DOS Games Do Windows 95 Too
Just because you upgraded to Windows 95 doesn’t mean that your DOS-based games take the road of Three Dog Night’s eight-track cassettes. Windows 95 can fly and score running your favorite DOS games. But your toughest opponent playing DOS games in Windows 95 is sometimes the error messages, not the game.
Unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows 95 manages your PC’s random access memory pretty well. So you no longer need to make a bootable floppy disk for every DOS game. Instead, DOS-based games run from within Windows 95 in MS-DOS mode. Windows 95 figures out the memory headaches for you--most of the time.
What if your favorite game won’t work properly?
First check to see if the game has a glitch for which there is a “patch,” or update. Most software vendors and shareware authors send free updates or at least notify registered owners of available updates.
In case you didn’t fill out the registration card (most people don’t) or didn’t pay your shareware fees (shame on you), you’ll find patches for the top-selling programs within the commercial online services’ gaming forums.
By far, however, the greatest source of patches is on the Internet. Point your Internet browser to https://www.zdnet.com/~gaming/library/patch.html where you’ll find an extensive library full of patches to download and direct links to many game software publisher’s Internet sites.
Inside the compressed patch file, you’ll find the patch file itself and, normally, installation instructions in a file called ReadMe.Txt. Use your word processing program to view and print the ReadMe.Txt file. Follow the instructions, install the patch and try the game again.
Let’s say, though, that you got the patch, read the ReadMe, installed the patch, closed all open applications except the game, and the game still doesn’t work. High productivity software always seems to cause the most headaches.
Pick up a copy of Power2Play (The Software Labs, [800] 569-7900, $34.95). This magical software program allows you to run most games from within Windows 95 with a single click.
If cash is tight but time is plenty, you can tinker with the program’s settings. Windows 95 keeps track of program details in what it calls the program’s property sheet. It’s the place where you set the specific details for finicky DOS programs.
To do this, first use Windows Explorer to find the original program file that starts the game. When you’re changing a program’s property sheet, you must use the program’s start-up file, not the shortcut made by Windows 95 for the program. This is very important.
Once you’ve found it, select the file, and then right-click your mouse button. When the menu appears, select Properties. Then, select Program from the tabs at the top of this window. Near the bottom, you’ll see Advanced. If you made it this far, you’re advanced enough, so don’t let fear stop you now. Select Advanced, and at the top, you’ll see three check-boxes. Windows 95 automatically puts a check in the box Suggest MS-DOS Mode as Necessary. Leave the check in the box.
Select the MS-DOS mode check-box and two new options are made available: Warn Before Entering MS-DOS Mode and Use Current MS-DOS Configuration. Put a check before Warn Before Entering MS-DOS Mode. Now, whenever you start this game, Windows closes down and enters a real MS-DOS mode to give the game all your PC has to offer.
Leave the Use Current MS-DOS Configuration alone, that is, with a check in the box.
Often, the previous step of putting a check before Warn Before Entering MS-DOS Mode is all you need. Unless, of course, the game still won’t run.
Underneath this option, you can specify a new MS-DOS configuration just for this game.
You can edit the contents of the Autoexec.Bat and Config.Sys directly in this window, and any changes you make are only going to be used for this game. Click on Configuration, found near the bottom right of this window, and a new window opens. Here, you can specify the game’s memory particulars and other options.
When you’re done, try the game. I bet it works. If you have a shortcut to this game on your Start menu, there is one more step you have to do. Changes made to a program’s property sheet are not made automatically to shortcuts on the Start menu. Unless you update the shortcut, Windows 95 won’t use the new program properties. Drag the shortcut from the Start menu to the Recycle Bin and replace it with the game’s shortcut contained in the program’s folder.
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Kim Komando is a TV host, syndicated talk radio host, founder of the Komputer Klinic on America Online. She can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]
