how can i run windows 95 through dosbox

[andreasaspenberg]

i have already installed it but i have no idea how to boot it. autoexec.bat and command.com have been renamed to autoexec.dos amd command.dos. i just have no idea how to execute them through dosbox. can anybody help me? i am not pirating anything as i am using my old windows 95 cd(in case you decide to accuse me of piracy). i have games that is not running in modern systems so my best solution is to run windows 95 on an emulated machine.

 

[pyf]

Maybe this can help, or maybe not:
Guide: installing Windows 95 on DOSBox 0.74

I am pointing out that Win9x emulation is not supported by the official DOSBox afaik.


More DOSBox-related questions and answers:
VOGONS • View forum - DOSBox

 

[andreasaspenberg]

i have installed it and it is actually supported but, i have no idea how to start it once it is installed. that is an insttalation guide only and does not cover starting the system up after installing it. i specifically wrote run, not install as i already installed it. please supply an answer to my question rather than a question i did not ask.

 

[pyf]

that is an insttalation guide only and does not cover starting the system up after installing it.

As for me, this guide is about installing W95 on a new hard disk image, and then having W95 startup automatically from this hard disk image, when starting DOSBox.

i specifically wrote run

You wrote in OP "i have already installed it but i have no idea how to boot it"

please supply an answer to my question rather than a question i did not ask.

This is how to load a bootable hard disk image in DOSBox:
IMGMOUNT - DOSBoxWiki
BOOT - DOSBoxWiki

This info can also be read in the installation guide I provided earlier, at the bottom of page 2 for me.

i have games that is not running in modern systems so my best solution is to run windows 95 on an emulated machine.

i have installed it and it is actually supported

https://www.dosbox.com/wiki/Software:Microsoft_Windows_95

Please also read this thread, starting from this post:
VOGONS • View topic - Windows 95 Games

 

[andreasaspenberg]

still not helping as dosbox does not support disk images. i did however install it through dosbox without issues. i have no idea however how to boot it. you pointed me to an empty wiki article. check the title of the topic. it say run. please give me a solution.

 

[pyf]

You may run W95 on DOSBox, by mounting and then booting a hard disk image on which W95 has been installed.

Using DOSBox for any Windows 95 gaming is not recommended by those who know and use it.

you pointed me to an empty wiki article.

It is empty because running Win9x is not supported by the official DOSBox.

 

[andreasaspenberg]

i have no idea to what strange modifications that user made to dosbox to get it to mount disk images but the official version is not able to. i am not a programmer however so i can not do those modifications to dosbox. i therefore need to use another method to accomplish it. it is installed through dosbox on my laptop. i need to know the commands required to exceute command.dos from dosbox.

 

[pyf]

i have no idea to what strange modifications that user made to dosbox to get it to mount disk images but the official version is not able to. [...]

Did I mention that the info below is from the official DOSBox wiki?
IMGMOUNT - DOSBoxWiki
BOOT - DOSBoxWiki

I am wondering which version / fork / build of DOSBox you are using...

i need to know the commands required to exceute command.dos from dosbox.

Please read this:
AUTOEXEC.BAT - Dual-booting DOS and Windows 9x - Wikipedia

No need to have a dual boot (like, MS-DOS + W95) when using DOSBox imho...


Anyway, so what happens when you run the file WIN.COM?

 

[andreasaspenberg]

i am told that it is not compatible with dos 7 or older.

 

[pyf]

I am guessing you have installed Windows 95 after another, previous OS. I am also guessing that the W95 version of some critical boot/startup files (like IO.SYS or MS-DOS.SYS) are not installed/loaded on boot/startup for whatever reason.
IO.SYS - Wikipedia
MSDOS.SYS - Wikipedia
WIN.COM - Wikipedia

This seems weird, since I understand you installed Windows 95 last. But fyi, I always made clean installs of Windows 95 OSR2 on real hardware, thanks to a MS-DOS 6.22 bootable system diskette which loaded a CD-ROM driver. Therefore idk whether Windows 95 can automatically create a dual boot or not.

But whatever, since it is all about running it in DOSBox, then I again suggest you follow the instructions from the tutorial already provided above. This will allow you to install Windows 95 on a fresh new hard disk image, which you can then mount and boot easily inside DOSBox.

Windows 95 comes with MS-DOS 7 built-in (sort of), meaning real-mode DOS can be accessible too afterwards.

 

[andreasaspenberg]

i installed windows 95 in dosbox but i do not know how to execute its boot. command.com and a few other files was given the dos extension. trying to run command.com gives me a wrong dos version message. could be a way to specify dos version in dosbox but i do not know the setting for that. i could add that line to the configuration file if somebody told me what it is and where it belongs. dosbox is running dos 5.00 at the moment.

 

[pyf]

I will assume something is wrong with your installation of Windows 95 on top of MS-DOS 5.00. I believe that the MS-DOS 7 startup system files should have taken precedence over the MS-DOS 5.00 startup system files, so that MS-DOS 7 is loaded on boot / startup, and not MS-DOS 5.00


Again, you really should follow the instructions from the guide in my first post. It will allow you to install Windows 95 (plus MS-DOS 7, which Windows 95 requires) on a brand new, bootable hard disk image. I am pointing out, there are also quite a few video tutorials about that subject on YouTube.


For the record, if a previous older OS is already installed on one's HDD, and then if Windows 95 is *properly* installed on top of it afterwards, then it is still possible to launch that old previous OS from Windows 95's startup menu, under the 'Previous version of MS-DOS' option:
MDGx Windows 95/98/ME Complete MSDOS.SYS Reference - Windows 95 - 98 Startup Menu + Bootup Keys

...*but* please keep in mind that being able to launch any such previous version of MS-DOS this way, makes no sense imho in virtual environments like DOSBox. Better keep things separate.

 

[pyf]

Any news?

 

[pyf]

For those who care, it might be worth mentioning that DBGL now has basic support for Yesterplay80's DOSBox ECE since October 25. This means support for the latest integrated Munt configuration settings, Ant_222's experimental Pixel-perfect tweaks, the Voodoo patch and the most important FluidSynth switches.

Changelog and additional instructions here:
Official Homepage for DBGL: DOSBox Game Launcher, a multi-platform frontend for DOSBox