Downloading and Installing Borland C++ Compiler 5.5

Woman on a PC

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Before you Install

You will need a PC running Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 or XP Service Pack 2. Windows Server 2003 may run it but it hasn't been tested.

Download Link

You may also be required to register with Embarcadero to get a registration key. This is part of the download process. After registering, the key is emailed to you as a text file attachment. It has to be placed in C:\Documents and Settings\<username> where username is your login username. My login name is david so the path is C:\Documents and Settings\david.

The main download is 399 MB but you will probably need the prerequisites file prereqs.zip as well and that is 234 MB. It contains various system file installs which have to be run before the main install can take place. You can install individual items from the screen shown above instead of downloading prereqs.zip.

Begin Installing

When you have installed the prerequisites, click the Install button to launch the Borland Menu application.

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How to Install Borland C++ Compiler 5.5

You should now see the Menu page shown. Click the first menu Install Borland Turbo C++. After the installation, you'll return to this screen and can install Borland's database Interbase 7.5 if you wish.

Note these instructions may differ somewhat now that Embarcadero bought Borland's developer tools.

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Running the Borland C++ Compiler 5.5 Install Wizard

There are ten individual steps to this wizard but several of them like this first one are just informative. All have a Back button so if you make a wrong choice, just click it until you get back to the right page and change it.

  1. Click the Next > button and you will see the License Agreement. Click the "I accept..." radio button and then the Next > button.
  2. On the next screen, the User Name should be populated. You don't need to enter a name for Organization but can do so if you want. Click the Next > button.
  3. On the Custom Setup form, I left everything to the default, which will require 790Mb of disk space. Click the Next > button.
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Choosing the Destination Folders

Destination Folder

On this screen, you may have to take action. If you have any existing Borland products on your PC like Delphi then click the Change... button for Shared Files and modify the path slightly as I have done. I changed the last part of the path from Borland Shared to Borland Shared ​etc.

Normally it's safe to share this folder between different versions but I'd stored extra icons in there and didn't want to risk the folder being overwritten. Click the Next > button.

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Change Microsoft Office Controls and Run the Installation

If you have Microsoft Office 2000 or Office XP, you can choose which set of controls you want according to the version. If you don't have either just ignore this. Click the Next > button.

On the Update File Associations screen, leave everything ticked unless you prefer another application, e.g. Visual C++ to retain the association. Associations are how Windows knows which application to use to open a particular file type when you open a file type from Windows Explorer. Click the Next > button.

The last step is informational and should be like the picture above. If you wish, you can review your choices by pressing < Back a few times, change any decisions you've made then click Next > to return to this page. Click the Install button to begin installing. It will take 3 to 5 minutes depending on your PC's speed.

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Finishing the Installation

After the installation has completed, you should see this screen. Click the Finish button and return to the Borland Menu.

Exit the Borland Menu screen and close the prerequisites page. You are now ready to start Turbo C++. But first, you may need to check your License if you've ever had any Borland development Studio product (Delphi, Turbo C# etc) on your PC. If not you can skip the next page and jump directly to Running Turbo C++ for the first time.

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Learn About Managing Licences for Borland Developer Studio

I'd had a version of Borland Developer Studio on my pc before and had forgotten to remove the license and install the new one. D'oh. That's why I got "You are not licensed to run" type messages.

Worse though was the fact that I could open Borland C++, but loading projects gave an Access Violation Error. If you get this then you need to run the License Manager and import your new license. Run the License Manager from the Borland Developer Studio/Tools/license Manager menu. Click License then import and browse to where the License Text file was saved out.

If you still get problems, disable all licenses (you can re-enable them later) and re-import your emailed license.

You should then see your license and be able to run Turbo C++.

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Learn How to Run Borland C++ Compiler 5.5 and Compile a Sample Application

Now run Borland C++ from the Windows Menu. You'll find it under Borland Developer Studio 2006/Turbo C++.

If you get a message saying You are not licensed to use Borland C#Builder click ok, close Turbo C++ and learn about licenses.

Change the Layout

By default, all panels are fixed in the desktop. If you prefer a more traditional layout where the panels are all undocked and free-floating, click the View/Desktops/Classic Undocked menu. You can position the undocked panels to your liking then click the menu options View/Desktops/Save Desktop to save this desktop.

Compile The Demo Application

From the File/Open Project Menu browse to C:\Program Files\Borland\BDS\4.0\Demos\CPP\Apps\Canvas and select canvas.bdsproj.

Click the Green arrow (just below Component on the menu and it will compile, link, and run. You should see the image above slowly animating.

This completes this tutorial.

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Your Citation
Bolton, David. "Downloading and Installing Borland C++ Compiler 5.5." ThoughtCo, Sep. 8, 2021, thoughtco.com/downloading-installing-borland-candand-compiler-958384. Bolton, David. (2021, September 8). Downloading and Installing Borland C++ Compiler 5.5. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/downloading-installing-borland-candand-compiler-958384 Bolton, David. "Downloading and Installing Borland C++ Compiler 5.5." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/downloading-installing-borland-candand-compiler-958384 (accessed March 19, 2024).