How To Run DOS Applications in Windows 7 PC

If you are someone who started using computer in the age of Windows operating system then you might not heard about DOS. According to this Wikipedia article:



DOS, short for “Disk Operating System”, is a shorthand term for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.

Today’s computers run on advance operating systems like MAC and Windows, but in past things were different. There were no such things like GUI (Graphic User Interface) in DOS. Also the system was not too easy to understand. There were DOS commands to perform the calculation and functions (same as you do in cmd command prompt).

If you wish to run DOS applications in Windows computer then it is not possible without using third party tools. This is because DOS architecture is too complex and no modern  PC is compatible to run its apps without using tools.

One way to run DOS in your computer is by using emulator such as DOSBox. You can download it on your computer and play games using it but you need to use DOS commands and DOS interface which is somehow geeky. To run the games easily you are required to download one more app known as Dosshell. This is a step by step tutorial to install DOSBox and Dosshell on your computer and run a DOS game.

1. First you have to download one DOS application from site known as AbandonwareDOS.

2. The application you’ll download will be a .exe file. When you click on it to run, it will open a black screen along with a pop up the message “This system doesn’t support fullscreen mode. Choose ‘Close’ to terminate”. If you click on “close” button then it will close the process and clicking on “Ignore” button will also not going to help you.

 3. Download DOSBox DOS emulator. By using DOSBox you can run DOS applications on your Windows PC but there is a problem that it requires you to give DOS commands using DOS interface.

 4. Now download and install DOShell on your computer. In the two given versions you can prefer portable version. Note: DOSShell is not a DOS emulator so don’t try it without DOSBox. It only helps DOSBox to run apps without using any DOS interface and mounting any drive.

5. Extract the folder and run the DOSShell.exe file. Go to Edit –> Preferences.

 6. Now you have to connect DOSShell to DOSBox. To connect you have to selct the folder path. Click on the “Browse” button to choose the Program Files folder for DOSBox. Choose Mounting letter different from your hard drive letter. Select it Q or R.

Don’t check the box next to “Run programs directly in fullscreen mode” because your screen resolution is bigger in comparison to old DOS games and it will not fit properly on the screen.

 7. Now you have to add the application to run from DOSShell. Click on the green button given at the top left.

8. Here you’ll get a add new entry box. Enter the name and group inside the box provided

. Click on radio button … next to path to executable box to select the .exe DOS application file. Also you can add icon by clicking a radio button … next to “Path to icon” box and selecting the appropriate icon from the icon folder. If you don’t add any icon then also you can execute the file. Type a description and press OK.

10. Now double click on the added icon on the interface to start the application.

11. It will take few seconds to load the game or application.

12. After few seconds the game will be launched. Read the instruction given on the screen and use keyboard to play the game.

That’s it. In this way you can play DOS games without using DOS interface or giving any DOS command