Curious how to play DOS games under Windows XP? Some of the most memorable video games of all time were written for DOS, the operating system underlying consumer-oriented versions of Microsoft Windows prior to XP. Unfortunately, Windows XP updates were good for everything but DOS games. Since XP is based upon Windows NT rather than DOS, playing these classic games on a Windows XP computer was difficult for a while, but now a number of options are available to retro gamers.
Online DOS Games are hands down the most straightforward, simple way to play these old favorites. If you visit sites like dosdose.com or Classic DOS Games, you can play dozens of DOS games right in your browser. While the selection might not be as good as it is for downloadable games, you do not have to change any setting on your computer or set up any software. You can also play these games on any computer, whether it is running Windows, Mac OS X or Linux.
Compatibility Mode in Windows XP might enable you to run your DOS game without any additional software or system tweaking. Simply right-click on the .EXE or .BAT file for your game, select "Properties" and then click on "Compatibility Mode" under the "Compatibility" tab. Once you've picked the version of Windows the game was originally designed for, you might be able to play it by simply double-clicking on it.
DOSBox is the easiest, most surefire way to get DOS games running under Windows XP, if Compatibility Mode doesn't work out. However, DOSBox does require an install and a tiny bit of set up. First, download and install the application, and you have a DOS emulator that enables your computer to act like you had DOS installed in the first place. Then, you should select a folder on your hard drive to act as DOS's C: drive and mount it using DOSBox. From there, you can start any DOS game you wish. Users who have trouble with sound might want to try running their games with VDM Sound instead.
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