Running old DOS programs in Windows 7

[llarian]

Morning all. I'm trying to run an old DOS program (jplclock) in windows 7 (64 bit). Nothing I have tried will permit the program to run. Has anyone had any luck running such older programs and offer advice on how to do it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[orb]

Did you try running it in DOSBox?

 

[TMac3000]

DosBox works, but it's slow and has a tight memory limit. I've had quite a few programs hang indefinitely in it.

My advice: let DosBox be your second choice. If at all possible, find an old (and I mean ooooold) system, something like a 486DX, clean it off, install DOS on it, and use it to run that kind of stuff.

 

[orb]

Well, if DOSBox is not enough to run some programs, then you could also install DOS or FreeDOS on Bochs, VirtualBox or some other virtual machine or emulator and try it there.

 

[Urwumpe]

If properly configured, DOSBox should be fast enough though. It is a very ineffective way to run some programs, but sometimes the only reliable one.

 

[garyw]

Have you looked at the compatibility mode? If that's not good and dosbox doesn't work then it's virtualbox.

 

[meson800]

Morning all. I'm trying to run an old DOS program (jplclock) in windows 7 (64 bit). Nothing I have tried will permit the program to run. Has anyone had any luck running such older programs and offer advice on how to do it?

Thanks in advance.

I've actually run that same program, jplclock, in DOSBox, it works fine for me.

If properly configured, DOSBox should be fast enough though. It is a very ineffective way to run some programs, but sometimes the only reliable one.

Agreed. It's not horrible (DOSBox consumes 66Mb of memory running JPLClock and maybe 1% CPU), it's orders of magnitude higher than the original memory consumption.

 

[n122vu]

I've never had a single issue running old DOS programs in DOSBox on Windows. It sounds as if I may be the exception? Maybe my .conf files are better tweaked?

I do use a different .conf file for each program, which allows me to set each one up for its best performance in the environment. Maybe that's where the difference lies...

 

[jedidia]

I've never had a single issue running old DOS programs in DOSBox on Windows. It sounds as if I may be the exception?

The only thing I could never get to run was Omnitrends Universe... otherwise I had only good expieriences with DosBox. Sure it takes some tweaking every now and then, but to be honest, it usually takes a lot less tweaking than DOS itself needed back in the days :facepalm:

 

[TMac3000]

I've had Harpoon Classic and Empire Deluxe always hang after a while (HC after about 45 minutes, and Empire Deluxe somewhere around 350 turns)--But I'm running Linux, so maybe that has something to do with it.

In ED's case, I actually spent $18 on Empire Deluxe Internet Edition (for Windows) just to get around it. So far I certainly do not miss that money:thumbup:

 

[Andy44]

For those of you running old games, does DOSbox recognize USB joysticks and mice?

Do you have a USB 3.5" floppy to load your old software?

 

[Urwumpe]

Do you have a USB 3.5" floppy to load your old software?

My old software is on big-endian DD 3.5" floppys. I doubt that I can read them on a PC without some small soldering work.

DOSBOX allows mounting directories on your filesystem (HD or not) as drives in the emulation.

 

[Michkov]

For those of you running old games, does DOSbox recognize USB joysticks and mice?

Mice work fine, Joysticks require some calibration but should get recognized if they work outside of DOSBox.

 

[llarian]

Well, this invoked an interesting conversation.

I'd like to thank you all for your input. Garyw, compatibility mode should have worked but didn't which created the original problem.

Thanks for reminding me about DOSBox. That was sufficient and it works as well as I need it to for the program I'm running ... hard-core gamer I'm not.

Kind of nice to see an old friend running again.

Regards all, and thanks again.

 

[jedidia]

For those of you running old games, does DOSbox recognize USB joysticks and mice?

Never had a problem with either. Of course you still have the usual trouble you always had in DOS when it comes to joysticks, and as far as I am aware there's no emulation of specific sticks. But Joy2Key has you pretty much covered if you need to configure your buttons.

 

[Andy44]

I am just wondering. I still have all my Falcon 3.0x disks. To run them, I'd need to find a 3.5" floppy drive with a USB connection. I don't even know if they still sell such things these days. I'd also need to be able to use my Logitech USB joystick. And I'd also have to be able to use my laptop's keyboard for all the controls. Falcon 3.0 uses a lot of keys, including the keypad found on standard desktop keyboards. All of that assumes DOSbox runs it in the first place. I've heard it does.

Don't know if it's worth it, but man, I miss those 90s games so much.

 

[jedidia]

Why not just download it from an abandonware site? If you even have the original disks lying around, there's not a trace of illegality in that.

 

[Andy44]

Why not just download it from an abandonware site? If you even have the original disks lying around, there's not a trace of illegality in that.

It's not the only DOS game I have lying around. And downloading anything from shady abandonware sites is something I'd prefer to avoid.

 

[jedidia]

It's not the only DOS game I have lying around. And downloading anything from shady abandonware sites is something I'd prefer to avoid.

Most of them aren't very shady. Heck, most sites of computer magazines that offer shareware downloads are a lot worse, what with installers that try to sneak unwanted programs into your system... Anyways, you got PM.

 

[orb]

I'd need to find a 3.5" floppy drive

While I don't have problems with internal 3.5" floppy drive which still works with my desktop just fine, I have some pre-1992 games on 5.25" floppies, which drive isn't even recognized by the controller (tested it with 2 different drives, one from my 386 and another from 486 and 3 cables), and I don't think they make those on USB.

But well, I don't think many of those diskettes would be readable anyway.