How to Install POLARIS on a

Windows 10 PC

Introduction.............................................................................................................................1
Assumed Experience...........................................................................................................1
Supplies...............................................................................................................................2
The Strategy We Shall Use - Virtual Machines..................................................................2
The Steps in the Procedure - Overview..............................................................................2
Step 1 Download & Prepare the POLARIS installation files................................................3
Step 2 Prepare a Windows XP Installation Disk...................................................................3
2.1 Obtain a Windows XP ISO File...................................................................................3
2.2 Burn an Installation Disk from the ISO.......................................................................4
2.3 Obtain a List of Windows XP Product Keys...............................................................4
Step 3 Download and Install Oracle's VM VirtualBox..........................................................5
Step 4 Creating a Virtual Machine Running Windows XP...................................................6
4.1 Creating Your First Virtual Machine...........................................................................6
4.2 Installation of Windows XP on the Virtual Machine...................................................7
Step 5 Installing Polaris on the Windows XP VM................................................................9
5.1 Creating an ad-hoc.viso file.........................................................................................9
5.2 Installing POLARIS on the VM................................................................................11

The web links & references, prices, etc., were correct at the time of writing this document -
October 2019. If they no longer work, then use Google to find the equivalent current
versions.

Introduction
This document walks you through the steps of how to install the program POLARIS on a PC
running the Windows 10 operating system. [With minor modifications the procedure would
work on a PC running Windows 8.]

Assumed Experience

I assume that you have the following experience:

 general use of a PC running Windows 10;
 use of the Windows Explorer (or other file manager);
 some experience of installing software on Windows 10;
 using Google, or similar web browser, and downloading files.
If you are not confident in these, may I suggest you find a friend who is and obtain their help?

Supplies

Apart from items you will download from the web, you will need the following:

1. the POLARIS installation files, which you probably already have from Isaac
Starkman;
2. a blank CDROM - it doesn't need a large capacity; any of the following types would
work: CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW.
You only need one of these and you may be able to obtain it from a friend who is into
computing and has some old, left-over spares (they're not much used nowadays).

If you have to purchase them, I found a pack of 10 on amazon.co.uk for £3.20 (about
USD $4.20), or try your local pound shop, supermarket or stationers. (Unfortunately
they are not sold singly so you'll have to get a pack; usually 10 is the minimum

Figure 1 A CD-R
quantity.)

The Strategy We Shall Use - Virtual Machines

POLARIS was written to run on an old Windows operating system called Windows XP,
which was introduced by Microsoft in the autumn of 2001 - it won't work on Windows 10.
So how are we going to accomplish this?
We will use what is called a virtual machine. This is via software (VirtualBox) which can
provide a special environment on your Windows 10 PC (the host) which can run the Windows
XP operating system - just as we could do on the old PCs back in 2001!
This special environment is called a virtual machine (or VM for short) and the one we will
create behaves just like Windows XP. So we can run a program in it which thinks that it is
running on Windows XP.
How is this possible? Well, the sort of PC we used back in 2001 was so primitive and low-
powered compared to today's machines running Windows 10 that the latter have the
computing power to simulate a computer running,
Typical PC Specifications for 2002
say, Windows XP. They do this in a special
 Pentium III or IV (2.66 GHz); environment called a virtual machine, run on
 512 MB of RAM (i.e. half a software. And, by the way, they probably still
gigabyte of DDR RAM); have a lot of processing capacity left over so you
 80 GB hard disk (IDE). can do other things in Windows 10 whilst your
virtual machine is operating!

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[If you find this hard to believe, compare the specifications of you current PC with those in
the box.]
There are several brands of software that will create and manage virtual machines, this
document describes using a free version called VirtualBox made by Oracle.

The Steps in the Procedure - Overview

The following is the procedure we shall use:

1. Download and prepare the POLARIS installation files on the computer running
Windows 10 (the host machine);
2. Download and prepare a Windows XP installation disk;
3. Download and install Oracle's VirtualBox;
4. Inside VirtualBox, create a virtual machine running Windows XP;
5. Install the program POLARIS on this virtual machine.

Steps 1, 2 & 3 can be done in any order.

Step 1 Download & Prepare the POLARIS installation files.

I obtained these from Isaac Starkman - he very kindly sent me three zip files via WeTransfer.
After un-zipping, one of the folders created contained just two files, POLMAIN.EXE and the
manual as a Word document.
The other two folders contained the remaining installation files. I'm going to suggest that you
copy these files into a new folder - call it Polaris Installation Files - or something like that;
make a note of where you have located in on your computer.
The folder containing POLMAIN.EXE and the manual should be copied into this Polaris
Installation Files folder, but keep it separate as a sub-folder.
This new folder you've made contains all the files you'll need to install POLARIS.

