When you have closed DOSBox, does it still exists as a process in Task Manager?

You can also try to change the output=.... setting in your dosbox.conf file. It might be something to do with the way DOSBox uses your graphics drivers. A different output-method might work around the issue.

I suspected that too, that it doesn't exit properly and still exists as a process in the background, preventing a new instance to start up, but that is not the case.

I tried several of the output methods, but none make a difference. What happens is the screen turns black for a second or two as if it was starting up, then goes back to the desktop.

Try uninstalling 0.70 and install 0.65 instead. Check if the problem still exists then.

This only happens in 0.70. I can exit and restart 0.65 indefinitely.

try this executable
http://pcnwstage.phys.rug.nl/dosbox-debug/dosboxnt2.exe

This one seems to work without fail (had to download some SDL files to make it work, though).

Thanks a bunch! 😀

does it work with the dlls from 0.70 ?

Eh... I hadn't realized those dlls were in the installation folder.

I had run the exe out of the browser because I thought it was a patch or somesuch, and then googled the dlls after it gave me an error and put them in windows/system. 😊

made wrote:

...and then googled the dlls after it gave me an error and put them in windows/system. 😊

DON'T put the DLL's in WINDOWS\system or anywhere else. The DLL's should go in the same directory as the DOSBox executable.

Aye, I've deleted them meanwhile. Works just as fine with the DLLs from the installation directory.

thanks for reporting back.
for interrested readers. There is no secret patch in that nt2 build. It's just the cvs.
The fallback code was fixed correctly a few days ago.

Well it solves the problem in that the fallback works correctly
(so it doesn't crash), but that doesn't solve the original problem
of the directx-interface not being usable.