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dosbox - an x86/DOS emulator with sound/graphics
dosbox [-fullscreen]
[-startmapper] [-conf configfile] [-lang langfile] [file] [-c command] [-exit]
[-machine machinetype]
dosbox -version
This manual page briefly
documents dosbox, an x86/DOS emulator.
The optional file argument should
be a DOS executable or a directory. If it is a dos executable (.com .exe .bat)
the program will run automatically. If it is a directory, a DOS session
will run with the directory mounted as C:\.
For an introduction type INTRO
inside dosbox.
A summary of options is included below.
- -fullscreen
- Start dosbox in fullscreen mode.
- -startmapper
- Start the internal keymapper
on startup of dosbox. You can use it to change the keys dosbox uses.
- -c command
- Runs the specified command before running file. Multiple commands can be
specified. Each command should start with -c though. A command can be: an
Internal Program, a DOS command or an executable on a mounted drive.
- -conf
configfile
- Start dosbox with the options specified in configfile. This
file has a section in which you can put commands you wish to execute on
startup.
- -lang langfile
- Start dosbox with the language specified in langfile.
- -exit
- dosbox will close itself when the DOS program specified by fileends.
- -machine machinetype
- Setup dosbox to emulate a specific type of machine.
Valid choices are: hercules, cga, tandy, vga(default). The machinetype has
influence on both the videocard and the available soundcards.
- -version
- Output
version information and exit. Useful for frontends.
dosbox
supports most of the DOS commands found in command.com. In addition, the
following extra commands are available:
- MOUNT [-t type] [-size size]
- driveletter
sourcedirectory [-aspi] [-ioctl] [-usecd number] [-label drivelabel] [-freesize
freesize]
MOUNT -cd
MOUNT -u driveletter
Program to mount local directories
as drives inside dosbox.
- driveletter
- The driveletter inside dosbox (eg. C).
- sourcedirectory
- The local directory you want to have inside dosbox.
- -t type
- Type of the mounted directory. Supported are: dir (standard), floppy, cdrom.
- -size drivesize
- Sets the size of the drive. See the examples in the README
for details.
- -freesize size_in_mb
- Sets the amount of free space available
on a drive in MB’s. This is a more simple version of -size.
- -label drivelabel
- Sets the name of the drive to drivelabel. Needed on some systems if the
cd label isn’t read correctly. Useful when a program can’t find its cdrom.
If you don’t specify a label and no lowlevel support is selected (-usecd
# and/or -ioctl/aspi):
For win32: label is extracted from "Real Drive".
- For
Linux: label is set to NO_LABEL.
- If you do specify a label this label will
be kept as long as the drive
- is mounted. It will not be updated !!
- -aspi
- Forces to use the aspi layer. Only valid if mounting a cdrom under Windows
systems with an ASPI-Layer.
- -ioctl
- Forces to use ioctl commands. Only valid
if mounting a cdrom under windows which support them (Win2000/XP/NT).
- -usecd
number
- Forces to use SDL cdrom support for drive number. Number can be found
by -cd. Valid on all systems.
- -cd
- Displays all detected cdrom drives and their
numbers. Use with -usecd.
- -u
- Unmounts a mounted drive. Doesn’t work on virtual
Drives (like Z:\)
Example:
- To mount your /home/dos/dosgames directory as
C drive in dosbox:
mount c /home/dos/dosgames
- MEM
Display the amount of
free memory
- CONFIG [-writeconf] [-writelang] file
Write the current configuration
or language settings to file, which is located on the local filesystem.
Not a mounted drive in dosbox.
The configuration file controls various
settings of dosbox: The amount of emulated memory, the emulated soundcards
and many more things. It futher allows acces to AUTOEXEC.BAT.
The language
file controls all visible ouput of the internal commands and the internal
dos. See the secion FILES for more information.
- LOADFIX [-size] [programname]
[parameters]
LOADFIX -f
Program to reduce the amount of memory available.
Useful for old programs which don’t expect much memory to be free.
- [programname]
- The name of the program which is executed after loadfix eats up its memory.
- [parameters]
- Parameters given to the programname executable.
- -size
- The amount
of memory to eat up (in kb). Example -32, -64 or -128
- -f
- Frees all memory eaten
up by loadfix.
