Hi all. I am a long time regular of OldGamersForum.Com and OldGames.nu and also a long time user of both VDMSound and DosBox.

So what brings me here?

Firstly, this is clearly the best technical forum for old games around, better than the one at OldGamer's and the one at the Underdogs, and secondly I have run into a few problems and my own level of expertise is sadly failing me.

First things first:

Specs:

Original model: Advent 3107 (http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/advent/faq/pc/3107.htm)

Processor: P4 1.8 GHz

RAM: 768 SDRAM

Graphics Card: Geforce FX5600Ultra (by Gainward)

160GB of storage on 2 hard disks (40GB master and 120GB slave)

It all runs on Windows XP Home Edition (with Service Pack 1b).

Basically I have always used a five step rule for running all old games:

1. Try it normally.

2. If it's a LucasArts adventure game then use ScummVDM - VERY good at what it does.

3. For any other game that runs into a problem I try it with VDM Sound

4. Then I turn to DosBox

5. If all else fails I come here.

Ok, introduction over, let me get to the point:

It seems like since I installed my second hard drive VDM Sound has been failing to run A LOT of games. Nine times out of ten it is this message:

"Dos/16 error: [17] system software does not follow VCPI or DPMI specifications."

Will some one PLEASE tell me what this means, I have looked everywhere.

It is saying it all over the place with all sorts of different games. As as example of the range: it says it with Sam 'n' Max: Hit the Road (although I play it with Scumm) and also with The Magic Candle (although I play it in DosBox). Am I not right in thinking that VDMSound should be playing games like Jagged Alliance and Syndicate with ease? What has happened?

My principal problem is that I find a lot of games DO run in DosBox but something seems choppy and slow. I've even cracked the cpu up to 25000 and games STILL run slower than they should.

The second problem which seems totally unresolvable (and, believe me, I've tried EVERYTHING) is when a game asks for 2700KB of EMS. Other people seem to find ways around these problems but nothing ever seems to work. Generally anything made by SimTex has this problem - (1860 Robber Barons, Master of Magic). But also games I'd expect to run ok - like Little Big Adventure, for instance, or Fantasy Empires (in the case of the latter XP actually plays it WITH sound and VDM just brings Error 17).

All this means that of the 50 or so old games I have in my folder only those that I can usually open in XP anyway work. And the only games I can think of which actually benefit from it are Star Trek - 25th Anniversary, The Clue and Machiavelli: The Prince. All of these games run in XP with no sound and in VDM Sound with it.

What puzzles me are 3 things:

1. How come a game like Darklands worked fine through VDM before but now all of a sudden it is "Unable to find EMS"

2. How can XP run a Fantasy Empires perfectly and VDM Sound not???

3. How does an ANCIENT game like The Fool's Errand run fine in XP but a game as recent as 1997's Constructor fail so miserably (even with VDMSound)? (NB: I have the windows patch for Constructor and the orginal disc so I need no help on this specific issue,just an example, thanks)

DosBox literally runs EVERYTHING with sound and it even resolves mouse driver problems (e.g. The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes), it will only refuse to run Windows programs. That's all great. BUT it is slow and makes playing some of the old games slightly burdonsome. Master of Magic is the best example but I'd say MOST games are like this. Dominus, Syndiacte, The Magic Candle 1, 2 and 3, Darklands, Covert Action - in fact almost every Dos game I've mentioned - all work fine, I can even save my games and everything, but they all have this problem.

My fourth question is hence this: Is it possible to play all these games in XP through VDMSound or is it just the retro-gamer's way to have to put up with all these minor niggles in DosBox?