Maybe the computer needs to load a DOS driver to work from DOS mode. Is one loaded?

Harry Potter wrote on 2023-08-25, 14:58:

Maybe the computer needs to load a DOS driver to work from DOS mode. Is one loaded?

No, as a matter of fact! I have fastvid initializing in autoexec, but I'm sure that's got nothing to do with Glide. Do you happen to know of one for a V3?

I think you're gonna have to get specific about what games do what. Hard to tell at the moment if you've got a general problem or a "these are Voodoo1" or "these are Voodoo2" games that need specific workarounds on the Voodoo3.

Related to this, the Voodoo3 won't work with DOS executables that has the Glide API integrated into them, where GLIDE2X.OVL isn't required.

Okay. When I get a chance either today or tmrw, I'll get a list of the DOS games I've tried that have been cross-checked with the V3-updated DOS Compatibility Matrix .

Well, ended up having some stuff to do yesterday so I couldn't get around to it, but I believe the situation has changed. On a whim, I tried barebones dos with nothing loaded - Extreme Assault and GTA loaded exactly as they were supposed to. I discovered that the others that I have are either incompatible with V3 or need specific workarounds to function. Process-of-elimination with Autoexec and config.sys revealed EMM386 to be the problem. I'm not sure if there's a specific configuration of EMM386 to work with dos glide games or if I need to use another memory manager, but my Audigy 2 ZS won't work under dos without one. I've tried UMBPCI before and it wasn't recognized, but I could try it again with a different configuration if need be. Any ideas?

Ryder252 wrote on 2023-08-27, 13:13:

I'm not sure if there's a specific configuration of EMM386 to work with dos glide games or if I need to use another memory manager, but my Audigy 2 ZS won't work under dos without one. I've tried UMBPCI before and it wasn't recognized, but I could try it again with a different configuration if need be. Any ideas?

UMBPCI isn't an EMM and is dependent on the motherboard chipset, relying on shadow RAM to obtain UMB while maintaining real mode. The Audigy's DOS driver will never work with it since a real EMM is required.

Do you have a non-Creative PCI sound card that has DOS drivers around?

Gmlb256 wrote on 2023-08-27, 15:33:

UMBPCI isn't an EMM and is dependent on the motherboard chipset, relying on shadow RAM to obtain UMB while maintaining real mode. The Audigy's DOS driver will never work with it since a real EMM is required.

Do you have a non-Creative PCI sound card that has DOS drivers around?

I see. Unfortunately no, I don't have one on hand. Do you think that an alternative EMM would make a difference?

Ryder252 wrote on 2023-08-27, 15:44:

Gmlb256 wrote on 2023-08-27, 15:33:

UMBPCI isn't an EMM and is dependent on the motherboard chipset, relying on shadow RAM to obtain UMB while maintaining real mode. The Audigy's DOS driver will never work with it since a real EMM is required.

Do you have a non-Creative PCI sound card that has DOS drivers around?

I see. Unfortunately no, I don't have one on hand. Do you think that an alternative EMM would make a difference?

QEMM, but I doubt that it will solve the problem you have.

Gmlb256 wrote on 2023-08-27, 15:53:

QEMM, but I doubt that it will solve the problem you have.

Well shoot! As I said in my earlier post, Extreme and GTA function as intended in vanilla DOS, as well as in Windows. I found that Nascar 2 also works after further testing. As this is such an oddly specific issue, it seems that there's no direct documentation I can find online that helps. I might be backed into a corner here, but I suppose it's not super important to me to have them running in pure dos - as long as I can run them at all.

I just wonder why EMM386 leads to these games refusing to run without Windows🤔

Post the content of autoexec.bat and config.sys.

eddman wrote on 2023-08-27, 20:13:

Post the content of autoexec.bat and config.sys.

Okay. I've got a start menu setup for Windows, DOS, and DOS with internet at the cost of not having enough memory to do much else 🤣. The files are a bit long so I've included them as attachments. I also have to apologize for my atrociously long environment path, I added to it over time with the intention of having my most used tools available quickly.

See if adding NOVCPI after NOEMS helps.

eddman wrote on 2023-08-31, 06:44:

See if adding NOVCPI after NOEMS helps.

I'm afraid it didn't:( Extreme Assault still leads to a black screen, but before GTA would at least get to the main menu and let me try to start a game, and then a black screen; this time, the first developer logo splash screen freezes before the animation starts. Nascar 2 bombs back to DOS, saying I don't have enough RAM(even though I've got 610K conventional free). I appreciate the suggestion though.

Also removing 'I=B000-B7FF" allowed GTA to get back to the menu, but upon loading the game it now says "Error 7.185: Out of memory etc...". Again, 610K.