Dos

K

kikolinho

Bit poster
Hi

Is it possible to install DOS on parallels? I would like to play some very old games like Monkey Island, Indiana Jones, etc.

If it's possible, is there any place in internet where I can download DOS? I have lost my diskettes.
 
.
Would you like someone to pop around and play for you as well?

Yes DOS 6.22 is supported, and you find it by searching.
.
 
There are a number of free or even open source DOS versions which are fully compatible with the old DOS 6.2 (I remember FreeDOS to be one of 'em). Just do a google search.
 
Did DOS ever have sound support? From my memory it took a whole lot of work to get noises out of DOS that didn't come from the computer's little speaker. Just buy a $50 used computer and run your games. This is just not something that you should be whining to Parallels about - it's way out of step with a logical use of their product. Anyone who wants to run DOS games in this era of computers should take responsibility for their choice - not attempt to put the burden on a vendor like Parallels that is trying their best to provide a product that is reasonably useful for many things to many people.
 
Yes, DOS does have pretty good sound support when you add a soundcard. Btw, I could easily run DOS on some of the old boxes I have laying around but Parallels is about convenience, otherwise everyone would be using BootCamp. And please, ask yourself who's doing the whining. :rolleyes:
 
Hi,

regarding Indiana Jones and Monkey Island an a lot of other classic adventure you schould try http://scummvm.sourceforge.net/ . This is much more convenient than fiddling with any sort of real or emulated DOS. Since it uses the original data files, you get the real feeling nonetheless :)
For other DOS games you might try http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/ , but I can't say much about it, since I'am not using it,
 
perpendicular said:
Yes, DOS does have pretty good sound support
Click to expand...

Nonsense! DOS doesn't have sound support at all, and NEVER did! You bought a what-ever brand sound card, and you install the vendor's drivers, and you hope they worked for the one app you bought it for. You don't use support that is built-in to DOS. DOS never had a clue about sound, it was patched in by the after market. That's why you're whining, because you don't understand what DOS WAS long ago. Convenience by using Parallels doesn't extend to servicing every off-the-wall wanta have. If your mac is so great, why doesn't it have sound-based apps that you want? Going back in history and picking out some obscure configuration and posting it as some big deal is just plain ridiculous. Use your old PC like a man - or little boy.
 
tgrogan said:
Nonsense! DOS doesn't have sound support at all, and NEVER did! You bought a what-ever brand sound card, and you install the vendor's drivers, and you hope they worked for the one app you bought it for. You don't use support that is built-in to DOS.
Click to expand...

By your reasoning DOS didn't have support for much at all. No cdrom support, no extended memory support, no mouse suppport, no network support etc..

You sir just seem like an ignorant asshat. Give me one good reason why Parallels shouldn't include basic Soundblaster support for use in DOS. There are many other perating systems that could use it aswell.
 
Actually, tgrogan is correct. There is no soundblaster support in DOS, so to call him names seems a little silly. Maybe he will take the high road and not return the favor, since we really don't need name calling on the forum.

If you have some actual evidence for your position, you might want to present it, but until then, I'll still believe my extensive DOS experience -- DOS never directly supported the Sound Blaster, or, until very late in the game, CDROM, more than 1 meg of RAM, or any other later devices. You really did have to get a driver from the device vendor, and the applicatin talked directly to the driver with no help from the OS.

OS device support started with Windows.
 
.
One even had to run a third party shell with DOS to get something that had anything like features.

My recolection is DOS only having knowledge of the internal PC speaker for limited sounds.
.
 
constant said:
.
One even had to run a third party shell with DOS to get something that had anything like features.

My recolection is DOS only having knowledge of the internal PC speaker for limited sounds.
.
Click to expand...

I'm finding this discussion rather disappointing. DOS had support for a whole lot of things you people seem to be forgetting. DOS could use as much RAM as any of the Windows 9x series, using himem.sys to access memory above 640k, and EMM386 to access RAM about 1MB, Numerous options existed to get DOS applications to protected mode (the mode windows runs in) and access to 32-bit flat memory addressing (2GB RAM, as much as any 32-bit version of Windows, and By the way, it is 2GB, not 4GB, the top half of the 32-bit address space is reserved for other hardware, PCI, etc; no matter what OS you're running, Linux, Solaris, Windows 9x, or 2000, or XP, or OS X, on 32-bit x86.
While sound support was generally an add-on, it was quite extensive. Although from the early 1990's on it was generally standardized around soundblaster compatibility, but 8 and 16-bit sound was common after the late 80's.
3D support wasn't exactly lacking either, with OpenGL ICDs and GLIDE, and other custom chip specific API's. Note that prior to Direct3D, these are exactly the options Windows had, but the windows implementations were generally slower.

And don't reply saying I'm wrong because this support isn't "native" to DOS. It isn't in windows either. Windows 9x is DOS 7.0 with shell (explorer.exe) running on top. "Native" windows NT (NT, 2000, and XP) is that blue background environment you get when you pop in the install disc. Everthing else is running on top of that, mostly in the NT VM.
 
.
If DOS is being run as the guest, then one should be able to at least install anything that will go onto floppy. Like a soundblaster driver. It's not something for Parallels to do.
.
 
Gang,

I use to write drivers and commercial applications for Dos. Yea there was memory support in later versions but really they were not banded together as DOS. They were from Intel and other companies who had done things like EMS and EMM.

The problem here is that Parallels needs to step up too the plate and provide simple drivers that we require to get what we want to work.

I would think some of the simplest drivers we could use are:
CD ROM drivers
Sound blaster drivers
Some extended video support
Maybe USB to serial and parallel port emulation

I would think standard DOS memory stuff would work. But I am still at the point of trying to get all my junk off my old PC onto the VM. So far Floppy is the only way via Winimage.com.

Thanks
Gordon
 
dos emulators are around and could be more convenient. However, I do agree that Parallels shall also add in the full support in dos.

Actually if Parallels could let us anyhow plug in any emulated hardware with ease, I dun see we have problem in any platform as long as we got the driver of it!
 
X-COM on DOSBox on OS X

I originally got DOSBox to successfully run X-COM on my powerbook although it's a bit slow. I have successfully run X-COM with the PPC binary on the Mac Pro as well, although I have only tested it to the point that I have music playing on tactical screens; while trying to get Boot Camp, Parallels, Crossover working with various apps and successfully compile a landscape evolution model with g95 I haven't had time to actually play.

Sure hope I can get Star Control II going as well. Hopefully the only issue will be finding an FD for creating images. In any case I'd recommend giving DOSBox a try as it is almost fire and forget to get going.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top