Wow! A lot of tech stuff and game specific info I'm not familiar with. Since my version of Win 7 is 64 bit, would you advise using an older OS on the dedicated game drive? How old can I go before the OS can't recognize my hardware?

It would be a shame to have to go to a 17" monitor when I have this 24" right in front of me, so if you think DOSBox is the best option, then I'll start shopping for controls.

I'd say 2002ish motherboards and systems are the latest safe bets to drop a Win9x setup on. Keep within 119gb.

Reason why I suggest Win9x is that some devices really are designed best for that especially older gameport joysticks, and Win2000 had some massive game port regressions XP never fixed.

rapidrickc wrote:

What is profiling software?

Oh, OK. I actually have that stick & program. I didn't know or remember that it was called a profiler.

What's the oldest OS I could use on the system I have? I'm trying to avoid a dedicated system if possible. I just don't have the room for 2 complete systems. What I DO have is aphysical drive I can use just for gaming on the system I have. I'm trying to determine the best OS I can use on this system that is also the best match for DOSBox. If I have to go out and get new controllers, I can do that. If I have to go that route, then my dedicated game controller will be off the table.

Oldest?

Windows Server 2003

I'm being serious. And no, it doesn't have better gameport support, its not magically better.

Thanks, but Windows Server is not one of my options. I should have listed them again. DOS 3.2, Win 95, 98, XP & Win 7. are the OS's I have available.

The system is an Asus M2N-SLI mobo with 4gb RAM, AMD Athalon 64x2 Dual core 5600+ CPU (2.8 Ghz), an EVGA 8600 GT video card, a Sound Blaster X-FI Extreme audio card and a HP w2408 Widescreen Flat Panel monitor.

Oh dear.

To save yourself the trouble, I'd highly suggest getting a new USB joystick. Even if there are strong emotional bonds attached to old awesome reliable heavy gameport joysticks, you'll have no choice to abandon them most of the time in the future. I know, it was tough for me to part with mine.

OK, I guess that's a given. But it still doesn't help me decide what OS to load onto the dedicated drive that will be able to use or at least accept my current CPU, RAM, video and sound hardware, AND will also work the best with DOSBox.

Too old, like Win 95 and the OS won't recognize my CPU, 4Gb RAM, video or soundcard. Too new and it won't work well with DOSBox.

How is it not working well?
Your setup seems a bit similar to my old one:
ASUS P5N-D Mobo, Intel Core 2 Duo 3.00 Ghz CPU E8400, 4gb RAM (DDR2 PC-6400, all Kingstone), XFX 9600 GT XXX 512 mb, X-Fi Fatality Titanium Championship, Acer 19" LCD (non widescreen, forgot the model).
I have only changed the video card to an XFX HD 5770 1gb and the monitor to a Viewsonic 19 incher widescreen.
DosBox works great with the old setup and the new one, so maybe you can tweak your .conf file?

I haven't installed DOSBox yet. I'm here exploring options, searching for the best OS to install on a dedicated game drive. I have the option of installing DOS 3.2, Win 95, 98, SE or staying with Win 7. I've been told that Win 95 and 98 probably won't be able to "use" my 4Gb of RAM, nor recognize the large drive. So the choice is XP or Windows 7. Which OS works best with DOSBox?

There is no best. The suggestions I gave were more for the joystick.

DOSBox will be fine on the latest and greatest computers. Don't downgrade for DOSBox.

Well it's not like installing DosBox is a slow process or a hassle, download it, give it a go, see how your games work. Don't like it? Just uninstall it like any other Windows app...
You can use your dedicated drive to fill it with games nonetheless 😀

Agh. This thread is giving me a headache.

rapidrickc: new OSs work well on new machines. Old OSs don't work well on new machines, or not at all. Installing DOS or Win9x on your machine _might_ work, but you'll run into all kinds of problems. If you really, really want to use old OSs with full hardware support, get an old dedicated gaming machine. If you're going to get an old machine, keep your controllers. If you're going to use a new machine, sell the old shit and get something with USB connectors.

There is no "best" OS for DOSBox. It depends on what machine you're running, your knowledge level, your budget, etc. . In your case I'd suggest Windows 7. DOSBox will run nearly all DOS games. Most Win9x era games will work, a few will give you troubles, and a handfull won't work at all. For those you have to resort to additional techniques, like for example running them in a Virtual Machine.

Asking "which OS is best to run DOSBox" is like asking "what is the best car". The one possible answer to a question like that is "depends".

Me to (headache)

I am fully aware that I can't run DOS 3.2 on a machine designed for Windows 7. And probably not Win 95. Maybe not Win 98. The only reason the thread went down that road was the possible use of the old Thrustmaster gameport sticks.

Somehow the whole thing got sidetracked into talk about a complete dedicated system using the old Thrustmaster sticks and dedicated gameport. If I did that, why would I even be talking about DOSBox? The games would be in their native OS anyway! And I don't have the room for one.

IF all the games I want to play, F-15 2 & 3, F-117 Stealth Fighter, A-10 Tank Killer 2, Falcon 3 & 4 and Viper Racing will work as good as possible on the latest DOSBox version under Win 7, then that's my answer!
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Viper Racing is a Win32 game that uses Direct3D, doesn't need DOSBox as it already works good on Windows 7.

Falcon 4 ain't a DOS game either.

A-10 II - Silent Thunder is also a Win32 game. However, I have manages to get it to work on Win7.

http://sierrahelp.com/Patches-Updates/NewSier … lers.html#A10_2

He's referring to the 1990 Dynamix release of A-10.

Nope. Collector had it right. I was talking about A-10 Silent Thunder. Thanks for all the advice. Good to know that I can run Viper and A-10 without an emulator. But I'm still going to need to upgrade my controls. Everything except the Logitech flight stick is old school gameport connection. Off to Amazon & eBay I go.