XP Guide
So, you’re having problems with DOS games in Windows XP or Windows 2000? I understand, since I get lots of e-mails from people who don’t know how to get their games working in Windows XP. The problems they have are diverse, sometimes it is something as simple as sound but occasionally it is a mysterious problem. This page is here to help. We recommend DOSbox. Read more about it at step 3.

 Step 1: VDM Sound
Some games run fine in Windows XP, but the sound is either distorted or just doesn't work. The way to solve these sound problems is very simple. Here are two ideas: one is DOSbox, but a better one for your sound problems is VDM Sound. VDM Sound is actually a sound emulator. You can download the VDM Sound installation file here.

When you download the installation file, run it. VDM Sound will be installed on your computer. When it is finished, go to the folder where you installed your game. Click on the executable file of the game with the right mouse button. In the pop-up menu you will see the option "Run with VDM Sound". Select this option and the game will start with sound. I recall doing this with Pushover, and for the first time in more than 5 years I heard the good music :)

 Step 2: MoSlo
There are a lot of DOSgames, especially older ones, which run too fast in Windows. Most of them so fast, that you can't play it anymore! If you got that problem, you should try MoSlo. It slows down your computer so you can play the games well.

Go to the MoSlo website, then download MoSlo. Extract the files in the .zip file to the folder of the game which goes too fast. You can use shortcuts with MoSlo to slowdown the game. Read everything about it on the "Using MoSlo page" of the MoSlo website.

 Step 3: DOSbox
So your problems are still not solved. For example: The game may crash. This is very irritating if you want to play that good old game. Well, you can play it with the DOS emulator DOSbox. It simulates DOS in Windows. You can also use it on operating systems other than Windows (like MacOS and Linux), but I assume most visitors use Windows, therefore this article is designed for Windows users.

First, download DOSbox from the DOSbox website at sourceforge.net. Run the file and DOSbox will be installed on your computer. Now go to the folder where you installed DOSbox and run DOSbox, or go to the Windows Start Menu and use the shortcut to start DOSbox. Two windows will open. One is the kernel and the other one is the window you have to type in. It will start on virtual drive Z:\. Because most people don't have a Z:\ disk on his/her computer, you have to go to the drive you installed the game on. Usually this will be the C:\ or D:\ drive. I will use the C:\ drive as an example. First, type "mount c c:\". This will recognize the C:\ disk as the Virtual C:\ disk within DOSbox.

Now type "C:". Guess what, you’re now on your C:\ disk! If you extracted the game called "game.exe" to the folder games\game, you have to browse to there. You can do this by using the cd commands. For example, first type "cd games" and then "cd game". Then you have to start the game. This is simple enough to remember: type "game", without the extension (.exe). The game will then start so you can play it.

The game may run very slow or DOSbox may crash. If DOSbox crashes, it is useless to try again. DOSbox won’t work in this case, but there are more options to allow your games run in Windows XP.

 Step 4: Virtual PC
Now it gets harder! Virtual PC is not something for computer novices, because it is hard to configure. The problem with Virtual PC is that you have to pay for it. So if you’re a poor student or otherwise unable to afford it, skip this step. For the people who would really like to buy Virtual PC (although I can hardly imagine that), you can look at Microsoft's Virtual PC website. You can download a free trial to see how it works.

Well, I suppose you want to know exactly how it works, eh? It's simple: once you’ve installed Virtual PC it’s like having a computer within your computer.

So, I guess you just installed Virtual PC. Now you only have to install Windows on it. The process is just like installing it on an new PC. You can install any version of Windows, but since Windows 95 is the smallest, let’s install Windows 95. If you don’t have Windows 95, just install Windows 98. I don't think that I have to explain how to install Windows. It’s just like installing Windows on a new computer.

When you're finished installing Windows, go to Edit » Settings. There is a list of adjustable components (e.g. the memory limit for each virtual PC). If you’d like to share some folders, just click on Share Folders. Easy, isn’t it? Now select a folder, click on Share every time and click Ok. Now click on the Explorer (on the virtual Windows 95 PC) and you can see an extra Hard Disk. If you open this HD all your files are visible! If some DOSgames won’t work running from a shared HD you can try copying them to the virtual C:\ Drive of the Windows 95 PC. Well, after you’ve done this, you can play all your DOSgames in Windows XP and Windows 2000!

 Step 5: Dual Boot
So, it still doesn’t work? You can try dual booting then, although you have to know how to work with a computer to get it running.

Dual boot means that there are two operating systems installed on your computer. It's not like Virtual PC that you can run them side by side because you can only run one operating system at a time. Microsoft has a good article about dual booting, read it here.

 Step 6: Bye bye Windows!
This is the final method to get DOS games working in Windows XP. If this doesn’t work, throw your computer out of the window and buy a new one, or just an old one to know for sure these games will work. Nah, just kidding, there’s another option. Uninstall Windows and install DOS. That should work!
 
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