How to run old DOS games in 2024

I adored playing Dungeon Master 2: The Legend of Skullkeep when I was a small kid. I fondly recall the days when I would simply click around, marveling at the subtle changes in the graphics. However, my progress was limited as I was often too terrified to venture far, particularly in the face of the slimy monsters featured in the first episode.

This morning I remembered that game and wanted to check if I can find the abandonware version. Luckily I found it! I am eagerly anticipating the joy and excitement that awaits within this 12.5 MB folder, but there is a problem. I need to figure out how to run this game from the ’94 era on my modern Windows setup. In this blog post, I will share the steps you need to follow to be able to run those old but gold games.

• First step is to download DOSBox.
• After the DOSBox installation, go to the directory you installed it and open up the Options.bat file.
• Go to the bottom of this file and add the path of your game as mount.

• Save and exit the editor.
• Run the DosBox.exe, you should see that the path is mounted.

• Now you can check the content with the below commands.

Type 'c:' to switch to the mounted directory.
Use 'dir' to list the contents of the directory.

I mounted this path as c drive so I typed c: to switch to that directory you may mount it as you wish.

Now we are able to see the content of the game. Let’s install it.

• After you install it, you may run “gamename”.exe from command line to run the game.

Some other games — like in my case with skullkeep — might have .bat file inside the game folder. If .exe gives you an error related to Error [35] : Unexpected Interrupt=0000 in DOS4GW.exe, try to run the game like below.

Ultimately, it’s time to ascertain whether the game truly lives up to our nostalgic memories or if our fondness is simply a reflection of the carefree moments we spent with our families as innocent children.

Later..