View source for Talk:Basic Setup and Installation of DosBox

==Vista/key issue==
I've tried a thousand ways to type \, and it reads ] and }. What's going on? It's impossible to run DosBox.

Edit: I figured it out myself after scouring the wiki for "keys" related subjects. I found out that control + f1 lets me map keys, even if I'm having issues typing something. I'm not sure if this issue was limited to just myself, but I think it warrants adding to the faq or something. It was a huge hassle and kept me from doing anything until friends continued to pester me about making it work.

==Vista/key issue 2.==
I had the same issue with the \ key as the person in the other comment did, but was unable to find a way to use the keymapper to fix the problem, as it required use of the key to move it. If I missed something, it would be great if someone pointed it out. Due to one problem or another I've sunk over 20 hours into this. I finally circumvented most of the problems, but this is one particularly annoying one.

I too am having this problem.  Can anyone else help?  I don't physically have the key that the keymapper is looking for me to have to be able to remap it using the keymapper.
 I just used the the forward slash  / and it worked

== Easiest way to do anything... ever. ==

Drag your DOS games' EXE files right onto the DOSbox EXE. Now, ain't that alot easier than having to set it up? 

If it doesn't work that way, it will work if you do it the hard way.

-- soma1337@gmail.com

You are absolutely right!

The README says: In Windows, you can also drag directories/files onto the DOSBox executable.

That works fine and most people will not need any other instructions!

== Simpler Instructions ==

I have found instructions that are much simpler and DO work, from ehow.com:

Step 1:
Create a folder on your hard drive that will serve as the DOSBox program's C drive. For this tutorial, we'll use the folder name "games" on the PC's C drive. This is where you will store games to be accessed by your DOSBox program.

Step 2:
Put any games that you have downloaded into this new folder. Create separate folders for each of your games. For this tutorial, we'll say there is a folder called "chess" that contains a DOS-based chess game.

Step 3:
Run your DOSBox program. Two windows will appear; minimize--but don't close--the DOSBox Status Window. When you see the Z:\ prompt in the main DOSBox window, type "mount c c:\games." With this command, you are telling the DOSBox program where your emulated C drive will be located.

Step 4:
Type "c:" and press enter when you see the Z:\ prompt. Then type "cd chess." You should now see a prompt that says "c:\chess."

Step 5:
Enter the name of the executable file that is required to run your game. You can find out which file this is by reading a "readme" file that comes with your game. Type in the name of that file, minus the .exe file extension, and hit enter. Your game will begin and you are ready to play.

== I think the guide works ==

I know it's a bit verbose, but after cleaning up some sections I think it fulfills it's purpose.  The guide is meant to be read not just by people who just downloaded DOSBox and want to know what to do next, but also by people who want to understand how to use DOSBox (teach a man to fish and all that).  However, to your point about it being wrong, I rewrote the section you referenced to include example output from running each command, and I added the Z Prompt so you can see where you should be when you run those commands, but I can't for the life of me see where you are experiencing an error.  Not to be flip, but you may want to reread the article, it says the same thing you suggest just with more pictures.  Cheers!

****I've got to admit. The guide and the program thus far is just as described. Hard to understand and even harder to get the program to launch SQ5 in the program. I've installed it after "mounting" it. Still, I get an error 105 message when trying to launch the Sierra.exe file (even went a step further to run the .exe files in compatibility mode. 

I'm afraid the program is lackin---bigtime.

--jer--

== Full screen has black borders ==
I'd like to play X-Com (320x200) on my laptop (1280x800), but when I switch to full screen the game does not grow to fill the screen. Instead the game is centered, surrounded by blackness. And since there is only a "normal3x"-filter and no "normal4x" I can only get the game as large as 960x600. How can I make the game fill the whole screen? [[User:84.59.222.91|84.59.222.91]] 12:49, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
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'''CAN'T CREATE SHORTCUT'''

Hooray for this article and thanks. I am having one little problem though. I can't create the shortcut. I create a blank text file in wordpad with the name of the file being MYGAME.xyz. I set it to open with  DOSBOX and create a shortcut to desktop. But When I try to use it tells me ILLEGAL COMMAND:MYGAME.XYZ.TXT (or .RTF or whatever format I use). What am I missing? - 13 May 2008

== Works for me & tablet PC tip ==

The instuctions worked fine for me on two different PCs.  One running XP the other Vista.
Thank you

One thing - my Tablet PC doesn't have an F12 key.  After much plugging in of USB keyboards to ramp up the game speed, a chum suggested using the on screen keypad for F12.  Doh.  It is a bit easier that way!

== What If Your HDD is partitioned ==

cause im us my larger one (H drive its called) what do i change,  in order to make it work?

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== Can DOSBOX be run from a flash drive? ==

I will be staying with family for a couple of weeks, & would like to be able to run DOSBOX from my flash drive, without installing it on their PC. Can I pre-install DOSBOX on my flash drive before I leave home & have it work on their PC w/o further installation? Is this possible?


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9/21/08
Yes I am currently working on running DosBoxPortable from my 4GB U3 USB drive. I have installed DosBoxPortable and 18 games. I ran DosBoxPortable and a couple of games directly from my USB. I am currently trying out several GUI frontends for DosBoxPortable to enable changing program parameters easier and starting games. The only problem/difference I found was in navigating to the game exe file. I can mount the USB drive but could not mount the game folder from my USB drive. But using normal Dos commands I can navigate and start the games from the DosBox. It has been awhile since I used Dos commands I am probably missing or not understanding something. Anyway I hope the GUI frontend ends that problem.

