05.02.2025 Dosbox - How to install DOS games in Windows
ex. Doom Shareware and Quake Shareware
Create a folder on your computer drive
c:\dosgames
Create three subfolders
c:\dosgames\dosbox
c:\dosgames\play
c:\dosgames\source
In the folder c:\dosgames\dosbox, unzip the version of Dosbox
that you want to use (e. g. dosbox, dosbox-x, dosbox-staging)
In the folder c:\dosgames\dosbox, make a backup of the
configuration file (dosbox-x.conf / dosbox-staging.conf). For
the original dosbox and for dosbox-staging, you must first start
dosbox.exe, so it creates a file "dosbox-0.74-3.conf" or
"dosbox-staging.conf" in folder
"[username]\AppData\Local\DOSBox". dosbox-x has already a
dosbox-x.conf in its own folder.
Those conf-files are text files and can be opened with any
editor, e. g. Windows notepad.
Change "fullscreen =
false" to "true"
Change "aspect =
false" to "true"
At the end, under section [autoexec], add:
mount d c:\dosgames\source
mount c c:\dosgames\play
If you have a physical CD ROM drive D:\ and want to use your CDs
in Dosbox, add
mount e d:\
Save the conf-file.
There are two possible scenarios: You have either the files or a
CD image.
Variation 1 with files: Download a DOS game which is distributed
as files (e. g. Doom shareware) and unzip it as a new subfolder
(e. g. doom) into the "source" folder.
Start dosbox. For a list of DOS commands, type help. To see the
content of any directory, type "dir" (or use the Windows
Explorer). Start a file like "install.bat" or "setup.exe". For
Doom:
d:
cd doom
install
In the installation program, choose drive C:
Use the sound settings according to your dosbox config
Exit the installation program
Doom starts
If you use a physical CD ROM, the procedure would be essentially
the same:
e:
install
Variation 2 with CD image: Download a DOS game which is
distributed as image (e. g. Quake shareware) and unzip it as a
new subfolder (e. g. quake) into the "play" folder. Type
d:
cd quake
imgmount f quake.bin
f:
install