Jenny - here's how to get Ark Of Time running with DOSbox on XP:
AOT needs an older version of DOSBox - I use 0.65, which you can get from the DOSBox site - go to the downloads page, and follow the links for older versions.
Install DOSBox - don't worry if you have a later version installed already,as the two won't interfere with each other.
Insert your AOT cd.
You need to create an installation folder on your C:\ drive. I've called mine "OLDGAMES", but you can call it whatever you like, except AOT. As we're working in DOS, make sure that the name contains no more than 8 letters.
Open DOSBox and type:
Z:\>mount c c:\OLDGAMES
(or whatever you have called your installation folder).
Mount your CD or DVD drive:
Z:\>mount d e:\ -t cdrom (my DVD drive is labelled E:\
- change this letter to match your drive)
Change to the CD drive:
Z:\> D:
And then..........
D:\> install
There's only one awkward part during install - you may be asked to configure your soundcard. If so, choose a SoundBlaster and just keep hitting "Enter" to leave the IRQ and DMA addresses blank. DOSBox will sort these out for you.
Once the install has finished, you can play by typing:
D:\> C:
C:\>cd AOT
C:\AOT> AOT
There are some easy, not too technical hacks you can make to the DOSBox config file, to smooth your playing experience.
Navigate to C:\Program Files\DOSBox-0.65. Make a copy of dosbox.conf (just in case things go wrong). Then open dosbox.conf in Notepad.
To save yourself having to type in a long list of instructions each time you want to play, scroll down to the bottom of the file and find the section
[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
It will be blank, so add the lines
mount c c:\OLDGAMES
mount d e:\ -t cdrom
(making the changes as above) and save the file. No more nasty mounting when you want to play!
Now, when you open DOSBox, you should see:
Z:\>mount c c:\OLDGAMES
Drive C is mounted as local directory c:\OLDGAMES
Z:\>mount d e:\ -t cdrom
MSCDEX installed
Drive D is mounted as CDRom
Next find the section headed [cpu] and change it to
core=auto
cycles=auto
cycleup=500
cycledown=20
This will enable DOSBox to run all games faster and more smoothly.
Immediately above [cpu] you will find [render], and the commented line
# scaler -- Scaler used to enlarge/enhance low resolution modes.
# Supported are none,normal2x,normal3x,advmame2x,advmame3x,advinterp2x,
advinterp3x,tv2x,tv3x,rgb2x,rgb3x,scan2x,scan3x.
This lets you choose how big a window you want the game to run in. I have set it to advmame3x
frameskip=0
aspect=false
scaler=advmame3x
Feel free to experiment!
Of course, you may want to try playing in full-screen mode (which I haven't tried yet). If so, locate [sdl] (at the start of the file) and change it to:
fullscreen=true
fulldouble=true
fullresolution=original
windowresolution=original
output=surface
autolock=true
sensitivity=100
waitonerror=true
priority=higher,normal
mapperfile=mapper.txt
usescancodes=true
Enjoy playing AOT!
I think that Marian's instructions will be similar.
Or you can try the XP Vesa driver
here.