Step 2 Prepare a Windows XP Installation Disk

(I am assuming that you don't have an old Windows XP installation disk available - if you do,
you can use that and skip this step.)
Windows XP is so old now that Microsoft virtually makes it freely available. They even have
a special setup called Windows XP Mode which allows you create a virtual machine for
Windows XP. As I had some problems using this, I'm going to suggest a different approach.

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2.1 Obtain a Windows XP ISO File

Using Google (or your favourite search engine) find a web site from which you can download
an ISO image of the Windows XP installation disk.
I searched under: "windows xp iso 32 bit" and found the following web site:
https://archive.org/details/WinXPProSP3x86 from which I downloaded
the installation file for
Windows XP Professional SP3 x86.
This file is what's called an ISO image - a file specially prepared for
burning onto a CDROM in order to create a functioning CD. It's quite
large - 590 MB - and called:
en_windows_xp_professional_with_service_pack_3_x86_cd_vl_x14-73974.iso

2.2 Burn an Installation Disk from the ISO

You must now create a functioning installation disk from the file that you have just
downloaded.
This can be a bit of a problem as the native Windows 10 doesn't contain a readily-accessible
isoburner. On your particular computer you may well have some software preloaded that will
do this. For example, on my PC, when I right click the ISO file I can see an option called
Burn with Wondershare Video Converter. (Wondershare is a piece of software I have
purchased and installed.) If this is the case, just put your blank CDROM in the optical drive,
right click the ISO file and select the burning option, with "Verify disc after burning" selected.
The whole process usually takes around 10 - 20 minutes.

Figure 2 Windows 10 Isoburner

If you don't see any such option then life is a little more complicated. There is an isoburner in
Windows 10, but it is well hidden. Do the following:
 put your CDROM in the optical drive;
 find the ISO file you downloaded in Windows Explorer and right-click on it;
 Select "Open with" (NB. not "Open" but "Open with");
 scroll down to the last option on the list, "Choose another app" and click on that;
 scroll down to the bottom of that list until you see "More apps" and click on that;

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  scroll down to the bottom of that list and click on "Look for another app on this PC"
and click on that;
 in the dialogue box that opens, navigate your way to: c:\windows\system32
 select the file isoburn.exe, then click on the "Open" burtton;
 It can take a little while for the isoburner window to start (90 secs on my PC) (see
Figure 2), so be patient! Also, this window opened underneath a load of other
windows I had open, so probably best to minimise these whilst you're waiting;
 check "Verify disc after burning" then click on "Burn".
When the process finishes (10 - 20 minutes) you will have a Windows XP installation disk.

2.3 Obtain a List of Windows XP Product Keys

When you install Windows XP (or most other Microsoft software, for that matter), you will
be asked for a product key. This was supplied with your software installation media and you
had to type it in correctly to prove that you have a valid copy of the software.
For Windows XP, you will find many web sites that contain suggested product keys. Just
Google "windows xp product key" and you'll see what I mean.
Make sure you use a product key for the exact version of Windows XP whose ISO you
downloaded. I.e. above I used the Windows XP version called Professional SP3. So I needed
a product key for Windows XP Professional SP3 and not any other version of Windows XP.
Most of these website provide a list of a
CDWVP-GBJRG-PDJRG-Y6CMB-HCGG3 dozen or so keys for you to try. I never
4X7WM-GTH3D-DWVCV-H382J-HPMRD had to input more than three before I
found one that worked.
C34VY-TJYXD-3BG2V-HYX8T-76CY6
For the Windows XP Professional SP3, I
TWHCC-DC33F-G4JJP-BTR2B-RKRYT obtained the following list from:
CRBH4-MXB2P-HP7V6-8YTMD-CBHJR https://windowsproductkey.net/windows-
BMYY7-WH8QJ-6MTWG-MXXVQ-MD97B xp-product-key-for-free-2019/
G2JMP-2PC7G-RYBYX-PPF38-3KKTY
You just need to obtain an appropriate set
HBJFW-XJ7K3-34JDX-VPPTW-227G6 of keys and keep trying them until you
YXF2Y-QRRKR-BFKVQ-RHQ7H-DJPKD find one that works.
VQD7P-3KK7H-M7VV2-CTXM4-MC7FW
3D2W3-8DJM6-YKQRB-B2XDB-TVQHF
RXKFJ-67HBV-84TD2-RMDK8-9BDMT

Step 3 Download and Install Oracle's VM VirtualBox

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As of October 2019, the current version of Oracle's VM VirtualBox is version 6.0.12 (all the
screenshots below will use this version). It can be downloaded from:
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
Look for the section at the top of that page titled VirtualBox 6.0.12 platform packages and
click on "Windows hosts". This starts the download of the VirtuaBox installation software:
VirtualBox-6.0.12-133076-Win.exe (162 MB).
[On this page a little lower down there is reference to the User Manual. Though I will be
giving you full instructions in this guide, if you want to read more about VirtualBox, see:
https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch01.html#intro-installing
For the full manual: https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ ]

Install VirtualBox on your Windows10 PC by double clicking on this file. (I accepted all the
default installation options and it worked fine.)

