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.
Easiest way to do anything... ever.
Drag your DOS box 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? 84.59.222.91 12:49, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
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?
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?
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).
