From: Terence on
To avoid the topic sinking into even worse obscurity, I need to
explain I just founf the SAME Windows-tageted menu program source,
compiled in 2002, which executable works perfectly.
(ijust ran through all 60 calls using the menu, and real data)..

The difference, is the CVF compiler was updated on line after 2002,
possibly in 2004 and the same source compiled with this version no
longer works.

So it wasn't the program itself, but possibly something in the
libraries associated with the newer version of the compiler, and then
only related to laoding and executing a child process (because the
main progam executes, but will load Windows editors but not DOS
executables any more.
..
The two compiled version have different byte sizes, the 2002 version
is 299,008, the other later one 314,588 byes. (and the DOS compilation
is only 44,676 bytes!!!).

I compiled each in the two directories where I store working versions
and backups on two diskc drives.
I guess I noted the compiled version wasn't present next to the the
2004 copy and recompiled it.