You should end up with a window that looks as Figure 3. The gray column on the left hand
side under the blue bar is empty as we have not yet created any virtual machines.

Figure 3 Oracle's VM VirtualBox Manager with no virtual machines installed yet

Step 4 Creating a Virtual Machine Running Windows XP

4.1 Creating Your First Virtual Machine

Click on the "New" icon (top middle); you should get a dialogue box like Figure 4.

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 Figure 4 Creating a new virtual machine
I named the virtual machine WindowsXP (as this is the operating system I shall install)
Type: Microsoft Windows
Version: Windows XP (32-bit)
Click on New.
For the next few screens I accepted all the defaults suggested:
 Memory Size: 192 MB;
 Create a virtual hard disk now: click button for VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image);
 Storage on physical hard disk: 10.00 GB.
This results in the creation of a new virtual machine and your screen should appear as Figure
5 below.

Figure 5 Newly created virtual machine (Windows XP not installed yet)

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 4.2 Installation of Windows XP on the Virtual Machine

Take a look at the screen of the VM you just created. In the left hand column you will see it
named as WindowsXP, and currently it is powered off.
On the right hand side there is a list of the various properties of this VM. The one we shall be
interested in is the fourth item on this list titled Storage. This lists the storage available to this
VM:
Controller: IDE
IDE Primary Master: WindowsXP.vdi (Normal, 10.00 GB) ....... this is virtual disk image
you created above, equivalent to the hard drive of the VM
IDE Secondary Master: [Optical Drive] Empty ....... we shall be working with this option.

Insert the Windows XP installation disk you prepared above in your optical drive.
Then click on [Optical Drive] Empty (it turns blue) and select your optical drive from the
drop-down list offered (in my case this was Host Drive E:).
Now your VM has access to the physical optical drive on your host PC.
Now double click on WindowsXP VM on the left hand side of the screen (coloured blue) to
start the VM.
A new window appears - this is you virtual machine (VM). After a few introductory screens
you should see the following blue Windows Setup screen, Figure 6 (that should be familiar to
anyone who ever istalled Windows XP!)

You may see a number of messages at the top of the VM window concerning mouse capture.
youisifbecause
This you have
youever installed
are running Windows
two XP on a PC before!)
systems simultaneously - your host PC and Windows XP inside
the virtual machine. So when you want your mouse pointer and its actions to move from the VM to
the host PC screen, you need to press the appropriate key - which in my case was the right CTRL key.
Use this again to place the mouse pointer inside the VM box.

Figure 6 Starting Windows XP Setup on the VM

Now press enter to Continue and you should go to the License Agreement screen. Press F8 to
accept (or [Fn+F8] on your laptop, or whatever combination of keys you need for F8).

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This takes you to the Windows XP Professional Setup screen - see Figure 7.

Figure 7 Windows XP Professional Setup screen

I accepted the suggestion and pressed Enter to proceed. On the next screen I accepted the
default "Format the Partition using the NTFS file system" by pressing Enter. In the VM you
will now see that the virtual disk is being formatted.
Windows XP installation now proceeds for some time - you need to input appropriate
information, e.g. you current Regional & Language options, keyboard layout options,
personal information, etc.
You are now asked to type in your Product Key - see section 2.3 above. (This time, the
second one on the list worked for me.) I entered a suitable administrator password and on the
next screen set the time zone.
The installation now continues: I accepted Typical Settings and the Workgroup options.
Installation continues and in all it took about 20 minutes on my desktop PC.
At the end of this, you should see the Windows XP start-up screen, Figure 8.

Figure 8 Windows XP Start-up Screen

You are now taken through a series of screens asking for various info:
 Help Protect Your PC - I selected Not Right Now;
 I said this computer will not be connected directly to the internet (though, of course,

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 your host PC is connected);
 I choose not to register at this time, and entered my name; click on Finish and you
should end up with Windows XP running inside your VM - see Figure 9.

Figure 9 Windows XP running in the VM

This completes Step 4 - you now have a VM that runs Windows XP and you are ready to
install POLARIS.

