, like Tandy GWBASIC, but this keyboard thing is really driving me up a wall.
Agent Orange
Veteran Member
The keyboard program for the 1000SX is in the ROM BIOS. "KEYB US" & KEYCNVRT,SYS" are not directly supported in Tandy MS-DOS 3.2. The only keyboard program supported by Tandy MS-DOS 3.2 is "KEYTxx". This program lets you replace the resident ROM BIOS programs and offers you the choice of 4 foriegn languages as well as United Kingdom. It does not map "key strokes" but offers what ever accents are needed for its supported foriegn languages. You should not have to load any keyboard programs unless you looking for some special effect characters. If you have the keyboard that Chromedome45 posted and it still does work properly, there's a good chance that it is damaged - might be why it was in the dumpster. You stated that the keyboard worked from your image disk. I think you've discovered a compatibility issue between your 1000SX and DOS 4.01.
Well, it was a recycling center dumpster, with a CM-11 monitor and the Tandy MMS speaker system. But yeah, the keyboard is simply not 100% compatible with MSDOS 4.01. I'd go with Tandy DOS, but it seems a waste of a 2GB hard drive. There is a 20MB hardcard on eBay, but at $150, I have to pass. Oh well. Thanks for the help!
Agent Orange
Veteran Member
2GB is a lot of real estate for a Tandy 1000. I can get just about all of my Tandy software, games, apps, etc., on 2GB. Why not get it up and running and then worry about expansion? Good luck!