DOSBox
Key points
- DOSBox allows DOS-based games to run properly on modern systems.
- For a list of games using DOSBox see games re-released using DOSBox.
General information
Issues fixed
Black screen in fullscreen mode
- With some video cards, DOSBox's default output mode will render with a black screen in fullscreen mode.
| Instructions |
|---|
| Instructions |
|---|
Character/camera/cursor constantly moves in one direction
| Instructions |
|---|
| Instructions |
|---|
Can't remap keys/joystick
Some games have fixed inputs. Use the DOSBox Mapper to remap the controls.
Printer support
- Official DOSBox builds don't support printing in games that use it.
| Instructions |
|---|
General information
Unofficial builds
There are various unofficial builds of DOSBox which provide additional functionalities such as support for Glide.
Windows installation
Windows 95 and Windows 98 can be installed inside DOSBox however this is unsupported and instability issues occur.
Example input
DOSBox running in Windows:
Z:\> Z:\>mount c c:\game_directory Z:\>imgmount d d:\game_disc.iso -t iso Z:\>cd d:\ D:\>game_install.exe D:\>cd c:\ C:\> C:\>game.exe
Substitute the pathways with the given conventions of the host operating system.
Alt+Enter to maximise the window; Ctrl+F4 to switch between mounted disc images. Use double quotes, " ", when mounting directories with spaces ("c:\game directory"); For mounting multiple disc images, -t iso is required only once at the end of the last disc image, this defines how DOSBox should emulate the volume and iso defines the type of volume.
DOSBox configuration
DOSBox stores configuration information in *.conf files. Individual conf files can be create for each piece of software used and additional parameters can be appended.
To modify a configuration option within Dosbox, use the config command. For example, config cpu cycles fixed 30000
Mapper
The DOSBox Mapper (Ctrl+F1/Command+F1) can be used to re-assign keyboard, mouse and joystick commands.
Joystick
DOSBox has several virtual joystick modes which affect what inputs are seen in-game and also what inputs can be remapped using the Mapper. See the DOSBox manual for details.