Unlock a Treasure Trove of Classic Games: Our Simple Guide to Installing and Playing Old DOS Games on Windows!
If you’re a gamer who has been around for a while, chances are you have fond memories of playing classic DOS games like Duke Nukem 3D, Commander Keen, and Wolfenstein 3D. These games were the foundation of the gaming industry as we know it today and they still have a special place in the hearts of many gamers.
But what if you want to relive those golden days of gaming? Is it possible to install and play those old DOS games on our modern Windows operating system? The answer is a resounding yes! And in this article, we will show you how to unlock a treasure trove of classic games by installing and playing old DOS games on your Windows machine!
Step 1: Download DOSBox
The first step is to download a DOS emulator called DOSBox. DOSBox is a free and open-source emulator that allows you to run DOS programs, including old DOS games, on modern operating systems like Windows. You can download DOSBox from its official website for free.
Step 2: Install DOSBox
Once you have downloaded DOSBox, the next step is to install it on your computer. The installation process is straightforward and should not take more than a few minutes.
Step 3: Create a folder for your games
Before we can start playing old DOS games, we need to create a folder where we will store the games. We recommend creating a folder called “DOSGames” on your desktop or in your documents folder. Inside this folder, you can create subfolders for each game you want to install.
Step 4: Download old DOS games
There are various websites where you can download old DOS games for free. We recommend websites like Abandonia and My Abandonware. These websites have an extensive collection of classic games that you can download and play on your Windows machine.
Step 5: Install the game on DOSBox
Once you have downloaded the game, the next step is to install it on DOSBox. To do this, copy the game files to a subfolder in the “DOSGames” folder that you created earlier. Then open DOSBox and type in the following command:
mount c: c:\DOSGames
This command will mount the “c:\DOSGames” folder as the “C:” drive in DOSBox. You can then navigate to the folder where you have stored the game files and run the installation program.
Step 6: Play the game
Once you have installed the game, it’s time to play it! To do this, open DOSBox and navigate to the folder where you have stored the game files. Then type in the name of the executable file to launch the game. For example, to launch Duke Nukem 3D, you would type in “DUKE3D.EXE” and press Enter.
Conclusion
By following this simple guide, you can unlock a treasure trove of classic games and relive the golden days of gaming. With DOSBox, you can install and play old DOS games on your modern Windows machine and experience the nostalgia of classic gaming. So what are you waiting for? Start downloading those classic games and have a blast!
Remember all the old school DOS games like Dave, Doom, PacMan, etc.? Those are some fantastic games of the retired operating system MS-DOS, but these classic DOS games are no longer a part of the modern operating systems like Windows 7 and 8. So in this quick guide, let us take a trip down memory lane and see how to install and play these old school DOS games in the Windows operating system.
Note:
- Even though I’m using Windows 7 for demonstration purposes, the same procedure applies to Windows 8.
- This article assumes that you already have DOS games with you. If not, the Internet is your friend. Do place all the DOS games in a separate folder as we are going to mount them in the emulator.
Install DOS Emulator
To play the old DOS games, you need a virtual environment where DOS games can run seamlessly. DOSBox is one of the most popular and easiest to use DOS emulators. With it, you can play almost all the DOS games without any hiccups. The good thing is, DOSBox also supports other operating systems like Mac, Debian, Fedora, etc.
First, head to the official DOSBox site and download the Windows version.
Once you have downloaded the executable, you can install it like any other Windows software.
Playing DOS Games in DOSBox
Once the installation is done, launch the DOSBox application. Since DOSBox emulates itself as a DOS environment, you will be greeted with a command line user interface.
Here in this screen, we need to mount the virtual C drive. In this case, the C drive is nothing but the folder with all your DOS games. To mount a folder as the C drive in DOSBox, use the following command and press the “Enter” button. Don’t forget to substitute PATH with the actual path.
Once the path is substituted, the command looks something like this.
After successfully mounting the virtual C drive, change the directory to the mounted virtual C drive using the following command.
Now if you have plenty of DOS games like Dave, Doom, etc.., in their separate sub folders, then navigate to the game folder you want to play using the command below. In my case, I navigated to the game folder “Dave.”
Once you are in the game folder, you need to execute the game in order to play it. To do that, use the below command to run the game. Substitute EXECUTABLE with the actual executable file (eg: game.exe).
In some cases, you may want to execute batch files (.bat) to run the game. In those cases, just enter the batch file name along with the extension and press the enter button (eg: go.bat).
As you can see from the below image, as soon as you execute the command, you can start playing the DOS game you selected.
That’s all there is to do. Whenever you want to play a DOS game using DOSBox, just follow all the above steps and you are good to go.
Hopefully that helps, and do share your favorite DOS games using the comment form below.
Image Credits: Trevor Shafer @flickr
Vamsi is a tech and WordPress geek who enjoys writing how-to guides and messing with his computer and software in general. When not writing for MTE, he writes for he shares tips, tricks, and lifehacks on his own blog Stugon.
Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox
