Installing TextPad

carlottagp · Post by **carlottagp** » Sun Jun 13, 2010 12:18 pm

I am trying to install TextPad on a new laptop. My existing computer has directories C:\MASM615 and C:\MASM611. It has been years since I loaded TextPad into this computer, and I don't remember how the MASM611 directory got there, but I copied it into the new computer, since the installation from my CD created only the MASM615 directory. The make16.bat program works, and an .exe file appears, but it won't run. Now I see that I might need a file called runASM.bat, and I don't know how to create it.

Please help.

Mike Olds · Post by **Mike Olds** » Sun Jun 13, 2010 12:35 pm

Installing from a CD? Sounds like you are installing an old version

Unless there is some reason not to, why not uninstall everything, clean up all the miscellaneous TP files that might be lying around, and download the latest version and use that to install.

And suggest you install to a directory set up so:

Program Files/TextPad/TextPad5/

carlottagp · Post by **carlottagp** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 3:03 pm

Thanks for the advice, which I have followed carefully, deleting TextPad itself, plus the two directories mentioned previously, plus the directory in
which all my programs had been placed.

Unfortunately, downloading the latest version as you suggested did not provide a MASM615 directory for me. So, unlike the installation from a CD,
I do not have an array of vital programs such as make16.bat, runCV.bat, and so on. The CD provided six batch programs and twenty .exe programs,
of which, obviously, at least some are absolutely necessary in order to run TextPad.

Do you have some additional advice for me?

Thanks.

Michael

Mike Olds · Post by **Mike Olds** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 3:58 pm

Hello again,

Unless I have missed something, TP does not ship as a CD nor does it ship with these files you mention. There are many TP add-ons usually in the form of macros available from
http://www.textpad.com/add-ons/index.html

Meaning you may have a custom package of some sort.

To begin with try telling us exactly what this CD is called, where you got it, what sort of work you are doing, and other information.

Another thing to try is just copying and pasting the files you need. They must be on this cd you have and since they are not (so I believe) native TP files, they should be ok to just copy and place where they are expected to be found (but ... C:// in the root directory is not a very good place!

ben_josephs · Post by **ben_josephs** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 4:03 pm

TextPad is an editor produced by Helios. MASM is an assembler produced by Microsoft. They have nothing to do with each other.

carlottagp · Post by **carlottagp** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 9:53 pm

Thank you - both of you - for being patient with me. My version of TextPad is TextPad 4.5.0, and it came on a CD with MASM versions 6.11 and "6.15 patch", accompanying the fourth edition of an assembly language textbook prepared by Kip Irvine. I understand that TextPad and MASM have nothing to do with each other. In my first posting I mentioned that MASM615 showed up as a directory when I installed TextPad from this CD. And this directory, as I said, has - I think - most of the essential programs I need, such as make16.bat and runCV.bat and lots of additional material which I may not need. Also MASM.exe, which is presumably necessary when I try to assemble or run a program. Except that the program didn't run, although an .exe file showed up after I ran make16.bat. That's the essence of my problem.

The original installation, from the CD, created the MASM615 directory in the C:\ directory, and so I created my program directory there also. I don't see why this would be an undesirable location for these directories. It has worked perfectly for about five years.

My main interest lies in digital arithmetic, particularly the arithmetic of very large numbers - I'm working with numbers which need 16 hex words to express them - and the distribution of prime numbers among them. And I'm doing this in 16-bit assembly language.

Incidentally, I have TextPad 5 on another CD, but I didn't try to use this one, suspecting that the MASM-related programs would not be available.

Thanks again for your help.

gan · Post by **gan** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 11:48 pm

carlottagp, it seems to me like you got a CD where someone created some sort of custom installer that will not only install an old version of textpad, but also MASM and maybe some other stuff. As far as i understand this CD is not provided by Helios and the problem you got is related to MASM and not textpad.
I'm not sure if this is the correct place to ask for help with MASM since this is a forum for textpad. Also it's hard for anyone to help since no one here seems to be familiar with the contents of the CD and what is installed from the CD. If you have problem with masm.exe or the batch files you mention it's not really related to textpad. I would recommend that you try some forum for masm, google or ask someone that is familiar with the contents of the CD. I don't think anyone in this forum can help you out with the missing runASM.bat or to make masm.exe work.

What do you expect as a result of running make16.bat? Should make16.bat create a .exe file? And what is this .exe file supposed to do?

I assume make16.bat will create a 16 bit executable. If your new computer use a 64 bit OS you will not be able to run 16 bits applications on that computer without some kind of emulator. 64 bits version of Windows support 32 and 64 bits applications only.

Also since the CD contains such an old version of textpad i assume the version of masm on the CD is pretty old as well. The version of masm on the CD might not even be compatible with you current OS even if it's a 32 bits OS. I assume you got Windows 7 on your new computer? You might need a newer version of masm to make it work.

-gan

carlottagp · Post by **carlottagp** » Tue Jun 15, 2010 2:57 pm

Brief update, and some answers to recent questions: Having (laboriously) deleted everything on the MASM615 directory, as recommended, I then created it again and copied to it everything from my original MASM615. Now the normal operation has been restored. Fortunately, as I rather anticipated, the MASM611 directory is not involved in the assembly process.

make16.bat creates a 16-bit .exe file, derived from the program I'm currently working on at the .asm level.

The computer has a 32-bit OS; I made sure with the vendor in advance that it would run 16-bit programs. It happens to be Windows XP.

My programs are obviously not terribly modern or sophisticated, as you would expect from the fact that I'm writing them in 16-bit language; thus I don't need whatever a more up-to-date MASM might provide.

Again, thank you for the help you've given.

Michael

Mike Olds · Post by **Mike Olds** » Tue Jun 15, 2010 3:50 pm

Hello Michael,

Thanks for the followup. Best of luck.