DOS

Welcome to DOS the gaming platform of the future!
(One amazing alternative now, is to use DosBox!)

My goal here is simple... to tell you how to get DOS games to run on even modern machines.

I know that due to all the newer operating systems its FUBAR to get any DOS games or even Windows98 games to run anymore. Emulators generally suck and/or hard to configure etc. Also that most old games require protected memory resources like XMS and EMS that is not supported properly by even Windows98. I know the torment of configuring your autoexec.bat and config.sys files, the hassle of running memory managers that might get one game to work but not another, the annoyance of your CDROM or sound not working.

The purpose of this page and information started from my enthusiasm to play System Shock. A very old classic and a very good one as well. However since I already run a current operating system and needed PURE DOS, I was stuck. I only ever played the demo back in the day, when it was available. Later I found a copy of the CDROM, released in 1994 an enhanced version for only $4 at EB. Its been roughly 2 years since I purchased the CD, and its been collecting dust. I had tried a few DOS emulators as well as messing around with configurations within Windows for memory management as well as compatibility mode, etc. all to no avail. I wanted to play System Shock! I decided it was time to do the REAL thing and install DOS, this however is not such a simple matter for those that already RUN a current OS. I looked up stuff, I rebooted and rebooted, and the FINALLY I got everything working... my sound card, my CDROM, pure DOS and Windows98, for those games that won't run on the newer OS'.

It took me a few hours to get it working but it was WORTH the effort. Since I couldn't seem to find ANYTHING on the net that explained in detail exactly what was necessary to get things to run, I just had to start from scratch and do it myself. I run a 1.6ghz Athlon with a SoundBlaster Audigy, etc. My point is that even though the system is fast it works great still with DOS and System Shock. I also can now play the old Kyrandia series and others! But, alas I have been rambling far to long, I thinks its time to show you MY HOW-TO.

If you have ANY questions or comments about MY How-To, please email me.

READ BELOW FOR DOS HOW-TO

I. Creating a FAT32 partition.

  A. The easiest way to do this on a machine that already has an OS is to simply use a
     Partition Manager like Partition Magic to resize your current partition and create a
     second one to where you will be installing Windows 98. If installing to a fresh
     drive or a spare HDD then you do not need to worry about this step.
  B. First you will need to boot from a diskette or your Windows 98 CD and boot from the
     CD to DOS.
  C. Once you have booted into DOS, at the prompt type in the command 'fdisk' and
     press [enter].
  D. Follow the prompts for creating a new primary DOS partition.
  E. You can choose any size for the new partition.
  F. Once you have created the new partition you MUST make it the active partition in
     order to proceed.
  G. When the warning pops up saying the Boot Sector is going to be modified hit 'Y'.

II. Installing Windows98.

  A. Boot from a diskette or your Windows 98 CD and start the Windows98 install.
  B. Follow the prompts to install Windows98 and let it reboot and configure.
  C. Once you have rebooted and are in Windows98, install drivers for your soundcard.
  D. For those running the SoundBlaster Audigy, please read below.
     1. Install the Audigy-DOS drivers, which you can get here(~1,019kbytes).
     2. Reboot to Windows.

III. Configuring your autoexec.bat and config.sys files.

  A. Open up your autoexec.bat in notepad.
  B. Add ALL of the following lines to your autoexec.bat that are NOT already there.
     @echo off
     SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6
     SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\
     LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD0001
     LH C:\WINDOWS\MOUSE.COM
     SET CTSYN=C:\WINDOWS
     C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\DOSDRV\SBEINIT.COM
  C. If the file 'mouse.com' DOES NOT exist on your HDD
  D. If you did not install the Audigy drivers from step II. D. read below.
     Edit the line 'C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\DOSDRV\SBEINIT.COM' to point to the location of
     your DOS soundcard drivers.
  E. Open up your config.sys in notepad.
  F. Add ALL of the following lines to your config.sys that are NOT already there.
     DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\setver.exe
    DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
     DOS=HIGH,UMB
     DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS
     FILES=30
     STACKS=0,0
     BUFFERS=20
     DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\ANSI.SYS
     DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\EBD\OAKCDROM.SYS /D:MSCD0001
  G. Reboot to DOS Prompt Only.

IV. Booting from multiple partitions/OS'.

A. It is recommended that if you plan to boot between more than one OS often, that you
     use a Boot Manager such as Boot Magic. This way you can choose at boot which OS you
     would like to use.
B. To go back to booting your original OS, at the prompt type in the command 'fdisk'
     and change your active partition back to your original one.
C. When the warning pops up saying the Boot Sector is going to be modified hit 'Y'.
D. Reboot and you should now be back into your original OS.
E. Follow the instructions for your Boot Manager.
F. If do not wish to use a Boot Manager, then simply boot from a diskette or CD and at
     the prompt type in the command 'fdisk' and change the active partition to your
     different OS you would like to boot. When the warning pops up saying the Boot Sector
     is going to be modified hit 'Y'.

Congratulations! You have just completed all the necessary steps in order to play those old DOS games.

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