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First post, by DosFreak

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FRONTENDS

  • Q: Have there been any updates to D-fend (DosBox Frontend)?

    A: The author has stated on his website that he will release a new version once the next official DosBox version is released.

STARTUP

  • Q: Every time I execute DosBox I have to remount my drives.

    A: Place your mount commands in the [autoexec] section in DosBox.conf

VIDEO

  • Q: I want to make the DosBox window bigger.

    A: Set scaler= (Which uses a scaler to scale your image)
    or hwscale= (A scaler explicitly for increasing image size but not image quality)
  • Q: On execution of DosBox I receive this error message: "Failed to create a rendering output!"

    A: This seems to happen alot for people who have S3/Pre-Radeon ATI chipsets:

    List of affected video card:

    Pre-Radeon ATI cards
    ATI Rage XL PCI
    S3 video cards
    Trident Cyber9525


    Read these threads:
    DOSBox: neither rendering works using ATi Rage graphics
    HELP ME! My display freaks out when using DOSBox fullscreen.....

    Also make sure that video Hardware Acceleration is set to FULL.
  • Q: On execution of DosBox I receive this error message: "Exit to error: an unsupported feature"

    A: Change desktop color depth from 24bit to either 16 or 32bit.

MEMORY

  • Q: When I run some games in DosBox I receive this error message: "EMS driver is not VCPI compliant".

    A: Set EMS=TRUE in dosbox.conf to EMS=FALSE.

PRINTING

  • Q: I would like to print from DosBox

    A: The official version of DosBox does not have the capability to print because
    it is not directly related to gaming. There are patches to DosBox that you
    can compile yourself or you can download a CVS version of DosBox with the
    printer patch already included.

SAVING

  • Q: Does DosBox have a feature to save the current state? (I want the ability to save if the game does not have the option)

    A: No. DosBox currently does not have this option. It may be included sometime in the future however....don't expect it...in fact don't even think about it.
    If you really need this feature then use Vmware/Microsoft Virtual PC.

SOUND

  • I would like to adjust the DosBox sound volume without changing my host sound volume.

    Use the MIXER command to adjust volume in DosBox.

GAMES

Betrayal at Krondor

  • Betrayal at Krondor hangs at the loading screen.

    Betrayal at Krondor loads slow. Either increase the cycles or just wait.

MISC

  • Q: How do I edit the dosbox.conf file in Windows?

    A: Use Notepad/Wordpad.
  • Q: I don't like that DosBox uses drive Z:\. Can I change this?

    A: Only if you feel like modifying the source code.....
  • I want to download my favorite old games. Can you help?

    A: Downloading commercial games without paying for them is illegal. Do not ask about how to aquire these games on this forum.
  • Q: How do I uninstall DosBox?

    A: Windows: Use Add/Remove Programs
    Linux: Use whatever package manager that you used to install DosBox.
  • Q: Does DosBox support AVI capture?

    A: It's being worked on but it's not in the CVS yet.
  • Q: I get this error message: 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\AUTOEXEC.NT. The system file is not adequated to execution of MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications.'' in Windows XP.

    A: Copy the autoexec.nt file from c:\windows\repair to c:\windows\system32.
    Scan your system for viruses/spyware.
  • Q: My games run slow....are there any plans to speed up DosBox?

    A: Well if you've followed the guides on speeding up DosBox and your game is still slow then you have 2 options with DosBox.

    1. Get a faster computer.
    2. Wait for DosBox to get faster.

    The first option will be a much faster solution. 😉

    DosBox priority is compatibility over speed, so unless miracles happen (like Kronuz video patch), don't expect much.
  • Q: Where do I go to report problems with DosBox?

    A: These forums: http://www.vogons.org in the DosBox section.
  • Q: How do you use DosBox?

    A: Read the "Newbie's Pictorial Guide to DosBox"
    The Newbie's Pictorial Guide To DOSBox
  • Q: Does DosBox support PC Booter games?

    Yes. DosBox can boot the games by using the "BOOT game.img" command.
  • Q: When will the next official version of DosBox be released?

    WIR When it's released....
Last edited by DosFreak on 2005-12-20, 04:11. Edited 9 times in total.

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Reply 1 of 12, by `Moe`

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DosFreak wrote:

When I run some games in DosBox I receive this error message: "EMS driver is

not VCPI compliant".

Set EMS=TRUE in dosbox.conf to EMS=FALSE.

In CVS/version 0.64: type "ems false" before running the game.

