DOSBox is the standard way to play DOS games on modern computers. It has been compiled for Windows, Mac, Linux, and many other operating systems and platforms. It has been compiled for Windows, Mac, Linux, and many other operating systems and platforms.
Run glorious old DOS classics on modernoperating systems.
Every now and then the urge may strike to play the game that kindledyour interest in computer gaming, perhaps X-Com, Master of Orion, orsomething from the Ultima series. Unfortunately,today’s modern operating systems rarely play wellwith the relatively ancient games of the early to mid’90s. If you’re lucky, you canconvince some games to run without sound in Windows XP, but they mayrun far too fast to be playable. That’s where DOSBoxcomes in.
DOSBox(http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/)is a four-person open source project that emulates an x86-based PCrunning DOS. The version used for this hack is 0.61 for Windows.Don’t let the version number scare you; it featuresexcellent support for many classic games and can provide SoundBlaster, General MIDI, or Gravis Ultrasound sound support. The DOSBoxhomepage has a freely downloadable installer as well as the sourcecode and ports to various other platforms.
After you’ve downloadedDOSBox, run the EXE and pick alocation to install to. There’s no special setuprequired to kick off the program at this point. If you run it,you’ll end up at a
Z:>
prompt. DOSBox, by emulating a DOS PC, hands you a DOS environmentjust like the one you remember.If this is your first time in DOS because you’reboning up on your game history (commendable!) or if you just need arefresher, there are some commands you need to know.
mount
mounts a drive under a particular letter sothat you can access it from within DOSBox. On startup, by default,DOSBox will put you on drive Z:, a virtual directory it creates tostart itself up. You’ll need to mount the drive inthe computer on which your games reside before you can play them.If your games are on drive D:, use the
mount
command as follows:This maps a C: drive within DOSBox to the contents of the current D:drive in your PC. It’s important to know how thisworks, but you can simplify things by editing the
dosbox.conf
file; I’ll explainthat later.Depending on the media you need to use for installation (floppy disksor CDs), you’ll want to mount those drives as well.DOSBox doesn’t automatically know that A: is yourfloppy drive, so use a similar command to set it up:
![How To Install Dosbox Games How To Install Dosbox Games](http://www.steptoinstall.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/How-to-install-DOSBox-on-Windows-10-or-8-1.png)
This makes A: your floppy drive and E: your CD-ROM. If you now typeany of those letters you’ve mounted followed by acolon, at the
Z:>
prompt,you’ll switch to the specified drive.You’re only an installation away from playing a gamenow!To install, you need to know two moreimportant DOS commands. The first is
dir
, whichlists the contents of your current directory. The second iscd
, which changes your directory (for example, tothe directory containing the file you want to execute). The commanddir /W
displays directory contents across thescreen instead of down, making it easier to find whatyou’re looking for. dir
works onany drive and in any folder. Use cd
with theknowledge you’ve gained from thedir
listing. For example, to run X-Com, type:This changes directories to X-Com’s defaultinstallation location. From there, type
UFO
, andyou’re off battling aliens! DOSBox executes.BAT
, .EXE
, or.COM
files. It works just like standard DOS, sowhile these simple instructions will help you to play games,there’s a bevy of commands available whenyou’re ready to tinker more.Once you’ve mounted everything properly, change tothe installation disk and directory and start yourgame’s installation program. This works just likethe original, including sound setup.
Warning
If you want sound, it’s crucial that you now chooseeither a Sound Blaster or Gravis Ultrasound sound device. Beware thatnot all games have GUS support. If General MIDI is available, use itbecause it always provides the best sound quality.
After the installation completes, you’ll probably bein the same directory as the game executable. Type the name of themain executable—for example,
UFO.EXE
—and the game will attempt tostart.Inevitably, aftermountingdrives and installing a game to your hard drive,you’ll find out that performanceisn’t quite as you remember. Now’sthe time to tweak DOSBox for optimal performance. Before you start,though, check the web site for any known problems with your game. TheDOSBox web site has an extensive andsearchable list of games (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/comp_list.php?letter=a)with a scale ranging from runable to playable to completelysupported. This will help you determine if you’rebetter off playing something else.
Provided that you’re running a supported game, yournext step is to increase the cycles DOSBox uses to run the games. Asnoted in the
dosbox.conf
file (see Start→ All Programs → DOSBox-0.61), cycles refer to thenumber of instructions DOSBox tries to emulate each millisecond. Avery high number can have adverse effects on the program and your PC,so prepare for trouble if you go crazy. On a midrange PC, most gamesseem comfortable with values between 5,000 and 10,000.You will have to spend some time tweaking this number to find theratio of stability to speed. X-Com locked up at 10,000 but playedfine at 8,000, for example. The old Amtex pinball table conversionfor EightBall Deluxe had a nearly transparent ball at 10,000 but playedperfectly at around 7,000. Needless to say, you’llprobably spend most of your tweaking time on this setting.
![Using Using](/uploads/1/2/5/7/125702911/444661876.png)
To make your life easier, onceyou’ve done some manual setup and understand howDOSBox works, you can add some lines to the
dosbox.conf
file to avoid having to repeat theprocess each time you want to play. In the [sdl]
section, set the fullscreen
value equal to true,because DOSBox performs best in fullscreen mode. Hit Alt-Enter toswitch between the fullscreen and windowed modes.The
[cpu]
section holds thecycles
setting. Here you can put the value youdetermined earlier. Related settings are cycleup
and cycledown
. When DOSBox runs, the keys Ctrl-F8and Ctrl-F12 can increase or decrease the value ofcycles
. Set your default at 8,000 or so to start,and change it after you’ve tried some games.Finally, you probably want to add your
mount
statements to the [autoexec]
portion ofdosbox.conf
. This allows the program toconfigure the drives you use for installation and game playing assoon as you come to the initial Z:>
at DOSBoxstartup.There are a lot of other flags in the configuration file, but you canleave most of them alone unless you encounter trouble with a game.
If you’re new to DOS, you’ll needsome time to acclimate to its text-only interface.Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.One nice feature of DOSBox is how well it makes the needed amount ofmemory available to games. Back in the ’90s, whenthese games were new, you often had to perform voodoo, sit aparticular way in your chair, and then pray to whatever deity youworship to convince a game to run. DOSBox makes this straightforward.A little DOS knowledge goes a long way, though, sodon’t hesitate to bone up. SeeClaymania’s DOS Primer(http://www.claymania.com/dos-primer.html) foran introduction and TheDOS (command) Environment (http://www.primerpc.com/dos/dos.htm) fordetailed help.
You’ll have to track down the original games or pullout your old discs (or disks) to start playing. DOSBox supports mostof the big names of the time with varying degrees of success,including Ultima,X-Com,Master ofOrion, Master of Magic, and more. It might seemsilly once you’ve installed DOSBox, but be sure totry old games under Windows XP first just in case. Sometimes youwon’t need emulation, though it seems like it shouldbe your first choice. The old Simtex classic 1830: Railroads and RobberBarons works just fine in Windows XP without emulation.
Above all, have fun exploring or reliving the golden era of PCgaming. Many of PC gaming’s most beloved games comefrom the DOS era. Besides buying and refurbishing an old 486 DX2/66,this is the best way to enjoy these games. Now excuse me while I stopan alien invasion for the tenth time!