- RESCAN
Make dosbox reread the directory structure. Useful
if you changed something on a mounted drive outside dosbox.(CTRL-F4 does
this as well!)
- IMGMOUNT
A utility to mount disk images and CD-ROM images
in dosbox.
- Read the README of dosbox for the full and correct syntax.
- BOOT
Boot will start floppy images or hard disk images independent of the operating
system emulation offered by dosbox. This will allow you to play booter
floppies or boot to other operating systems inside dosbox.
- Read the README
of dosbox for the full and correct syntax.
- IPX
You need to enable IPX networking
in the configuration file of dosbox. All of the IPX networking is managed
through the internal dosbox program IPXNET. For help on the IPX networking
from inside dosbox, type IPXNET HELP and the program will list out the
commands and relevant documentation.
- Read the README of dosbox for the full
and correct syntax.
Configuration and language files use a format similar
to Windows .ini files. If a file named dosbox.conf is found in the current
directory, it will be automatically loaded, else ~/.dosboxrc (if present)
will be loaded.
- ALT-ENTER
- Go full screen and back.
- CTRL-F1
- Start
the keymapper.
- CTRL-F4
- Swap mounted disk-image (Only used with imgmount). Update
directory cache for all drives!
- CTRL-F5
- Save a screenshot.(png)
- CTRL-F6
- Start/Stop
recording sound output to a wave file.
- CTRL-ALT-F7
- Start/Stop recording of
OPL commands.
- CTRL-ALT-F8
- Start/Stop the recording of raw MIDI commands.
- CTRL-F7
- Decrease
frameskip.
- CTRL-F8
- Increase frameskip.
- CTRL-F9
- Kill dosbox.
- CTRL-F10
- Capture/Release
the mouse.
- CTRL-F11
- Slow down emulation (Increase dosbox Cycles).
- CTRL-F12
- Speed
up emulation (Decrease dosbox Cycles).
These are the default keybindings.
They can be changed in the keymapper.
Saved/recorded files can be found
in current_directory/capture (can be changed in the configfile). The directory
has to exist prior to starting dosbox else nothing gets saved/recorded
!
Note: Once you increase your dosbox cycles beyond your computer’s maximum
capacity, it will produce the same effect as slowing down the emulation.
This maximum will vary from computer to computer, there is no standard.
Fast machine. My guess would be pentium-2 400+ to get
decent emulation of games written for an 286 machine. For protected mode
games a 1 Ghz machine is recommended and don’t expect them to run fast though!!
Be sure to read the next section on how to speed it up somewhat.
dosbox emulates the CPU, the sound and graphic cards,
and some other stuff, all at the same time. You can overclock dosbox by
using CTRL-F12, but you’ll be limited by the power of your actual CPU. You
can see how much free time your true CPU has by various utils (top). Once
100% of your real CPU time is used there is no further way to speed up
dosbox unless you reduce the load generated by the non-CPU parts of dosbox.
So:
Close every program but dosbox.
Overclock dosbox until 100% of your
CPU is used.(CTR-+F12)
Since VGA emulation is the most demanding part of
dosbox in terms of actual CPU usage, we’ll start here. Increase the number
of frames skipped (in increments of one) by pressing CRTL-F8. Your CPU usage
should decrease. Go back one step and repeat this until the game runs fast
enough for you. Please note that this is a trade off: you lose in fluidity
of video what you gain in speed.
While we hope that, one day, dosbox
will run virtually all programs ever made for the PC... we are not there yet.
At present, dosbox run on a 1.7 Gigahertz PC is roughly the equivalent of
a 25MHz 386 PC. While the 0.60 release has added support for "protected mode"
allowing for more complex and recent programs, but note that this support
is early in development and nowhere near as complete as the support for
386 real-mode games (or earlier). Also note that "protected mode" games
need substantially more resources and may require a much faster processor
for you to run it properly in dosbox.
Not all DOS programs work properly.
dosbox will exit without warning if an error occured.
The README
in /usr/share/doc/dosbox
This manual page was written by Peter Veenstra
<H.P.Veenstra@student.rug.nl> and James Oakley <jfunk@funktronics.ca>, for the Debian
system (but may be used by others).
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