Which leads me to a different FAQ: What is a CVS? ... link to the CVS thread

Reply 3 of 12, by collector

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Nice. When this FAQ is complete, maybe Qbix would want to place it (or at least a link to this thread) on the DOSBox site.

The Sierra Help Pages -- New Sierra Game Installers -- Sierra Game Patches -- New Non-Sierra Game Installers

Reply 4 of 12, by DosFreak

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I'm going to need some help with this FAQ so....

If you don't feel like going through the forum looking for issues then at least keep this thread in mind when your answering a post that you've answered the same question to a million times before. If your a moderator then feel free to edit my post with the Q&A, if your just a user but have some suggestions or a Q&A then feel free to post it here.

I don't have a good format for the FAQ down yet, lots of MISC questions that I need to categorize so we'll likely get duplicate Q&A's but that's better than the alternative.

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Reply 5 of 12, by collector

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One thing that seems to keep coming up is full screen issues, from off center screens to LCD issues.

On a side note, is this a VOGONS FAQ or a DOSBox FAQ? The common problem of the missing AUTOEXEC.NT isn't really DOSBox related.

The Sierra Help Pages -- New Sierra Game Installers -- Sierra Game Patches -- New Non-Sierra Game Installers

Reply 6 of 12, by DosFreak

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Yeah, but alot of users running 16bit Windows games get that error....and for some reason they then think that they should try running their Windows games using DosBox......

Weird....but it happens.

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Reply 7 of 12, by `Moe`

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Well, I'm not a moderator, but I suggest the "what is CVS?" question, as "try CVS" is becoming a quite common answer these days.

Also, I suggest using a better formatting, using [ list ] tags and [ * ] (without spaces), for example like this:

General questions

  • Q: What is a FAQ?

    A: A FAQ is a list of questions which are asked many times, plus their answers. Please read it before asking.
  • Q: What if I don't want to read?

    A: Do what pleases you, but don't whine.

That way, sections, questions and answers are better to identify. If I could edit the post, I'd use that formatting 😉

Reply 8 of 12, by eL_PuSHeR

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Agreed. I would also state that DOSBox CANNOT do any physical harm to your computer, as it seems many people tends to believe.

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Reply 9 of 12, by collector

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You have no audio section. How about no speech problems from not having set up the game's configuration, not having mounted the CD, or from having installed the game in Windows and playing in DOSBox so that the paths that DOSBox sees don't match what is in the config file.

The Sierra Help Pages -- New Sierra Game Installers -- Sierra Game Patches -- New Non-Sierra Game Installers

Reply 10 of 12, by `Moe`

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Would someone do me a favour?

VIDEO:

Q: The game (sometimes or always) shows black bars at the top/bottom/left or right.
Q: The game (sometimes or always) is cut off at thetop/bottom/left or right.
Q: The game (sometimes or always) has a distorted image / is all shaky / flickers often.
Q: I don't get any picture at all. The screen goes to sleep mode or makes funny noises.

A: Your Display probably can't show the game's video mode (resolution). You can try to adjust your monitor settings with the buttons on the monitor. If that doesn't work, set "fullfixed=true" and "fullresolution=0x0", then play with different values of the "output" setting.

And another one, from the recent 'hatred' discussion:

FRONTENDS

Q: DOSBox is so difficult to use. I don't get/like that config file business. Why is there no GUI?

A: There is a GUI: Use one of the available frontend programs. DOSBox is at the moment meant to be the "engine" only. If you have problems with config files and mounting and all that, there are frontends for all supported OSes that will make changing settings easy.

EDIT: another one, also belongs into FRONTENDS or STARTUP or so:

Q: I have followed the instructions to change the configuration, but it doesn't seem to work. Why is DOSBox ignoring my config file?

A: If all you want is to get it working: See the FRONTENDS section, a frontend will make changing the configuration easy. If you want to understand what's going on behind the scenes: DOSBox loads a file called dosbox.conf in the current working directory. If you config file isn't used, it's probably in the wrong directory, or the filename is misspelled.

Reply 11 of 12, by DosFreak

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For those wondering why I haven't updated the FAQ for awhile....

I've been slowly going through the forum deleting posts that either are 1-2 posts, are topics already covered in the FAQ, etc.

So far the "DosBox General" thread has decreased from 92 threads to 87 threads so I'm getting closer. 😀 I think I've just about found all of the easy to find stupid posts so now I'll starting tackling the threads with a large # of responses and try to get the usefull info out of those.

Not sure what I'm going to do about the threads that go off on a tangent. For now I leave those alone but I'm debating sticking them in Milliways or wherever.....

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