VOGONS


First post, by cambalinho

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i'm trying playing MS-DOS games on Windows 98 and on MS-DOS...
but i see some problems with some games(but works normaly on DosBox):
MS-DOS:
- how can i get an Universal Sound Driver?
- do i need config the memory on Config.sys and Autoexec.bat for execute some games?(i get a Black Screen, or the game can take some minutes for execute the game)
Windows 98:
- i get the Sound Blaster emulation.. but not for all games... the Keen don't have sound, only effects on Speaker;
- the Spear of Destiny or Wolf3D give me a Black Screen, but take minutes to execute on MS-DOS...
how can i resolve these problems?

Reply 1 of 9, by Jorpho

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cambalinho wrote on 2021-06-13, 21:02:

but i see some problems with some games(but works normaly on DosBox):

Then why not just use DOSBox? As you may be beginning to realize, there is much to lose and very little to be gained by using genuine hardware.

cambalinho wrote on 2021-06-13, 21:02:

- how can i get an Universal Sound Driver?

What makes you think something like that exists? You have to get drivers for your specific sound hardware. Also note that if you have a PCI Sound Blaster card, it will only work on older motherboards (unless you run games from an MS-DOS prompt after Windows is loaded).

do i need config the memory on Config.sys and Autoexec.bat for execute some games?(i get a Black Screen, or the game can take some minutes for execute the game)

Of course. Some games will require more conventional memory than others, and some games will require EMS, and so on. And some games will work without any problems.

If "the game can take some minutes for execute the game", then most likely your computer is just very slow. 😉 Problems like that are unlikely to be related to anything in your config.sys or autoexec.bat .

- i get the Sound Blaster emulation.. but not for all games... the Keen don't have sound, only effects on Speaker

Then it is most likely that Keen is not set up correctly.

- the Spear of Destiny or Wolf3D give me a Black Screen, but take minutes to execute on MS-DOS...

Some games will definitely not run from an MS-DOS prompt in Windows, though I would be surprised if Wolf3D is one of them. It is possible that, like Keen, it is not set up correctly.

Reply 2 of 9, by cyclone3d

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What are the exact specifications of your computer hardware? Brand/model of motherboard, CPU, video card and sound card. How much RAM do you have?

Without that information, nobody is going to be able to help you.

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Yamaha XG repository
YMF7x4 Guide
Aopen AW744L II SB-LINK

Reply 3 of 9, by cambalinho

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Acer aspire 1690. 512mb of RAM. It's for Windows XP, but i installed the Win98

Reply 4 of 9, by cyclone3d

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cambalinho wrote on 2021-06-14, 05:04:

Acer aspire 1690. 512mb of RAM. It's for Windows XP, but i installed the Win98

There are no DOS drivers for the sound card as it is an AC97 codec.
This should be the Windows WDM drivers though:

The attachment SP29356.zip is no longer available

You do have a PCMCIA slot so you could get a PCMCIA sound card that supports DOS directly or even DOS through Windows 98. The Audigy 2 ZS is NOT a card that has DOS drivers.
Look at the PCMCIA sound card thread for an idea of what to get. They are pretty rare and tend to be expensive when they do pop up for sale:
PCMCIA Sound Cards

The other option is to use DOSBOX for DOS games.

Do you have working Windows 98 drivers for the video card? IT is an ATI Mobility X600 so theoretically there should be drivers.

Yamaha modified setupds and drivers
Yamaha XG repository
YMF7x4 Guide
Aopen AW744L II SB-LINK

Reply 5 of 9, by cambalinho

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maybe i have locky here for MS-DOS sound drivers: VIA AC'97 Sound Blaster drivers for MS-DOS?
how can i change my config.sys and autoexec.bat for use the memory and others commands correctly for play the game?
"If "the game can take some minutes for execute the game", then most likely your computer is just very slow. "
the game plays correctly on speed.. what i said was only for execute and not playing it.

Reply 6 of 9, by Jorpho

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cambalinho wrote on 2021-06-14, 20:52:

maybe i have locky here for MS-DOS sound drivers: VIA AC'97 Sound Blaster drivers for MS-DOS?

Those drivers only work for a specific VIA chipset and you will probably not be "locky" with them.

the game plays correctly on speed.. what i said was only for execute and not playing it.

Yes? That is definitely something that can happen if your computer is very slow. Changing things in your config.sys and autoexec.bat is very unlikely to magically change that. If you had problems with your config.sys and autoexec.bat, then it is more likely your game would not run at all.

In any case, if you want to play your games with sound, then you are probably going to have to run them from an MS-DOS prompt when Windows is running, because you're probably not going to find any DOS drivers – and so it's rather pointless to discuss how you should change your config.sys and autoexec.bat.

You never answered what you are expecting to achieve by not running these games in DOSBox?

Reply 7 of 9, by cambalinho

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"You never answered what you are expecting to achieve by not running these games in DOSBox?"
i'm sorry, but i was trying not using it on Windows 9X..
hey i have 512MB's RAM, 64VRAM and 1.6GHz of CPU... so the problem is the CPU?

Reply 8 of 9, by Jorpho

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cambalinho wrote on 2021-06-14, 21:57:

i'm sorry, but i was trying not using it on Windows 9X..

Yes, well, these are the problems you can run into.

hey i have 512MB's RAM, 64VRAM and 1.6GHz of CPU... so the problem is the CPU?

Thank you for clarifying that. There are probably some DOS games that will not run correctly on a CPU that is that fast.

Please be more specific. Are you trying to run Commander Keen 4? And you're trying to run it from a DOS prompt while Windows is running? And it literally takes several minutes after you run keen.exe before you see anything? (Have you timed it?)

Reply 9 of 9, by Joakim

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That computer is a little too new for windows 98 and DOS I believe. Windows 98 was officially discontinued in 2006 but a lot of hardware around that time simply did not supported that OS.

I believe this answer is especially true for laptops. If you like laptops I would get something older, maybe a Compaq armada or something. Or get 2, as they are dirt cheap. Think about what screens you get though as some screens are not for fast pase gaming at all. (See the laptop guide by 8-bit guy on YouTube.)