I use Norton's Commander to run my DosBox. Using NC makes the user able to see directories and files much like your desktop. I created an instructable on this at instructables.com recently and (per request of Whiterabbit) decided to include the link so my tutorial has its own thread.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How_to_use_Nortons_Commander_in_DosBox_to_play_ga/
Regards,
AH
midori
Member
Thanks for isolating this, Wizzard... I found the thread when I needed it, but still seem to have problems w/ DosBox, in that it takes up an awful lot of CPU usage on my computer... it seems whether I'm using it or not. Perhaps something wrong I did, but I've decided to steer clear of the old DOS games because of it.
For those of you to lazy to use the link...
How to use Norton's Commander in DosBox to play games
Today, I will be giving everyone a quick tutorial on how to set up DosBox to run with Norton's Commander (NC for short) to make it easier to play games.
First let me describe what Norton's Commander is exactly. Norton's Commander is a file manager that Norton (yes the same company that makes anti-virus) created in 1986. Norton's Commander created a virtual desktop for Dos users. NC gave users the ability to see file directories and choose the file they wanted instead of having to input the file manually. NC also made it easier for users to manipulate files quickly.
I decided to write this tutorial, because I've had friends ask me how to set DosBox up to work easier for them. I searched all over the internet and wasn't able to find this tutorial. Because this process is so easy and easier than running Dos natively, I think everyone should have access to this process. This tutorial should take 5-10 minutes at the longest.
How to use Nortons Commander in DosBox to play games
next step »« previous step
step 1Download DosBox & Create a Dos Games Folder
The first step is to download DosBox [http://www.dosbox.com/download.php?main=1 here.] Take note of where the DosBox folder has been saved as we will need to come back to …
step 2Download Norton's Commander
Now, it is time to download [http://abandonia.com/en/node/23027 NC.] NC is the sixth program down, underneath Daemon tools. All you have to do is click "get it!" Once do…
step 3Auto-mount NC in DosBox
This is the most technical step in the process, but it is very easy to do. First you need to open up your DosBox folder where DosBox downloaded to. Next, open up the file…
step 4Download The Elder Scrolls: Arena
For this step, we have to download a game to test. For our game, I chose [http://abandonia.com/en/games/195/Elder+Scrolls,+The+-+Arena.html The Elder Scrolls: Arena.] Thi…
step 5Success!
Open your DosBox, and you should be greeted by a screen that looks to be splitted in half. The right side is your NC. If you double click the ".." at the very top, it wil…
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No the half words and trailings off are not a problem with my copying and pasting. Wizz put that in to build up the suspence! :)
-Webmaster
lol webmaster you're funny. That is a great way to still get people to follow the link =p
Midori, when you say it uses up alot of cpu, do you mean that the program runs slower? If so, wikipedia offers this advice...
"Yay, you've gotten your game to run! But maybe you're experiencing slowdown? How do you fix this? With the following commands:
CTRL+F7 = Decreases frameskip
CTRL+F8 = Increases Frameskip
CTRL+F11 = Slows down the game
CTRL+F12 = Speeds up the game
Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to open the Task Manager, and click the Performance tab. Start by pressing CTRL+F12 until your CPU Usage level begins to go above 95%. After that, if you still need a performance boost, hit CTRL+F8 to have DOSBox not render some frames. The console window will display all of the changes you've made, and the top of the game window will display the current settings. Adjust these settings as needed until your game goes smoothly. Please keep in mind that not all games will run smoothly on DOSBox."
Hopefully this will work for you.
Regards,
AH
midori
Member
Hi, Wizzard... thanks for your suggestions. And perhaps I'm using the wrong terminology here, not being a "whiz" at this as you all are. I use AVG, and it set up a little row in my toolbar (even tho I told it not to, lol!) that shows my Disk Load, Memory Usage, Connection Bytes being used, and the CPU usage. Now I've grown to like those little boxes, cuz they tell me which programs are being a hog, and vice versa. Precisely what each program is using and where. It seemed whenever I ran the DosBox the CPU would pin to the max, with DosBox being the user. Maybe that's not even bad?? Anyway, I took it to be a space hog, so deleted it. Plus, the amount of DOS games I really want to play is really minimal. But I'll try your suggestions if the need arises. :)
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru
Sorry Wizzard, I missed this when I posted the other post about DOSBox. I'd just pointed the community in the direction of your original post. Having the source is much better. Thanks.
