Help me, geeks!
How can I get DOS games to run on WinXP?

I recently bought Day Of The Tentacle and Sam & Max Hit The Road (on one disc), but haven't managed to play them yet. The CD does not autorun, and when I open the .exe file, I see the C prompt for a second or two, but before I can type in the command that according to the instructions will start the game, the screen goes black and nothing happens until I do a ctrl alt del.

I've tried running it in compatibility mode for earlier versions of Windows, but that hasn't helped.

A friend told me I could create a dual boot with Win98 and WinXP, but only if I had 98 on the machine first. Which I don't. But I do have a Win98 installation disc.

The same friend told me something about virtual machines, or a running a computer within a computer. But I wouldn't know where to begin setting up one of those.

I tried opening up the C prompt and then telling it to open the .exe file on the disc, but none of the commands were valid and I don't know which ones are. Never had to use the thing before, really.

Can anyone help? Or should I just cut my losses and trade in the game?
( Bob Todd whee, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 9:16, archived)

What you need to do is
Go to the kitchen and make a bacon sandwich.

And tea.

Jobs' a good un.
( Hankster, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 9:20, archived)

Vegan. Don't like tea.
Bummer. ):
( Bob Todd whee, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 9:21, archived)

Shit
Erm.
Cheese sarnie and juice then.
( Hankster, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 9:23, archived)

Don't like shit either.
Not keen on Erm as well.
( Bob Todd whee, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 9:25, archived)

erm
isn't cheese a bad idea? or do i forget what a vegan is?
( tico, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 9:25, archived)

Ah
But we have Cheezly cheese. :)
( Miss Behave - Delicate little flower, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 9:28, archived)

And Sham Ham
and fake bacon
( Hankster, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 9:30, archived)

Fnarr fnarr!
That sounded a bit rude.
( Miss Behave - Delicate little flower, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 9:34, archived)

Why is tofu like a vibrator?
They're both meat substitutes!

Badum-tssh!
( Bob Todd whee, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 9:44, archived)

Not heard that one before.
*makes mental note*
( Nimble Colin camera-wrangling, globe-trotting whisky enthusiast, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 9:49, archived)

I'm afraid I cant help you.
And all of my friends that can are either offline or at uni without a computer until the weekend. But I'll congratulate you on your excellent choice of games, they rock.
( Nimble Colin camera-wrangling, globe-trotting whisky enthusiast, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 9:20, archived)

get VMware or Virtual PC
and build a windows 95 machine, or even DOS on your existing PC

can run anything you want then

*edit* just read your post properly, Virtual PC you can download from MS for free (trial version) and its honestly really easy to use.
( comrade yannovski and then, of course, there was the schnapps monkey, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 9:49, archived)

As far as i know
you can play sam and max on www.scummvm.org/
Download it and play it, install sam and max in a handy folder then just run it through that.

Works for most SCUMM type games (Monkey island tyoe games)

YAY my first helpful thread
( dantl, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 9:56, archived)

Thank you, sir!
I shall try that.
( Bob Todd whee, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 10:20, archived)

It worked for me
but i got stuck on sam and max, then got told how to do it by a CHEAT.

refused to play it ever since
( dantl, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 10:22, archived)

Arse fez!
It says it can't find any game data in the D drive (my DVD-Rom drive). Checking the site's FAQ, it says that it only works with the original CDs/floppies. The one I have is a re-release with 2 games on the same disc. Grrrrrage.
( Bob Todd whee, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 10:46, archived)

S'ok, got it to work!
You have to put the game files in the root C drive and not in the conveniently-named folder of your choice, though, which is rather asshat.
( Bob Todd whee, Thu 9 Sep 2004, 10:55, archived)