Hi,

I wanted to post this note for inferno in particular, although it might interest others who are already working with DOSBox.

Last night I completed installing Windows 3.1 in DOSBox (this is supported with the latest version of DOSBox).

Then, after successfully installing and playing Congo Descent into Zinj, and then Betrayal in Antara!!, my thoughts turned towards Panic in the Park--which doesn't run on Windows XP at all. It DOES run on Windows 95/98 but both require a hex edit in order to successfully complete the game. The ONLY OS this game runs on without a hitch is Windows 3.1...

So, I installed Panic in the Park and the game runs flawlessly on Windows 3.1 in DOSBox. What a feeling to see this game working on my Windows XP machine; it was a little bit of gaming euphoria!

I have had zero problems with Windows 3.1 games in DOSBox so far. Today I will be going through my old games and seeing what else I can test (there are dozens!). I've been reading GreyFuss' thread about Urban Runner, too, and I see that the game supports Windows 3.1, as well, so that will be part of my experiment.

You'll find this to be one of the best working solutions available for games designed for Windows 3.x - The OS can also be installed under Virtual PC, but the sound issues under it leave a bit to be desired.

For those that want to attempt it - there is no shortage of installation discs on e-bay.

I didn't know about the niggling sound issues with Windows 3.1 and Virtual PC--good to know, as I plan on installing Virtual PC as well, and now I won't wonder whether I was being redundant having installed Windows 3.1 in this manner.

I just installed Dust: Tale of the Wired West; it runs great!! One of my all-time favorite games is once more accessible!

Oh, and by the way--for those of you who have a special fondness for those cheesy full-motion-video games of the 1990s (count me in among those), Panic in the Park is a bonanza!

Looks like we're in the same camp (I love cheese)

On a similar note, I'm not sure if you're aware of Ben Armstrong’s Virtual PC blog, which contains a section dedicated to gaming under VPC. You’ll find games such as Martian Memorandum, Mean Streets and Grim Fandango among them - you can peruse it at the link below:
Virtual PC Guy's WebLog

Nice link; thank you for that.

I have a question. When Windows 3.1 in DOSBox wants me to reboot after having installed a game (for instance, if it needs rebooting after a QuickTime installation or something), how do I get this to work? I can't figure out how to reboot Windows 3.1 while in DOSBox such that the changes it wants will take effect. Any advice?

It sounds like you may need to add a line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to invoke Windows.

Like So (the last line - WIN)

C:\WINDOWS\SMARTDRV.EXE
SET SOUND=C:\SB16
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6
SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E
C:\SB16\DIAGNOSE /S
C:\SB16\MIXERSET /P /Q
PATH C:\WINDOWS;
SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
WIN

Inland,
Does Win 3.1 have a reboot option? I don't remember one.
If you're using a "real" computer, typing WIN at the dos prompt will start Windows 3.1. But I don't remember Win 3.1 having a "reboot." You could exit Win 3.1 and then type WIN to restart Windows 3.1. Would that accomplish the same as a reboot for installing QuickTime? Do you even really need to reboot when you install QuickTime in Windows 3.1?

Thank you again, guys; I will look into what you said above, InlandAZ.

After I posted my question I thought it might have sounded kind of witless, actually--but I believe Jenny100 may be right in the sense that Windows 3.1 doesn't really reboot, per se. I installed this program last night and now I can't remember if it used the word "restart" or reboot" (when it was telling me that was what I needed to do after having installed the program). In any event, after an exit and restart of Windows 3.1, the program didn't run. It may well be, though, that there is some other issue/adjustment I need to make to get it to run that has nothing to do with restarting the program. I'm still just getting my feet wet with all of this.

It's great to know I have a place to go to ask questions.

You guys caught me in the office - and I didn't have it installed on this box -

So... a bit of running around and viola - installed, up and running. You can scratch the autoexec.bat suggestion (it’s just not necessary for a restart).

