I want to set aside part of my computer's hard drive and install MS-DOS (5.0 or higher) as the operating system.  I came across a bunch of old computer games (cool ones!) that I want to re-play but Windows XT won't run DOS programs.

Does anyone know how to do this?  The built-in XT help guide is anything BUT helpful!

Also, are older operating systems like MSDOS available anywhere for free?

Partition Magic is one way to do it. I don't know if they have a 'trial' version. The makers are PowerQuest. I also found some very old DOS games of mine but my current prcessor is too fast for them. I discovered 'Mo Slo'. It allows you to 'underclock' the processor for each application. It was free when I found it a while ago.

Hope this helps!!


ByteTheBullet  (-:

Partition Magic can do it. But... it generally has to be installed PRIOR to XP.

I hate to say it, but your best bet is to backup all your data, repartition your drive (C:\=DOS, D:\=XP, E:\=data). Install DOS first, on the first partition, then install XP on the second partition.

Make sure that the first partition is large enough for DOS and your old game programs.

Drive E:\ is optional. I recommend that people create a seperate partition for your personal data. I.e. your documents, word, excel, zips, powerpoint, photo editing, e-mail, taxes, etc. It is easier to back that up as one drive.

(edit)
Now don't get me wrong, you can use Partition Magic after an XP install, but it can be a bit of a pain making sure you can boot again.

Oh yea...

For a free DOS, check out [url=http://www.freedos.org/]Free DOS[/url]

If you mean Windows XP, and not some odd version of Windows that only ran on an IBM PC/XT, have you considered setting the application up in the Program Compatability Wizard?  I have at least one CGA/16 color game designed to run under DOS that I play now and again.  Right there in your Help topics.

I've had multiple OS installs for ages... Currently I'm running DOS 6.2, Win95b, and Win2kPro on a single WD drive...

The best way for a multiple setup I've found is to use the sofware linked below.  It keeps each OS in its own 'sandbox', invisible to each other.  Each OS thinks it's the only OS on the disk and system stability is greatly improved...

Good luck... it's great fun to setup.

[url]www.v-com.com/product/sc7_ind.html[/url]

I've been using System Commander for a number of years. In fact, I've been dual-booting since Win95 was released. System Commander is probably your best bet as it allowes you to create multiple partitions (FAT32, FAT16, NTFS, Linux, ...) and install the OS of your choice. It installs its own boot sector and at start-up, displays a menu of the OSs you have installed. Just select one and boot.

For a while, I had DOS 6.0, Windows 98SE, Windows 2000 Pro, and Red Hat 6.0 all installed on one system.

Anyway, there is still the issue of speed. A lot of DOS games use the old "LOOP CX" trick to create delays and if your system is too fast, the game will run at like 10x normal speed.