== Installation of dos games ==

I'm not sure whether I should add this to the article or not, but certain dos games need installation from one drive (usually A:) to your mounted C: folder. What you do then is create another folder for your dos installation folders, for example "C:\DosInstall", then you "mount A: C:\DosInstall" then "mount C: C:\DosGames" (or whatever your games folder is). Then you type in "A:", then "CD foldername", then "Install", and then extract to c, so it extracts to C:\DosGames.

It's probably pretty easy for most people, but I'm a newbie, and it took a bit before I figured that out, so I wondered whether I should put it in the article or not.

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== How do i install dosbox onto a cd and have it autorun/play on insertion  ==

Hey everybody i was wondering how do i install dosbox and games onto a CD and set the CD to auto run so that i can run and play games on the go.

== Is it possible to use COM ports on PCs that doesn't have one?==
I need to run DOSbox on laptop that doesn't have COM ports. I'm using USB to serial connection now. Is it possible to configure DOSbox to "see" that COM, because my old DOS app needs COM connection.?

== Install Disc One ==
Okay, so I made it through the DOSBox setup, and then it says Install Disc One. I Downloaded the game (Loom) from online, so I don't know what to do next...

== Why only Windows? ==

I'm not saying that it's not worth mentioning, but Dosbox is perhaps not the most required tool on Windows, since it already (most versions anyway) support most DOS programs, yet everything that is OS specific is Windows specific on this page. I was expecting a non-OS specific page, with only OS-specific explanations when required (and then for all OS' required).


Because post-Windows98 (i.e. Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7) don't run 16-bit code well and if you're using a 64-bit version of Windows, it doesn't run 16-bit code at all.  And all DOS applications are 16-bit.

== how do i use DOS with cdrom games. ==

i was told i can load cdroms stright from DOS. all i had to do was type "mount D D:\ -t cdrom" them type "D:" all done but as soon as i get on the D drive it wont let me do anymore commands. am i doing something wrong? please help me out with easy instuctions. email me info at blackmore87@live.co.uk. thank you.

Answer: you need to mount both drives and run it from the c drive.  Mount the cdrom to drive D using the code above (mount d d:\ -t cdrom). Then mount the c drive to go to that game .EXE file. So if it is on your c drive and you have a folder of that game, say 'GAME'folder, and in that folder is a file to play the game via running the cd, say GAMECD.EXE, then you would mount as such: mount c c:\GAME, then, under the c: command, enter C:> GAMECD and it hsould run.

For a better example, I used this with a Lands of Lore CD I bought. When the CD is installed it installs all its files to destination c:\westwood\lolcd
In the lolcd folder on my c drive is a file LOLCD.EXE, so when I want to play the game I would open dosbox and do the following:
Z:\> mount d d:\ -t cdrom
Z:\> mount c c:\westwood\LOLCD
Z:\> c:
C:\>lolcd

and it runs the game cd as intended.

The only thing that I can think of for your answer is that your game doesnt require the cd to run. If you mount one drive and then mount a different drive, DOSBox is on the second drive (in your case C:\).

== Trapped cursor ==

<s>I'm using dosbox in vista.. works fine, but the mouse cursor is "trapped" inside the dosbox window and i have to Ctrl/alt/del to get it free if I want to do something else simultaneously. Is there an easier way?</s> Yah, FAQ'd it, cool. (Ctrl + F10 = freedom)

== DOS mode real time IO? ==

Hi...

Not that interested in gaming, but I am interested in using many old DOS utilities that I have, that use real time IO, com ports etc, as well as the LPT port as general purpose IO.

Much of that used to be posible in the CMD window under Win2k, but since (I think) SP3, it's been disabled.

A friend and myself (he's more into Linux, then me) would like to experiment with something, using both Windows and Linux, but we need realtime IO, not just the inbuild "normal" stuff, but plug in cards, such as digial IO, A/D etc.

Does DOSBOX support that sort of thing?  After all, a computer is not much use if you can't converse with something.  We realise it's not the sort of thing that is easy with modern OS's, but in the Windows world, there is the "inpout32.dll" tool (and others) that work at the Kernel level to allow such use.   Not sure what the equivalent would be in Linux.

Cheers.

Dave B.
Nope

== EMM issue ==

I'm trying to run a DOS based application that requires EMM when I start the app I get:
'EMM MANGER DOES NOT MAP ENOUGH PAGES FOR SWAPPING' how do I increase amount of pages?

RAK.

==unable to access CD Drive error==

i got "unable to asses CD Drive" message when try to start some games *.exe,
can you help me with this problem?

Mount the CD ?

DOSBOX SAY UNABLE TO CHANCHE WAT TO DO HELP

pleas edit im waiting

DOSBox says what? Come on, if you want to get any help at all, you'd need to learn a) patience, b) spelling, c) both? ([r4])

please note that my accounting software is dos based after loading dosbox,i tried to run it as per instructions
but exe file does not work dosbox gets hanged please help

What is your accounting software? What are the hardware requirements of this application? What is your current DOSbox setup (in terms of memory, CPU, video)? C'mon people, what kind of support do you want to get with questions asked like that? RTFM! ([r4])

=="This Program Requires Microsoft Windows"==
I followed the instructions to set up a game and it said "This Program Requires Microsoft Windows". I am using Windows 7 64 bit. The game was made for 16-bit Windows 95 or 98 I think. Please help!! The game is called SimLife.

that message is correct. DOSBox runs DOS programs, not windows programs.