It seems program is attempting to access the CD-ROM drive. What mount commands did you use in DOSBox? Write down them here.

Z:\>mount C C:\oldgames
Drive C is mounted as local directory C:\oldgames\

Z:\>C:

C:\>cd FIF97

C:\FIFA97>FIFADOS
DOS/4GW Protected Mode Run-time Version 1.97
Copyright (c) Rational Systems, Inc. 1990-1994
CD READ ERROR

thats as far as i got

Your forgot to mount the CD-Drive.

If your CD is letter F: in Windows, you would add a second mount command...

Z:\>mount C C:\oldgames
Drive C is mounted as local directory C:\oldgames\

Z:\mount d f:\ -t cdrom
MSCDEX installed
Drive F is mounted as CDRom

Z:\>C:

C:\>cd FIF97

C:\FIFA97>FIFADOS

o ok thanks alot

ive done that (changed f to e as thasts the drive were my cs is) but stioll gettin the same message at the end 😢

Try adding some more parameters. Maybe it needs a proper label. To check the label (volume name), go to My PC and copy the name of the CD.

E.g.

Z:\mount d e:\ -t cdrom -label FIFA97

Or try Input/Output control access mode too.

Z:\mount d e:\ -t cdrom -ioctl -label FIFA97

thanks for help again mate. ive tried those but still getting same message, here are the 3 different ways ive tried.

Z:\>mount C C:\oldgames
Drive C is mounted as local directory C:\oldgames\

Z:\mount d e:\ -t cdrom
MSCDEX installed
Drive e is mounted as CDRom

Z:\>C:

C:\>cd FIF97

C:\FIFA97>FIFADOS

DOS/4GW Protected Mode Run-time Version 1.97
Copyright (c) Rational Systems, Inc. 1990-1994
CD READ ERROR

then i tried

Z:\>mount C C:\oldgames
Drive C is mounted as local directory C:\oldgames\

Z:\mount d e:\ -t cdrom -label FIFAPCCD
MSCDEX installed
Drive e is mounted as CDRom

Z:\>C:

C:\>cd FIF97

C:\FIFA97>FIFADOS

DOS/4GW Protected Mode Run-time Version 1.97
Copyright (c) Rational Systems, Inc. 1990-1994
CD READ ERROR

then

Z:\>mount C C:\oldgames
Drive C is mounted as local directory C:\oldgames\

Z:\mount d e:\ -t cdrom -ioctl -label FIFAPCCD
MSCDEX installed
Drive e is mounted as CDRom

Z:\>C:

C:\>cd FIF97

C:\FIFA97>FIFADOS

DOS/4GW Protected Mode Run-time Version 1.97
Copyright (c) Rational Systems, Inc. 1990-1994
CD READ ERROR

i still get the same error everytime so posting what i typed each time to see if i missed anything out, appreciate the help by the way

Are you sure the CD is readable? Can you access it normally? Are you sure E: is the correct drive letter?

when i insert cd i get an error saying Error! couldn't find cd-rom

i had to install it by exploring the cd etc

and yes it is the E drive

Either the CD is badly damaged/scratched etc or your drive is broken. Can you test the CD on a different drive?

i get the same error message when i use the d drive too

Try cleaning the CD gently with a lint free moist cloth, in straight lines, from the center to the outer rim.

ive orderd another fifa97 as it only costs about £3 these days so will try that when it arrives

Mount the CD with "-ioctl" and "-usecd X", where X is the number of the drive starting from 0 (for example: 0 = D:, 1 = E:, 2 = F: )

sorry for being stupid but how and when do i type that, im guessin its here

Z:\mount d e:\ -t cdrom -ioctl -label FIFAPCCD
MSCDEX installed

eL_PuSHeR my new fifa arrived today and i still get the same message
Drive e is mounted as CDRom

could you please tell me were abouts in there i type usecd 1

You must use it as another parameter:

Z:\mount d e:\ -t cdrom -ioctl -label FIFAPCCD -usecd 1

12007-11-01 13:15 qbix79
2* Emulate a trailing dot on volume labels of 8 characters when on a
3cdrom drive. mscdex weirdness. Fixes Fifa96 cdrom detection.

...as well as Fifa97 cdrom detection! 😀

You should check the DosBox website for the list of versions of DosBox compatible with Fifa 97. If you are using version 0.72, it is not compatible with Fifa 97. There is a list of games. Click Fifa 97. You should see the compatible DosBox versions with Fifa97.You should be using version 0.70 which you can download from the website. Good Luck. 😀

Compatibility list surely is no way to determine if a game does NOT run in
dosbox as that list is user-maintained and usually it just means nobody
tried it up to now/didn't commit the results.

I tried Fifa 97 with dosbox before and it didn't work, then some time later I came back to look at the compatibility list, and it said FIFA 97 Supported Ver 0.70, so I assumed 0.72 would at least run it, which it didn't, so I got an unofficial build of 0.72 which did run it.
But I would of put Unsupported for Fifa 97 ver 0.72 in the compatibility list, except nobody can signup/login since hackers stole the account names/passwords, so the compatibility list surely IS a way to see if a game DOES not run in dosbox as it's never going to be updated by users if they can't update it. Unless there's somewhere else you can commit the results of games other than dosbox.com (Sourceforge?).
I've got quite a few old dos games I could test with 0.72(and later builds) and commit the results if I knew where.