Do a search on your harddisk for that config file. How many do you see? Where are they? Inside the main DOSBox installation directory? With the game? Which one do you want to use? How do you start DOSBox?

I've only got one copy of dosbox.conf and it's in the same directory as dosbox.app, ~/Applications/DOSbox/ with Ascendancy being in ~/Applications/ASCEND/

I usualy start DOSbox from the application dock at the bottom of the screen.

Is there another version of DOSbox I could use that is started from the terminal? The .app version won't let me do that. Could that be the problem?

Thanks for your help

Hmm... Can you rename your dosbox.conf to 4000.conf (not copy, rename!) and then launch DOSBox all by itself? Next, from the DOSBox Z-prompt do this:

Z:> config -writeconf dosbox.conf

Now compare dosbox.conf with your 4000.conf. Any differences besides the cycle settings?

Editted by eL_PuSHeR

Changed topic title to something more comprehensive...

Compared the two files and the only difference in the change in CPU cycles from 3000 to 4000.

I also tried changing the CPU cycles in the new dosbox.conf to 4000 with no result, DOSbox still started up with 3000 CPU cycles

Hmm... Either I do not understand how DOSBox works on MacOS, or your DOSBox is sick since it refuses to obey the changed cycles setting!

Try this: Search for a file named .dosboxrc (dot dosboxrc, most likely in your home directory). That is an alternative name for the config file.

@Guest - when you launch DOSBox, how many windows do you get? 1 or 2? Do the second window list which config file DOSBox is using?

.dosboxrc dosen't exist. I tried renaming my modified config file that but OS X wouldn't let me saying that files beginning with a "." are reserved for the system, and my UNIX is too rusty to try renaming it from the terminal.

I only get one window when I launch DOSbox, the DOSbox window itself, looking at me all smug with it's 3000 CPU cycles...

@Guest - can you modify/add command line parameters to your DOSBox.app? There are some options to have DOSBox redirect some of its status messages to a file (on Windows these messages usually go to a secondary window). Check the DOSBox ReadMe. I think the option is -noconsole and the files are names stdout.txt and stderr.txt.

Unix rename:

$ mv old-filename new-filename

Finally, there is frontend for DOSBox on MacOS. PetitDOSBox or something. Perhaps if you can find a forum that caters for uses of that MacOS frontend, they can help you with the elusive dosbox.conf ??

PS: If you find the cause, and a fix, please, please report back. I would love hear what the problem is.

try pressing fn(lower left corner of ibook-keyb) + ctrl +f12
you have to use fn to switch to the original function of the key (same for f5 ->reload in fire fox e.g.)