Anguilla Library Computer Club
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DOS Lesson #2: Installing ZIP Files

PC software is either for DOS (old) or Windows (new). DOS programs will sometimes run under Windows, but Windows programs will never run under DOS. Many programs are downloaded off the Internet as a single file such as BAGMAN10.ZIP but you must unzip this archive file before you can actually run the program.

Activity: Install the Hangman Game

Since a ZIP file is compressed, you need disk space equal to at least twice its size. Look in c:\lcc for bagman10.zip (what you should type is shown in bold, what the computer responds is in regular print):

     C:\>dir c:\lcc\bagman10.zip
     BAGMAN10.ZIP   15,729    11-14-96 9:38a
          1 file(s)    15,729 bytes        How many free bytes needed?
                    5,670,120 bytes free   Answer: 31,400

Directories. Install the program in its own directory to make it easier to manage. Change to the c:\TEMP directory (make one if necessary), make a directory with your name, and change into it:

     A:\>c:                 Change to the hard drive
     C:\GAMES>cd \          \ is the ROOT directory
     C:\>md \temp           Make TEMP directory, may already exist
     C:\>cd \temp           Change into TEMP directory
     C:\TEMP>md robert      Make your personal directory
     C:\TEMP>cd robert      Change into your directory

PKUNZIP. Use the Pkunzip program to to "unzip" the Bagman ZIP file and reveal its contents. To do so, just type pkunzip and the name of the ZIP file:

     C:\TEMP\ROBERT>pkunzip c:\lcc\bagman10.zip

You should see a list of file names appear, as shown in the top box. Use DIR to list the file names, then use TYPE and MORE to display any README files, plus DOC or TXT files. Look for EXE or COM files, which are programs you can run, such as BAGMAN.EXE. Type the file name without the EXE to run the program.

     C:\TEMP\ROBERT>dir
        BAGMAN   EXE        15,442  02-25-92  1:14p BAGMAN.EXE
        BAGMAN   DOC         2,647  02-25-92  1:29p BAGMAN.DOC
        HARD     BAG         5,798  02-25-92  1:26p HARD.BAG
        EASY     BAG         5,982  02-25-92 12:58p EASY.BAG
     C:\TEMP\ROBERT>type bagman.doc|more     Pauses every screen
     C:\TEMP\ROBERT>bagman                   Run Bagman

Have fun with the Bagman program. Please leave file cleanup to the instructor.

Advanced: Read the "Installation Tips" in the club's lesson index.