Re: Dos Games under Windows Vista?

[Lingyan203]

I wonder if any of the Dos Games work under Windows Vista?

I think DosBox may work on these games. Does VDMSound Work under Vista?

[DOSGuy]

I don't use Windows Vista, but I've been told that DOS games don't run at all. DOSBox definitely works. VDMSound was designed to run on Windows NT 4.0/2000/XP, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work in Vista.

[vkapadia]

Hey! Just stumbled across this site today. I have Vista, and when I go home, I'll test a bunch of dos games in normal and DOSBox and let you know tomorrow how that goes.

[DOSGuy]

Thank you very much, vkapadia. I haven't felt the need (or had the money) to get Vista, so I'm very interested to know what happens.

[vkapadia]

Yep. It's confirmed. No DOS program at all works in Vista. At least in my version of Vista. I have the 64 bit version. Though I doubt it works in the 32 bit either, cause the error I get says something like "This program is not compatible with this version of Windows. Please contact the manufacturer and get a 32 or 64 bit version". I doubt any 16 bit program will work in Vista.

They ALL work in DOSBox, though.

ALL HAIL DOSBOX! SAVIOR OF THOSE WHO WISH TO PLAY DOS GAMES!

[DOSGuy]

I find it ironic that that a small group of volunteers can write a program to run DOS software in Windows Vista, and the company that actually wrote DOS and has the source code couldn't be bothered to include a compatibility mode or a small utility to run 16-bit software in Vista.

DOS and Windows 3.1 are the programs that made Microsoft what it is today, but they don't believe that any of their customers care about backwards compatibility with their own products. 64-bit CPUs have deliberately maintained backwards compatibility with the original x86 processors from 1978, but it's the operating system that has chosen to remove backwards compatibility. It's so easy to do in software! Software can be written to emulate different hardware, but the hardware has retained the ability to run 16-bit software, so it's a simple matter to write software that makes use of the hardware! It's a small thing to ask of Microsoft, but they don't care. They'd turn their back on their own legacy rather than waste a few man hours to compile a DOS application environment from their own source code.

[vkapadia]

I totally agree. Microsoft should include a DOS based 16-bit compatability mode. It wouldnt be that hard. DOSBox has already done it. And Microsoft can include the full DOS system, too, since it already has the code.

[jg007]

I only have vista as a virtual machine but I have tried to play xenon 2 and it did start running and allowed me to select the graphics mode but crashed which I believe is more likely to be due to it being a virtual machine .

Have you tried right clicking the executable and selecting properties and then selecting windows XP / windows 98 compatability?

As far as I can see dos is suported in vista at least in the 32 bit version and the properties tab even says that the program is a dos program although the 64 bit operating systems will not work with some of the 32 bit software including drivers as the architecture and memory addressing etc is quite different.

Microsoft has always tried at least to an extent to maintain backwards compatability with its operating systems unlike apple who deliberatly chose to dump the old and unsecure code and this is quite often cited as part of why microsoft os's is less secure that apple's

[DOSGuy]

I didn't think about Compatibility Mode. Thank you very much for the suggestion, jg. I don't have either version of Vista, so we're still looking to you for answers, vkapedia!

[vkapadia]

yeah, compatibility mode doesnt make a difference. even with it turned on and the lowest possible settings i get this exact error message:

Code: Select all

The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running. Check your computer's system information to see whether you need an x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher.

A friend of mine has 32 bit Vista. I'm gonna talk to him and see if he gets a similar error.

[DOSGuy]

Okay folks, here's the definite answer. Without getting too technical, what makes 16-bit software 16-bit software? Real mode!

16-bit CPUs were only capable of real mode addressing, and were designed to address a maximum of 1 MB of memory. That's why EMS and XMS were invented to allow addresses above 1 MB to be addressed on CPUs that could handle more, such as the 80286, which could address 20 MB.

32-bit processors are capable of protected mode, which was designed to address 2^32 bits of memory, or 4 GB. That's why Microsoft transitioned Windows over to protected mode. To allow real mode software to be run in protected mode, they use a VDM (Virtual DOS Machine). NT-based versions of Windows have a file called NTVDM.exe for that purpose. The Windows XP version even has basic SoundBlaster emulation!

64-bit versions of Windows don't have NTVDM, but the 32-bit version of Vista does. So, full compatibility, right? Sadly, no.

The problem on Vista is the fact that Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) drivers -- which allows fancy effects like the Aero glass interface -- don't support fullscreen mode. Vista can run text-mode DOS programs in full 16 color glory, but it won't support graphics unless you downgrade your video drivers to XP drivers.

I'm writing a tutorial that will explain all of this.