Couldn't say what the problem might be, and I've never played those games, but you might try using a recent CVS build to see if the problem was already addressed. See the link in my sig.

Works fine for me under official DOSBox 0.63 and EVEN BETTER under 0.65rc2 - Did you run setup.exe first?

Well, the game certainly runs ok, but I only have an already-installed copy, so I can't test the install part. If you're using Windows (as long as it's not Win ME), I guess you could try running the installer from windows, and then just use dosbox to play.

Wow, I didnt expect any responses so quickly. Thanks a lot.

HunterZ:
Thanks for the helpful link. I havent tried any of the CVS builds. I was under the impression that they were unofficial/experimental. I'll try them anyhow if I cant get Elvira to work otherwise.

eL_PuSHeR:
I have only tried running install.exe first. I have the older version for DOS/Amiga (1990). The install is the only .exe file... the setup is a .pkd file... which is some kind of DOS batch file (from what I understand). Suffice to say, I cant execute it in DOSBOX or in MS-DOS prompt. Is there an external program that will allow me to do this?
Is the 0.65rc2 one of the builds that HunterZ mentioned?
Also, cool to hear from you. When I initially searched this forum, your previous post concerning Elvira sound was the only thing I found... so already a familiar face. 😀

Lofty:
I just tried to simply install Elvira from the MS-DOS prompt. It did the same thing as DOSBOX. Later tonight, I'll try to remove/reinstall straight away. Maybe it's just that simple... thanks for the suggestion.

All:
By the way, my OS is Win XP. I forgot to mention this in my first post.

Just to clarify... I have the oldest release of Elvira:MOTD (1990). You can actually still order the game from Adventuresoft (formerly Horrorsoft), and it runs on Win 95/98. I dont have this one. Are all of you guys talking about this version? I really dont know if there is any difference between the two. One might expect that the installation/setup may be different though.

I havent tried any of the CVS builds. I was under the impression that they were unofficial/experimental.

There hasn't been an official release of DOSBox in a long time, but there's been a ton of development. The CVS builds, while unofficial, tend to be very stable.

the setup is a .pkd file... which is some kind of DOS batch file (from what I understand).

I've never heard of .pkd files. It sounds like and abbreviation of "packed", which makes me think it might actually be an archive file or something. In any case, only .EXE, .COM and .BAT files can be executed in DOS.

Is the 0.65rc2 one of the builds that HunterZ mentioned?

It's a CVS build that has been designated as a candidate for being labeled as the next official release version, depending on results of extensive testing by the DOSBox beta testing volunteer group. My guess is that any recent CVS build is likely to be nearly as stable, with the difference being that the release candidates will have been proven so via testing.

Kizvel:

If seems your Elvira comes compressed somehow. You may need to decompress it first. I would recommend you trying to run install.exe under plain WinXP NTVDM (cmd.exe). After that, if it's decompressed succesfully, you can give DOSBox a try.

eL_PuSHeR: Looks like Kizvel already tried that.
Unusual that you get the same problem in dosbox and native windows-dos (NTVDM). Usually one works, or the other, or they both don't work but in different ways. 😀

All:
I tried to remove all of the Elvira files and install using the NTVDM. I didnt have any luck. It had the same problem as before. I'm definitely thinking that the Elvira files are compressed like you guys said. I dont think that Win XP is capable of decompressing these .pkd files. I'm trying to look online and find a nifty program to do this. Does anyone know a good place to look? I tried download.com, but my first search didnt turn up anything useful.

A quick Google search and some subsequent digging found this: http://www.watto.org/extract/

You can actually still order the game from Adventuresoft (formerly Horrorsoft), and it runs on Win 95/98.

I have that version. It has Win32-only installer but the rest is pretty much unchanged. I ran the installer in XP (although, I suspect that with a little effort I could just extract the CAB file without any installer), and it created three folders for three games and manual in PDF. Once installed, all games run just fine in DOSBox. I did not see any "pkd" files so that must be an artifact of DOS installer.
EDIT: Almost forgot. Elvira 2 and Waxworks in that pack are "pre-cracked" -- they still ask for codes but those codes are always the same 😀 Reminds me of the other game package (IIRC, it was Ultimate Wizardry Archives), there was a sentence in the manual: "Thanks to nice people on the Internet we were able to ship these games without the original nasty manual protection."

Heh, using win32-only installers for ms-dos games. STUPIDIEST THING EVER.