I'm really pleased with the DOSBox/'Norton Commander set up. Since following your instructions I've been able to get every DOS based game working first time every time, which really takes the hassle out of it and makes playing the games as easy as having a shortcut to play the game
No problem rabbit, I used to be scared off by DosBox myself. I found somewhere on the internet how to do this, but I have never been able to do it again after much time searching. I just didn't want people to be so scared to try to play these games, because Dos is rather daunting to those who never really experienced it. I was born in the mid 80's so I only dabbled with it as a young child. I'm glad I could help you out =)
Regards,
AH
Yup midori, still working on my accounting degree. Who would've known, a "games master" who isn't going into programming or pc's? =p I guess it's just going to have to be the blonde haired bearded man behind the monitor lol.
huma79
Member
Another good option for running DOSbox is to get the D-Fend Reloaded package, which makes everything easier. You can even include your none DOSbox games in it to organize what you have.
Download at
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/
If DosBox is running in full-screen, try pressing alt+enter to make it go windowed. This might help your problem. I didn't get either of these errors when I switched to full screen so it may be something else causing your problem. I've also read that people have fixed this problem by re-installing dosbox. Hope something works for you.
Regards,
AH
midori
Member
Hi, Wizz... well, I finally did it. I got Arena to run. Woot!! Dunno why I've been so afraid of Dos. The Daunting, Ominous System of days gone by. Guess I felt like it was entering a crypt and I'd be cursed. *`|:-D
I've probably missed a very obvious thing, but yes, it runs in this teeny box 1/4 the size of my screen. I know you must have the command for full screen somewhere, but what is it? And to get out of the game you press Escape, right? And then there sits the DosBox screen. Instead of doing a Ctrl Alt Del, I typed, of all things, "exit," and it worked. I'll be darned!
Yay! it's even better now that you've got your new controller =p you can set it up to use xpadder instead of keyboard. Alt+Enter is how you go full-screen. Here is a good list of commands:
ibwebb
Member
@Wizz
I have to tell you how thankful I am that I finally broke down and tried you solution for DosBox. I have had it in the past and become incredibly frustrated with it. Through a crash several years ago; I lost what I had worked so hard to get a few older games to work through it. After that I just gave up and steered clear (while pouting about not getting to play those games). Recently Vista gave me the push into going back to XP Pro through a crash for some unknown reason. I ended up losing all my GotD games and such, but the pain has been worth it since I am back up and running.
Anywho, to the point. Thank you so much. You directions were so clear and easy to understand that it was a breeze. Unless I missed it somewhere.. I wanted to offer (if you want to add it in to them) that in the conf file that you copy into; about half way up there is a line that says fullscreen=false. If you change this to true before saving it you get fullscreen. Just be sure to save it after you change it. Obviously, if you want the opposite you just change it back to false.
THANKS AGAIN and now I have perhaps my all time favorite game back to play!
Best Wishes,
ibwebb
You're very welcome webb. I thought about adding that little info to the tutorial so thanks for the extra info. I'm glad I could help someone get back into the swing of things. There are so many great old games out there that alot of people miss out on because dosbox is a bit confusing/painstaking. Just curious, what is your all time favorite game?
Regards,
AH
For those of you who missed reverseOrder's post, DosBox has now released a new version. You'll need to download the new version and delete the old. In order to open the conf file needed to auto-mount Norton Commander, you'll need to first navigate to the DosBox 0.73 folder and then open the folder named Configurations. Next you simply open the file named Edit Configurations and it will open up the dosbox.conf file. The same commands are put into the file in order to get your dosbox running back the way it used to. =) The instructable above denotes this change where applicable.
Best Regards,
AH
dolores
Member
thanks wizzard,
norton commander works beautifully with dosbox. I would like to suggest one more thing to add to the dosbox configuration file. By making the last line under autoexec. the word "exit" (no quotes), dosbox will close automatically when norton commander is closed. thanks again!
Best way to use DOSBOX is to go and download DFEND. When you download it,it already has DOSBOX.
First: Download the Installer and install it.
Second: Go to the bottom of the DFEND website page and download all the add-ons.
Third: Install the add-on packages and have FUN!
BTW, DFEND is a front-end that makes using DOSBOX child's play. It's FREE and AWESOME!
Here's the page:
http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/Download.html
If anyone needs help,email me: (sorry, No posting personal email addresses or contact details. We know where you live. ;)
------------------------EDIT----------------------------
This is an open forum so please ask your questions in this thread, that way we all shall learn from the answers.
Thank you!
And ralphsmole welcome to the GOTD Forums, I hope we will see you as a regular user in the future.
graylox aka notblocklox
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru
Thanks for the heads up ralphsmole, I'll check that out. :)
DosBox has been updated again to version 0.74. My instructable has been updated to indicate this change. In order to use the new version, you'll need to delete the old version and copy over your custom mount to the conf file. In this version of DosBox, the conf can be found as the DOSBox 0.74 Options.dat file in the DOSBox folder, or under the options folder for your DOSBox Start Menu folder as DOSBox 0.74 Options. I've also added a 6th step to indicate the useful commands and the extra mount that dolores suggested along with the fullscreen suggestion from ibwebb.
Thanks, wizz, that you keep an eye on the developments and us informed.
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