DOS Emulator

[guba1939]

I have a question about a DOS emulator. I want to install one onto my computer but have no idea how to go about it. My main questions are is it a piece of equipment I have to go out and find and plug it in, or is it some kind of software that i can download. If it is the latter, where can I download one that won't cause my computer to take a giant shit? I have no idea when it comes to this kind of stuff. I'm sure it has been posted somewhere in another form but have no idea where to start so sorry if this a repost. Any info helps.

 

Thanks.

[Remolay]

dude just get DosBox. DOS Emulation software

http://www.dosbox.com/

 

I've been using this baby for years and I absolutely love it

[Blightmare]

dude just get DosBox. DOS Emulation software

http://www.dosbox.com/

 

I've been using this baby for years and I absolutely love it

Basically this. I haven't used it myself since all the old games I wanted to play I found on GOG, but from what I understand it's the most widely accepted DOS emulator out there. Certainly the only one I ever hear mentioned.

[Remolay]

I haven't used it myself since all the old games I wanted to play I found on GOG.

Chances are you've used it at least a few times. The DOS games on GOG use a modified form of Dosbox.

[Blightmare]

Ah, that makes sense.

[Alyxx Thorne]

Yep, DOSBox is mostly used as a compatability layer these days for old games. It's more accurate to say it's a PC emulator rather than a DOS emulator since it not only emulates DOS but also hardware components such as various CPU types, SoundBlaster and AdLib sound cards as well as old graphics modes such as CGA, EGA and Tandy. In fact you can emulate an old Tandy machine using DOSBox so it's much much more than just a DOS emulator.

 

It's a bit hard to get working since it pretty much works as a virtual machine and you have to set up a virtual C: drive on it. I suggest doing some googling on DOSBox before you dive into it.

[Riley Hawk]

You could always get a hardrive with DOS installed on your machine.

[Alyxx Thorne]

You could always get a hardrive with DOS installed on your machine.

Probably wouldn't help much unless your machine had the necessary hardware. Modern machines simply don't have the right hardware for these old games and software, which is why DOSBox is necessary as it emulates old graphics cards, sound cards and CPU types.

[BTGBullseye]

You could always get a hardrive with DOS installed on your machine.

Probably wouldn't help much unless your machine had the necessary hardware. Modern machines simply don't have the right hardware for these old games and software, which is why DOSBox is necessary as it emulates old graphics cards, sound cards and CPU types.

Indeed... I think the last processor that ran DOS natively was made back in 2001.

[Alyxx Thorne]

You could always get a hardrive with DOS installed on your machine.

Probably wouldn't help much unless your machine had the necessary hardware. Modern machines simply don't have the right hardware for these old games and software, which is why DOSBox is necessary as it emulates old graphics cards, sound cards and CPU types.

Indeed... I think the last processor that ran DOS natively was made back in 2001.

As an experiment I installed MS-DOS 7.22 on my old 32bit AMD Sempron XP machine from 2004. It actually ran fine and I could play some games on it. Though I think attempting the same thing with my new 64bit machine would be stupid.

[BTGBullseye]

DOS is a 16-bit OS. 7.22 isn't really the classic DOS, but a modification to make it 32-bit for Windows integration. Try installing MSDOS 3.0 on that processor.

 

Though later 32-bit processors can run 16-bit programs and OSes, it isn't really natively running it, just as 32-bit programs aren't really running natively on 64-bit Windows. (it's very close to no-performance-impact virtualization)

[Alyxx Thorne]

DOS is a 16-bit OS. 7.22 isn't really the classic DOS, but a modification to make it 32-bit for Windows integration. Try installing MSDOS 3.0 on that processor.

 

Though later 32-bit processors can run 16-bit programs and OSes, it isn't really natively running it, just as 32-bit programs aren't really running natively on 64-bit Windows. (it's very close to no-performance-impact virtualization)

Ah, that explains why it worked then...

Either way I prefer running DOS games in DOSBox since it assures I can fine tune the configuration for each game to get the best it can offer.

[Blightmare]

It's probably also the safest method to just use DOSBox, especially for the non-technically inclined. And while I don't consider myself technology-blind, I wouldn't trust myself to try that out outside of a low-budget "for kicks" project with old, cheap hardware.

[Alyxx Thorne]

It's probably also the safest method to just use DOSBox, especially for the non-technically inclined. And while I don't consider myself technology-blind, I wouldn't trust myself to try that out outside of a low-budget "for kicks" project with old, cheap hardware.

It's also much easier to set up.

[BTGBullseye]

If you don't feel like dealing with DOSBox, (I find a lot of their setup and instructions to be very confusing) you can just install Windows 98/98se in a VirtualBox virtual machine. It would allow you to play virtually anything designed for 98 or earlier versions of Windows.

[Alyxx Thorne]

If you don't feel like dealing with DOSBox, (I find a lot of their setup and instructions to be very confusing) you can just install Windows 98/98se in a VirtualBox virtual machine. It would allow you to play virtually anything designed for 98 or earlier versions of Windows.

My problem with VM is that I can never seem to get DirectX working properly.

[BTGBullseye]

That's because VMs don't allow direct access to the hardware unless you have hardware capable of it. (only ones I know of that can are newer Intel chips, and that still doesn't allow access to your GPU)

[Alyxx Thorne]

That's why I don't use VM for gaming honestly.

[BTGBullseye]

But it's still better than nothing.

[Alyxx Thorne]

But it's still better than nothing.

I'd rather play old games on a console than use software rendering through VM thank you very much. Optimally I'd just build a 3DFX machine.