Step 5 Installing Polaris on the Windows XP VM

5.1 Creating an ad-hoc.viso file

So you now have your VM ready to go ... but how will you access the POLARIS installation
files you prepared in Step 1?
Luckily you can do this without having to burn them to a physical CDROM.
We are going to use the optical drive facilities of the VM , just as we did in step 4.2 above,
see Figure 5. Go back into the Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager window and locate the IDE
Secondary Master section (on the right
hand side). You should find that it is
still set to your host PC's optical drive
(from which we installed Windows
XP).
But this is not the only option: we are
going to create what's called an ad-hoc
virtual ISO file (ad-hoc.viso).
Click on the Optical Drive [Host Drive
X:] label (it turns blue) and a drop-
down list appears; select the second
option of the list, Create an ad-hoc
VISO. You should now get a dialogue
box opening similar to Figure 10

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Figure 10 Creating a ad-hoc VISO file

 below.
 use the Host file system box on the left hand side and navigate your way to the folder
where you stored the POLARIS installation files, you will see the contents of the
folder selected in the larger box to the right of this;
 click on the first file on your list (probably ARJ.EXE), then scroll to the last entry
(possibly the sub-folder where you stored POLMAIN.EXE), press CTRL + SHIFT
(both keys on the keyboard simultaneously) and you should see the whole list turn
blue as it is now selected.
 to the top right of this box you will see a small right-facing arrow head that has tuned
blue;
if
you
move
your

Figure 11 The ad-hoc.viso file you created

mouse over it you will see the message "Add selected file objects to ISO"
 click on that arrow head and you should see something like Figure 11.
The lower half of the screen shows the VISO contents and the files involved (including the
sub-folder where you stored POLMAIN.EXE).

This ad-hoc.viso file will be readable from within your Windows XP virtual machine.
(This is one way to access files on your host PC so that they are readable in a VM.)

5.2 Installing POLARIS on the VM

From the screen shown in Figure 11, press the OK button. You should now see the IDE
Secondary Master section read as: [Optical Drive] ad-hoc.viso (0 B) or something like that.
Move your mouse pointer from the Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager window back into the
VM.
 Click on the Start button (bottom left hand side);

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  in the column on the right, click on My Computer. You should see a screen like
Figure 12.
Note how the label of the
CDROM icon now reads
ad-hoc.viso (D:).
That is, when you double
click on this CDROM
drive, you will be taken
to the files you added to
the ad-hoc.viso in step
5.1.
Double click on the
CDROM icon now. You
should see the folder
containing the POLARIS
installation files.
To install POLARIS,
double click on the
SETUP file [N.B. not the
SETUP.LIST file (size 1
Figure 12 My Computer from the VM KB) but the SETUP
executable file, size 14.9
KB].
You should see POLARIS installation start immediately.
Accept Install to C:\POLARIS (i.e. the C: drive on your VM).
Press Continue and within a few seconds the installation is complete!
Click OK, and minimise the close the POLARIS folder which has just appeared (containing
the POLMAIN icon).
Still within the ad.hoc.viso file on the D: drive, navigate to the sub-folder, right click on the
POLMAIN file and select Copy. Your screen should look like Figure 13.
(We are now going to replace the POLMAIN.EXE file in the C:\POLARIS folder with this
POLMIN.EXE version.)
Figure 13 The location of the alternative POLMAIN file

Click the up-folder arrow on the icon bar which I show in Figure 13; do this twice and it will
take you back to the state shown in Figure 12.
Double click on the Local Disk (C:) icon, click on Show the contents of this folder, and
navigate you way into the folder C:\POLARIS. Right click and Paste - Yes you do want to
replace the existing file 733 KB with the one that is only 712 KB.*
Up-folder
arrow

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Double left click on the new POLMAIN file and you should see POLARIS start.
Mission accomplished!
You now have a Windows XP program, POLARIS, running in a virtual machine, on
your host computer that's running Windows 10.

When you have finished using POLARIS and you want to close down the virtual machine,
click on Start (bottom left hand corner), click on the red button, Turn Off Computer, confirm
Turn Off, and you should see Windows XP logging off and shutting down.
In the Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager window, you should now see that virtual machine,
WindowsXP, is powered off, and you can close the manager.

[* The reason for this switching of files - for those of you interested - is that the original
POLARIS program was designed to use a USB key dongle. This was a USB stick that you
had to insert into the PC's USB port before you started POLARIS. When you started the
program, it checked for the presence of this USB key. This verified that you have a valid
license to run POLARIS - a bit of a palaver, but this is the sort of security measure we had to
put up with in 2002!
The smaller POLMAIN file which you over-wrote the original one with, is a version of
POLARIS that works without this USB key dongle.]

So you are now ready to use POLARIS - see the excellent POLARIS 1.1 manual that Isaac
Starkman supplies for full info on how to use the program.

My Experience of Using this Procedure

Having obtained the files from Isaac Starkman, I used this procedure to install POLARIS on
several laptop PCs (both HP and Dell).

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I was unable to get it to work on desktop PCs running Windows 10 - not sure why this is.

Andrew Khabaza
October 2019
London UK

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