Thank you! Now the games are starting and working. Only thing i need to fix now is some keyboard and mouse delay, which i have in some games. Hopefully this is not some performance problem.
While most DOS games can be run under Windows 9X, it will be better if your restart your computer in DOS mode. Usually it's one of the options you'll see while closing Windows.
If you are into newer games than just plain DOS and your computer is powerful enough, you may prefer to install Windows 9X instead. Releases of Windows until Windows 98SE provide some Windows compatibility (16 and 32 bit programs only) while still being able to run DOS applications.
The process is not that different from what we've seen so far... basically:
1) Choose a Pentium or better CPU and healthy RAM (64 Mb. or more) and harddrive (500 Mb. or more) sizes.
2) Pick a SVGA video card plus 3Dfx graphics.
3) When you first start the new machine, you need to mount three different units:
- A CD-ROM drive or a CD image of Windows 9X. Windows 98 SE is recommended, because it was the last of the 9X family, but even 95 will do.
- Your harddrive.
- An startup disk with CD-ROM support. You can get one for almost every OS here.
4) Enter the BIOS and find the option to boot from A: , your startup disk.
Then re-start the machine and, when prompted, say you want CD-ROM support.
5) The install procedure for Windows 9X is fairly simple. Just follow the on-screen instructions and restart the computer when asked to. If anything, remove the startup disk before.
If you prefer a step by step guide, check out wikiHow, who also provided for the above screenshot.
6) You'll end up with a mostly working Windows 9X desktop.
7) But you'll still need to tweak a few things, such as...
- Update you video graphics drivers to the latest Windows 9X version. Google is your friend if you don't know where to get them.
After you're done, put your desktop in 640x480 resolution with 256 colors. That's the most usual for games.
- If Windows 9X isn't playing any sound, also update the drivers for your sound card.
- Install DirectX. This shouldn't be a problem, because most CD-ROM games from the era include a copy.
- Install the 3Dfx drivers. You'll need the vg-w9x-q3.exe file. Other versions may not work with all games.
To install the new drivers, go to the Control Panel, then Add New Hardware. Navigate the assistant and finally use the options to use your own drivers disk and then enter the correct path.
- Finally, you may find WinZip useful. WinZip is a compressed file manager for Windows 9X and supports most common formats.
With all this done, it's time to copy / install some games to your setup and start playing.
Motorhead running under 3Dfx mode.
PC Real Madrid 2000 on the other hand is a bit jerky.
Note that you've linked to Voodoo Graphics drivers. PCem also emulates the Voodoo2, which that set of drivers will not work with.
One convenient way to install either latest official Voodoo Graphics or Voodoo2 drivers is to run a full installer of GLSetup which are provided on many (OpenGL using) game discs in 1999-2002 as well as off the internet. It's originally intended to get at least a supporting GL ICD for all the old Q3TEST tech support woes of '99 but does ship full video drivers for those 3dfx cards and can be a major time saver. 😀
Similarly, in the case of Windows 95, you can source your S3 Virge or Mach64 drivers off of DirectX6 for initial setup.
Also certain Win9X CDs do support CD booting (98SE OEM particularly) and the Award 430VX emulated does support it. Windows Me is the last of the 9x line and also works fine. .........stop laughing
A list of advantages above DOSBox by ykhwong for DOS and Win9x games would be interesting.
I see a report above about noticable keyboard delays. it's critical for action games, for example
Daum is broken and Win9x isn't supported nor recommended within DOSBox. It shouldn't even be mentioned in a guide thread, especially as it's apples and oranges here...
I'm glad to see this thread. While lots of VM software lists "MS-DOS" and "Windows 95" as options for profiles, they're all but unusable now. ESXi and Fusion, for example, have no drivers anymore. Fusion can't control the CPU speed either, so I've got a Windows 95 box with 64MB of RAM and a 2.9GHz CPU. That ought to go over well. (Assuming I could break out of 640x480 and have audio, anyway.)
I would really like to have a DOS / 9x development VM, so this looks like just the thing.
wrote:Note that you've linked to Voodoo Graphics drivers. PCem also emulates the Voodoo2, which that set of drivers will not work with.
One convenient way to install either latest official Voodoo Graphics or Voodoo2 drivers is to run a full installer of GLSetup which are provided on many (OpenGL using) game discs in 1999-2002 as well as off the internet. It's originally intended to get at least a supporting GL ICD for all the old Q3TEST tech support woes of '99 but does ship full video drivers for those 3dfx cards and can be a major time saver. 😀
Similarly, in the case of Windows 95, you can source your S3 Virge or Mach64 drivers off of DirectX6 for initial setup.
These Windows 9X instructions are based on my own experiences as well as from other users. Initially we used a different set of drivers, but then games such as "Motorhead" wouldn't work in 3Dfx mode. Using this Voodoo 1 drivers solved the issue.
wrote:Also certain Win9X CDs do support CD booting (98SE OEM particularly) and the Award 430VX emulated does support it. Windows Me is the last of the 9x line and also works fine. .........stop laughing
Noted. However, since I wanted the instructions to apply for all Windows 9X...
