I’ve been wanting to give a short update to the DOS 6.22/Windows 3.11 build I posted a while back, just to cover some of the changes I’ve made to the system, and how it performs overall. My ideas for the system changed slightly, and what I found myself using it for lead to what I can finally say is a build I’m super happy with! It's now a system I can just sit back and enjoy in my spare time.
Original Post: https://theclassicgeek.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-reasonable-dos-622-windows-3x-retro.html
The processor and RAM configuration hasn’t changed. It’s still running the Cyrix PR166+ and 32MB of PC133 RAM. The video card is still the tried-and-true S3 Virge/DX 4MB PCI. However, one of the core changes I made was with the sound card configuration. Instead of the dual sound card setup I started with, I’ve settled on just using a single card, and in this case that was the Sound Blaster AWE64 Value ISA.
The reasoning behind this is pretty simple, I like the sound of the AWE64 a little better. While the Opti 82C920 is actually a really awesome card that I will hold on to and use again in the future, and it boasts a much wider range of compatibility with older games than the AWE64 thanks to its great Sound Blaster Pro emulation, I just prefer the overall sound of the AWE64. So, it’s not a detractor from the Opti in any way, it's just a personal preference. Though, I will note that my Opti card is notably “nosier” than the AWE64, but this is common with Sound Blaster Pro in general.
To address some of the loss in compatibility with some older games moving to the AWE64, or those hard-coded for Sound Blaster Pro/Adlib, you can use the popular Unisound driver to improve compatibility with many of those titles. In my case, games like Wolfenstein 3D and Petscii Robots. Two great games in my library that just don’t play well with my AWE64 and the base drivers, but work great with Unisound.
On
a side note, I am considering picking up a PicoGUS to test out in
this build and go back to running two cards. I don't plan on making any other real changes to the systems core hardware in the foreseeable future. What you see below is where it's going to stay. Well, unless I manage to find a 3DFX Voodoo at some point.
These are the contents of my autoexec.bat and config.sys files so you can see how I have my cards configured (and everything else), if you’re curious.
SET SOUND=C:\SB16
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H6 P330 E620 T6
SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E MODE:0
SET CTCM=C:\SB16
C:\SB16\CTCU.EXE /S
C:\SB16\AWEUTIL /S
C:\SB16\MIXERSET /P /Q
LH=C:\DRIVERS\UNISOUND\UNISOUND.COM /VC99 /V99 /VW99 / VF99
@C:\DEMOSAVE\AD\AD_WRAP.EXE
LH /L:0;1,45456 /S C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE /X
@ECHO OFF
PROMPT $p$g
PATH C:\WINDOWS;C:\DOS;C:\COREL\WP62
SET MOUSE=C:\MOUSE
SET TEMP=C:\TEMP
SET TMP=C:\TEMP
LH /L:0;1,24304 /S C:\MOUSE\mouse.exe /Q
LH C:\WINDOWS\MSCDEX.EXE /S /D:MSCD001 /L:E
SET ADPATH=C:\DEMOSAVE\AD
C:\DEMOSAVE\AD\ADTSR.EXE
C:\Drivers\S3VBE\S3VBE20 /Install
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM
BUFFERS=15,0
FILES=40
DOS=UMB
LASTDRIVE=F
FCBS=4,0
DEVICE=C:\SB16\CTCM.EXE
DEVICE=C:\DOS\SETVER.EXE
DEVICE=C:\DOS\OAKCDROM.SYS /D:MSCD001
DOS=HIGH
STACKS=9,256
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\IFSHLP.SYS
Beyond going down to one sound card, I also changed my drive configuration to better support my usage of the build. I started with a single 2GB SD card via an SD to IDE adapter and GoTek Floppy Emulator for all of my storage needs, I have since expanded my internal storage to a whopping 4GB by use of a 2GB compact flash card plugged directly into the board, also by way of an Compact Flash to IDE adapter, giving me both my primary 2GB drive, and a second 2GB storage drive that I designated as “D:”. For a DOS 6.22 system, that’s more than I’ll ever need, and more that I ever dreamed of back in 1993!
From there, I’ve added a real 1.44MB Alps DF354H (121F) floppy drive and an HP 24X CD-ROM specifically for using real floppy and CD based software and games. The GoTek is still installed and used for doing batch transfers and easy switching between many disks at a time, while the real drive is being used for many single disk pieces of software, or for an alternative to the Sony 2X USB floppy drive hooked to my modern system for data archival.
