Run a program in ms dos

For example, spreadsheet programs, databases, and even some retro game that we cannot now run on a modern version of Windows.

We can also install and use older versions of Windows from 1. But, of course, it is not an operating system that we are going to use in our day to day. Even if our new computer comes with it, most likely the first thing we will do is remove it to install another OS, such as Windows or Linux.

The best option is to use VMware or VirtualBox to virtualize this operating system, since if we install it on the main PC we will be losing functionalities. First of all, the first thing we will have to do is download the latest version of FreeDOS to our computer.

Of course, the download is completely free for all users, and we can download it from here. There are several editions that we can download, and we must choose the one that best suits our needs:. But if we want to install it on our PC, the Full USB is much more comfortable since we will be able to record it with any program, such as Etcher.

And then we will have to confirm that we know what we are going to do, that we are installing a full operating system on our PC and that, if we are not careful, we can overwrite our main system. In this guide, we'll learn how to find the old programs and games you love as well as how to setup and install DOSBox on your system.

If you're reading this guide, it's likely that there's a specific game or program you want to run but you may not already have a copy. There are also a number of websites available offering 'Abandonware' : programs which are no longer actively maintained or whose developers no longer exist, which may be legal to download in your jurisdiction. Many of these can be run in your browser. Once this has been done, move the folder containing the game or application you want to play into this new folder using copy and paste.

You can do this with the 'mount' command e. At this point you can use the 'cd' command to change to the directory containing the game or application you want to use e. Use the DIR command to list all files inside your folder. By default, it installs to C:vDos, but I recommend you install it into a new folder you create inside your Documents folder. That way, all of your DOS data files will be backed up and protected assuming you back up—and you should. Why is this important? Every file you access, create, or alter in the DOS environment will remain in that folder.

Press 0 to exit that program and get to the old-fashioned DOS prompt. Version 0. To get a game working, follow instructions on our DOSBox page. Another popular platform is ScummVM. Read more on our page to install and play games with ScummVM. All Windows versions have a command prompt.

That's a command line interpreter; a DOS-like environment where you have to type in commands to do stuff. Find it in Windows 7: press the start button and type 'command'. Find it in Windows 8 and Windows press the windows key on your keyboard and S and type 'command'. Start the command prompt by clicking the command prompt result. You can use this command prompt to run DOS games or programs, but only when using a 32 bit version of Windows.

Your DOS game most likely will start, but you might encounter sound problems. Tweaking the screen resolution of the command prompt window also is difficult, if not impossible. DOSBox is great. But sometimes it gets better when there's a source port available for a particular game.