Turbo C or Turbo C++ is a MS DOS based IDE for C and C++ languages. MS DOS might be outdated, but this IDE is still in use. Most 0f the schools and colleges in India still teach their students on Turbo C. It is considered to be an easy to use and understand IDE since it is based on Dos. And literally speaking, it is an easy thing to use and start learning programming. I was also taught my first programming language (C++) in Turbo C, and even today, 6years later, I still use Turbo C for writing my codes.

I have this habit of writing each and every code in C++ first and once that code runs successfully, then I convert it into other programming languages. Like for instance, I was building an Android Application, and for the formulas and the rules used in there, I wrote the entire code in C++ first and made sure nothing was wrong. Then, I typed it all in java for my Android Application. Well, that apart, let’s get back to the topic. I told you this short story just because I  wanted to tell you that I still use Turbo C, despite the fact that my Laptop runs on Windows 8. A lot of people ask me how to run Turbo C on their Laptops/ Desktops running Windows 7 or Windows 8 and I have been telling all of them how to do it. So now let’s get you aware with the method as well.

Starting from Windows Vista, Microsoft stopped supporting the Command Prompt applications (Dos applications) to run in full screen mode. But in Windows 7 and Windows 8, they stopped letting you even run the application. To overcome this problem, a group of 4 developers got together and developed an emulator they named DOSBox. This emulator allows you to run all DOS applications on your newer version of Windows, even in full screen. So let’s get started setting it up on your laptop.

Installing DOSBox and Turbo C++

  1. Head over to the DOSBox Website and download DOSBox for your version of Windows.
  2. After the download completes, run the setup and install DOSBox on your computer. Some Windows 8 installations might say that this application is not compatible with Windows 8, but click on Install anyways because it is completely compatible with Windows 8.
  3. Now, head over to the download page to get Turbo C++ by clicking here and download Turbo C++ to your computer.
  4. After the download completes, extract all the contents of the ZIP file into _C:\TC\_. It should look like this after extraction.
  5. Now open up DOSBox from the shortcut on your desktop or from the Start Menu. You should be shown with the following screen.
  6. Type in the following lines one by one and hit Enter/Return after every line.
    mount c: c:\
    c:
    cd tc
    install
  7. Now you should be presented with the setup for Tubro C++. Press Enter to Continue and enter the Drive Source Letter as C and press enter. Leave the next setting as it is and press enter.
  8. Scroll down to Start Installation using arrow keys and press enter.
  9. Now just wait for the installation to finish. After the installation completes, you will be back on the main DOSBox screen. At this stage, close DOSBox by typing in _exit_ or by clicking the cross (X) button on the top.

TIP : If you want to run DOSBox in Full Screen mode, just press ALT+ ENTER (RETURN KEY) at any point of time. You can press these keys to get out of the Full Screen Mode as well.

Starting Up Turbo C++

After you have installed Turbo C++ and DOSBox successfully, you need to start Turbo C++. I am going to tell you a shortcut to make DOSBox run Turbo C++ every time you start it. To do this, just follow these steps.

  1. In the start menu, find the folder that DOSBox just created. Then, click on DOSBox Options to open up a notepad file.
  2. This notepad file defines all the configuration and settings for DOSBox. Scroll down to the very end until you reach to the last line.
  3. After the last line, enter the following lines of code and save the Notepad file.
    mount c: c:\
    c:
    cd tc\bin
    tc
  4. After you save the notepad file, close it and run DOSBox as you had run the first time. This time when you run DOSBox, you should be shown with the following screen. This is your Turbo C++.

I hope my article helped you install Turbo C++ on your computer. If this article helped you, consider sharing it with others, which might help them too. Stay subscribed to Slash Coding via RSS Feeds, Facebook Page or Twitter Account. Feel free to comment about any doubt down below!

Update: 14 December, 2013

As **Yogendra Singh **has pointed out that there is an already configured version of DosBox available at the Turbo C 8 website, it just does the entire process in one step. Head over to the official Turbo C 8 website to know more.