The CD version is in fact 1.07. Difference from 1.06 floppy/download version is extra animations and sounds.

Thought it was a bit peculiar that it at least started with earlier versions of DOSbox, and then ceased functioning at all under later ones. I wonder what changed.

CD is titled: ARENA_CD

110/18/1994  04:01 PM           174,429 ACD.EXE
210/18/1994  02:59 PM            31,953 INSTALL.EXE
3
4MD5:
5ACD.EXE 046cdaf6d818864bb6feafe4e7026338
6INSTALL.EXE a2cc81084be142afdca93caebfc26d68

Contains the 1.05 readme titled READ.ME. Also contains README.TXT with these contents:

1                   The Elder Scrolls, Chapter I: Arena
2                            Version 1.07 CD-ROM
3----------------------------------------------------------------------
4+ Hot keys not documented in the manual:
5  Shift + C = Recast spell
6  Ctrl + left arrow or right arrow  = Slide left or right
7  '-' and '+' = scroll inventory up or down in charsheet.
8  Shift + J = Standing long jump.
9  F3 key = toggle damage response. There are three choices
10     available: "Normal Roll", "Severe Roll", and "Cross Hatch".
11  F4 key = toggle message pixellation. If you would prefer
12     messages to pop on to the screen rather than pixellate in, click
13     the F4 key. Clicking the key again will toggle the messages back
14     to pixellation.
15  '-' during game play on a fast machine (Pentium, DX4) = slow down
16  '+' during game play on a fast machine (Pentium, DX4) = speed up
17
18+ A Pentium slowdown has been included. To slow down game play for a
19Pentium, modify the arena.bat file by adding:
20"-delay:#" 
21to the end of line that starts with @A
22where # is an integer between 1 and 9. 1 is fast, 9 is slow. 
23We recommend 3 as a good speed.
24If, after starting the game on your Pentium using this feature, you
25find the speed still is not right, you may adjust the delay using the
26+ and - keys. 
27
28+ Getting stuck in a wall: if this happens, check the automap - if
29there is an open tile adjacent to you, then just save your game, exit,
30and start up again, restoring the game. You will find yourself out of
31the wall. If there are no open tiles nearby, you will have to restore
32a previous game. We recommend that you do not Passwall into a
33stairwell, or you will almost certainly get stuck.
34
35+ Can't get an Artifact Quest: This seems to be related to picking the
36Start New Game option while in the middle of another game. We recommend
37that you do not choose this option. If you do find that you have
38reached at least level 5, and you still get no Artifact Quest when
39asking townsfolk for Rumors - General, then you may enable these quests
40by hitting:
41      [ALT] F5
42in combination. (a message should appear)
43NOTE: This will _not_ enable another quest if you already possess an
44artifact, and it could potentially ruin an Artifact Quest if you are
45currently on one. This fix is only intended to be used _once_, if
46at all.
47
48+ A general helpful tip is to save your game often, and keep one backup
49save file handy.
50
51+ Many problems have been solved simply using the boot disk option from
52the install.
53
54+ Player can now rename spells (left-click on the spell name)
55
56+ Due to popular demand, spellcasters can now delete spells from
57their spellbooks. Simply go to the second page of your character
58sheet, click on spellbook, double-click on the spell you wish to
59delete, and when the spell description appears choose the new
60"delete" option.

61
62--------------------------------------------------------------------
63
64  We are currently in production for the second chapter of the Elder
65Scrolls, Daggerfall, expected to completed in early '95. Daggerfall 
66will feature the same open-endedness and breadth of area to explore
67that Arena had, but will also include far more NPC interaction, a
68faster and more flexible 3D engine, and a more sophisticated storyline.
69All in all, Daggerfall will give you more opportunity to roleplay your 
70character as you choose. We are very excited about it, and would 
71appreciate any and all suggestions for it.
72
73If you want to hold onto a character for the sequel, save files *.0x,
74where x equals the number of the saved game (notice that 0 is the first
75saved slot, and 9 is the last). Note that there will be several files
76to save.
77
78        Thank you for playing the Elder Scrolls, Chapter I: Arena. 
79
80-- Bethesda Softworks
81

I'm having the same black screen problem with TES:A. The thing is: I'm using the old floppy version [v1.05] (for which people have said black screen is not an issue). I've also tried the free download [v1.06] with the same results.

The install goes off without a hitch, but executing results in a black screen with cursor.

I've tried every combination of rendering and sound to no avail. I've also tried it on DOSbox v0.63 and v0.61.

I thought part of the problem might be that I'm running a laptop with a widescreen display, which has known ATI issues, but I can't be sure.

-Thanks

Have you tried:
- running both in fullscreen and in a window?
- using both normal and dynamic core in DOSBox?
- running with both no sound and no music?
- using a CVS version of DOSBox? DOSBox SVN Builds
- running other games in DOSBox?
- using various output= modes?

Do you have the latest video, sound, and motherboard chipset drivers installed for your hardware? (I know laptops can be finnicky in this department though)

Also, if you have the game configured for sound, do you hear sound when you see the blank screen?

Weirdest thing: I got TES:A to work by using the frontend DFend 2. I can’t see any difference in the configs. In fact, I’ve verified that the configs are the same, line for line. Go figure.

Aha! I stumbled across it as I should have known I would. I keep my old games in a [Program Files]. So there must have been an issue with [Program Files] and [Progra~1], because when I moved my game into just good ol' C drive, it worked fine through DOSbox and the frontend.

That'll learn me.

Thanks for your attention. Great program!

Just like to add my voice here - I've got the CD version of TES:A, works OK in 0.61 (although when i just tried it, it crashed about 1 second after the intro had finished). 0.63 just hangs, running 'ACD', with both normal and dynamic cores.

This game (CD version) works in .61, it's yet another regression, and really ought to be fixed. *sigh*. Qbix, Harekiet, take note!

It's been noted for quite some time. 😉

unfortunate I don't have the cdrom version of TES:A

Another thing....

Under 0.61 TES: Arena (CD version) runs, but it crashes when you try to save a game. If you do get it to run again, you may want to check out the save game issue also.

use cvs and set a label when mounting the cdrom. (and a real cdrom) (any label will do)
Will fix the non-label and the iso variant once the cvs servers get up again.

Qbix, are you saying that Arena CD will work in CVS if you set a label on the cdrom after mounting? I'll give it a try.

I'll be damned, it works!
My CD-ROM drive is W:\ so I did this:
mount d w:\ -t cdrom -ioctl -label ARENA_CD

hunterZ if you use a real cd. it should work with lowlevel mount options as well
mount d w:\ -t cdrom -ioctl
should do the trick as well. (as it's then able to extract the label from the cdrom. (at least at my place))

no label will will break the game. so it's easy to test. 😀
iso has a different label check then the cdrom drives at the moment. Both will be changed by me to make them a little more robust