I assure you, Windows 3.x has a restart option. If you modify the swap file size (386 Enhanced) or change a device driver (Drivers) you’ll be presented with the option to reboot (mine restarts without issue).

Where specifically does yours get hung up Marian?

The copy I just installed was run under the D-Fend Reloaded front end (and I used the default VirtualHD directory. So my autoexec was placed in the VirtualHD root, and Windows was created in a sub-directory off the root.

Here’s what it contains:
C:\WIN31\WINDOWS\SMARTDRV.EXE
PATH C:\WIN31\WINDOWS;
SET TEMP=C:\WIN31\WINDOWS\TEMP

Over and above that, the only other thing I changed was a setting to tell DOSBox not to terminate when the application closes. The profile is set to execute autoexec.bat from the virtual root.

Follow the link for an image of the restart button -
Windows 3.1 Restart

I just reinstalled the program so that I could give you the exact steps as to what is occurring.

1. I install the program in Windows 3.1.

2. When it is done installing, it says the following: setup has modified your autoexec.bat file and saved the old one as autoexec.bak. You must exit Windows and restart your machine in order for the system changes to take effect.

3. I then click on the option "restart now."

4. I then find myself in a DOSBox screen and at the top it says control + alt + delete again to reboot your machine.

5. When I hit control + alt + delete, this brings up the windows task manager, and nothing else occurs.

So, there is the issue. I'm not using any frontends with DOSBox.

I appreciate your help.

Can you point me to the exact steps you followed? It almost sounds as if you mounted your C:\ drive as the root when you installed windows (and there shouldn't be an autoexec.bat to modify).

The copy I just installed has "all" disk images in a single directory, so it installs quite fast - like 35 seconds or so. I may have missed the message - but I don't recall seeing it.

We (my son and I) basically followed the steps outlined here:

WINDOWS 3.1 in DOSBOX

When I want to get into Windows 3.1 now, when I open up DOSBox, I type the following:

mount c c:\doswin
c:
cd\windows
win

I have four other games running successfully in Windows 3.1 at the moment, and I have changed graphic drivers without problems. But maybe there's something hinky in my setup that needs adjustment?

By the way, when I go back into Windows 3.1 and double click on the program that failed to install, it tells me that QuickTime installation failed to initialize, the movies won't play, and do I want to continue anyway; of course, I don't want to continue anyway, but double clicking on the program icon results in...nada.

I followed those very same instructions the first time I installed windows 3.1 under DOSBox - I think you're on the right track, there's something else wrong. What you're describing should work just fine.


I misread the question - you are correct there is no reboot option (so the autoexec.bat suggestion is clearly not a good one).

That is very reassuring to hear. Maybe it's something intrinsic to this particular program, then, and something I can try to mess with in the future if I feel like making the effort. It doesn't have a high priority right now. It's much more important to me that my basic setup is solid.

Between this and the Virtual PC installation (it was quite a weekend!), I'm sure I will have more questions from time to time. It's going to take a while for it to sink in that I can now play DOS games, Windows 3.1 games, Windows 95/98 games, and Windows XP games, all on this one computer; it really doesn't get any better than that!

Hi Marian

What a cool idea. I never would have thought to try it. So I installed Win 3.1 in DOSBox, and have installed Panic in the Park. I'm off to see how the game runs.



"Q"

Great! Let me know how it goes. The game runs perfectly for me this way. I never thought I'd be able to play Panic in the Park in Windows 3.1, so this seems just short of a miracle to be able to do so! I'm glad someone else will benefit from this idea, too!

Hi Marian

I just finished playing Panic in the Park, and it ran great. I still used the hex edit for the 200 token cheat, cause I'm lousy at Arcade games.

again.

"Q"

Thanks for letting me know, Q.

I think my chances of passing some of those arcade games might be virtually nil, but I am going to keep trying for a while.

I'm really glad you saw this note and were able to play the game. Having Windows 3.1 installed really opens up some very nice gaming choices and possibilities.