As for the CD-ROM drive, it’s there to play CD based games, pure and simple. While there are ways to load CD images in DOS, they require you to store those images on the system and that would take up a ton of space since no GoTek style hardware emulator exists for CD-ROM images. It’s just easier to use real CDs.
So, as of right now, all my IDE/FDD channels are in use!
The last real changes are to the software and games I have installed and using on the system. I currently have over 40 games installed, and use several different pieces of software, in what 1993 me would have thought was the ultimate PC back then. Here are some of my favorites that I have installed, all tested and working great with this configuration. If a game has a resolution option that goes up to 640x480, that's where I run them, Quake is the only exception. It runs at 640x480, but it's slow, so I run it lower. Everything else runs at whatever it's made to run at.
- Attack of the Petscii Robots (Buy Direct for DOS / Buy on Steam - Uses DOSBox)
- Blood
- Command & Conquer Red Alert (CD)
- Commander Keen I – VI
- Crusader: No Remorse (CD)
- Crusader: No Regret (CD)
- Descent
- DiskWorld (CD)
- Doom SE
- Doom II
- Duke Nukem 3D
- Dungeon Master 1 & 2
- Fable (CD)
- Fallout (CD)
- Heretic
- Hexen
- Hi Octane
- Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (CD)
- Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade
- Kings Quest V & VI (CD)
- Planet X3 (Buy Direct for DOS / Buy on Steam - Uses DOSBox)
- Police Quest 1 – 3
- Prince of Persia
- Quake (320x240)
- SimCity 2000
- Star Trek 25th Anniversary
- Stonekeep (CD)
- Strife
- TechWar
- Terminator: Future Shock
- Terminator: Rampage (CD)
- The Immortal
- Warcraft
- Wipeout (CD)
- Wolfenstein 3D
- Worms
Note: Both the Petscii Robots and PlanetX3 Steam versions have the full DOS game files, so you can simply copy them to your real DOS hardware and play them.
The software list for my system is much shorter, but does all I want this machine to do, and it all works flawlessly.
NortonCommander 5 – This is what I use for the bulk of my DOS file manipulation. NC has always been a favorite of mine. Simple, fast, and effective file manipulation.
Windows3.11 – Can also be used for file manipulation, but I have it installed mainly for a couple games and pieces of software to play around with and testing.
WordPerfect 6 - Probably one of the best text editors out there for it’s time, and still useful to this day. Easy to use, powerful, and very handy to have on a DOS system.
LaunchBoxDOS – A cool project from Jason Carr that does exactly as the name suggests, providing a simple easy to use menu-based launcher for games and software on your DOS system. A spiritual relative of the awesome modern LaunchBox software.
Fasttracker II – My all-time favorite module tracker! Since the Amiga days, I’ve been a huge fan of this style of music, and still listen to a lot of it today. Being able to enjoy some of my favorite tunes on my DOS rig is an absolute must!
AfterDark – The best DOS screensaver to ever exist in my humble opinion. No DOS build is complete without it!
I’ve also copied my 1993 self and made a simple menu that types out a list on the screen of a series of batch files I made to launch specific pieces of software or edit files, quick and easy. While there is more software on the system for various other things, the ones listed above get the most use.
If you're looking for an easy DOS utility to capture screenshot in most situations, I highly recommend Screen Thief. I used it to capture all the images from within DOS you see on this page. While it works in most cases, it can interfere with some applications, like FastTracker II. However, it's still quite versatile and easy to use.
Overall, I’m very happy with how this system has turned out and evolved. I had some issues along the way, such as…
Having to repair old damage to the PS/2 header and bodge in power for the 5V feeding the PS/2 connectors to keep the keyboard and mouse working.
Getting all the drivers to work as I needed them and getting all the settings right.
Getting the GoTek and Alps floppy drives to play well with each other.
Buy and/or make all the adapters needed to get it all up and running.
Now, I can just sit back, play games, and listed to great chiptunes! Sure, all of this can be emulated these days, but where’s the fun in that? This real classic hardware won’t be around forever, it’s all 30+ years old already, so I’m going to enjoy it as long as I can.
Thanks
for reading!