DOSBox v0.65


=====
NOTE: 
=====

While we are hoping that one day, DOSBox will run all programs
ever made for the PC, we are not there yet. At present, DOSBox running on a 
high-end machine will roughly be the equivalent of a 486 PC. The 0.60
release has added support for "protected mode" allowing for more complex and
recent programs, but note that this support is still in an early stage of 
development and unlike the support for 386 real-mode games (or earlier) hasn't
been completed yet. Also note that "protected mode" games need substantially 
more resources and may require a much faster processor for you to run them
properly in DOSBox.



======
INDEX:
======
1. Quickstart
2. FAQ
3. Usage
4. Internal Programs
5. Special Keys
6. Keymapper
7. System Requirements
8. To run resource-demanding games
9. The config file
10. The language file
11. Building your own version of DOSBox
12. Special thanks
13. Contact


==============
1. Quickstart:
==============

Type INTRO in DOSBox. That's it. 


=======
2. FAQ:
=======

Some Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: I've got a Z instead of a C at the prompt.
Q: My game crashes when using opengl/nb or is much slower.
Q: My CD-ROM doesn't work.
Q: The mouse doesn't work.
Q: The sound stutters or sounds stretched/weird.
Q: I can't type \ or : in DOSBox.
Q: The game/application can't find its CD-ROM.
Q: The game/application runs much too slow!
Q: I would like to change the memory size/cpu speed/ems/soundblaster IRQ.
Q: What sound hardware does DOSBox presently emulate?
Q: DOSBox crashes on startup and I'm running arts
Q: Great README, but I still don't get it.





Q: I've got a Z instead of a C at the prompt.
A: You have to make your directories available as drives in DOSBox by using
   the "mount" command. For example, in Windows "mount C D:\GAMES" will give
   you a C drive in DOSBox which points to your Windows D:\GAMES directory.
   In Linux, "mount c /home/username" will give you a C drive in DOSBox
   which points to /home/username in Linux.


Q: My game crashes when using opengl/nb or is much slower.
A: Somehow our opengl code isn't entirely stable on some platforms. 
   Use surface instead.


Q: My CD-ROM doesn't work.
A: To mount your CD-ROM in DOSBox you have to specify some additional options 
   when mounting the CD-ROM. 
   To enable the most basic CD-ROM support:
     - mount d f:\ -t cdrom
   To enable low-level SDL-support:
     - mount d f:\ -t cdrom -usecd 0
   To enable low-level ioctl-support(win2k/xp/linux):
     - mount d f:\ -t cdrom -usecd 0 -ioctl
   To enable low-level aspi-support (win98 with aspi-layer installed):
     - mount d f:\ -t cdrom -usecd 0 -apsi
   
   In the commands: - d   driveletter you will get in DOSBox
                    - f:\ location of cdrom on your PC.
                    - 0   The number of the CD-ROM drive, reported by mount -cd
   See also the question: The game/application can't find its CD-ROM.


Q: The mouse doesn't work.
A: Usually, DOSBox detects when a game uses mouse control. When you click on 
   the screen it should get locked (confined to the DOSBox window) and work. 
   With certain games, the DOSBox mouse detection doesn't work. In that case 
   you will have to lock the mouse manually by pressing CTRL-F10.


Q: The sound stutters or sounds stretched/weird.
A: You're using too much cpu power to keep DOSBox running at the current speed.
   You can  lower the cycles, skip frames or get a faster machine.
   You can also increase the prebuffer in the configfile.


Q: I can't type \ or : in DOSBox.
A: This is a known problem. It only occurs if your keyboard layout isn't US.
   Some possible fixes:
     1. Switch your keyboard layout.
     2. Use / instead.
     3. Open dosbox.conf and change usescancodes=false to usescancodes=true.
     4. Add the commands you want to execute to the "configfile".
     5. Start the keymapper (CTRL-F1 or add -startmapper switch to DOSBox).
     6. Use ALT-58 for : and ALT-92 for \.
     7. for \ try the keys around "enter". For ":" try shift and the keys 
        between "enter" and "l" (US keyboard layout).
     8. Use keyb.com from FreeDOS (http://projects.freedos.net/keyb/).


Q: The game/application can't find its CD-ROM.
A: Be sure to mount the CD-ROM with -t cdrom switch. Also try adding the
   correct label (-label LABEL). To enable more low-level CD-ROM support, add
   the following switch to mount: -usecd #, where # is the number of your 
   CD-ROM drive reported by mount -cd. If you run Win32 you can specify -ioctl
   or -aspi. Look at the description elsewhere in this document for their 
   meaning.


Q: The game/application runs much too slow!
A: Look at the section "To run resource-demanding games" for more information.


Q: I would like to change the memory size/cpu speed/ems/soundblaster IRQ.
A: This is possible! Just create a config file: config -writeconf configfile .
   Start your favourite editor and look at all the settings present. To
   start DOSBox with your new settings: dosbox -conf configfile


Q: What sound hardware does DOSBox presently emulate?
A: DOSBox emulates several legacy sound devices:
   - Internal PC speaker
     This emulation includes both the tone generator and several forms of
     digital sound output through the internal speaker.
   - Creative CMS/Gameblaster
     The is the first card released by Creative Labs(R).  The default 
     configuration places it on port 0x220.  It should be noted that enabling 
     this with the Adlib emulation may result in conflicts.
   - Tandy 3 voice
     The emulation of this sound hardware is complete with the exception of 
     the noise channel. The noise channel is not very well documented and as 
     such is only a best guess as to the sound's accuracy.
   - Adlib
     Borrowed from MAME, this emulation is almost perfect and includes the 
     Adlib's ability to almost play digitized sound.
   - SoundBlaster 16/ SoundBlaster Pro I & II /SoundBlaster I & II
     By default DOSBox provides Soundblaster 16 level 16-bit stereo sound. 
     You can select a different SoundBlaster version in the configfile of 
     DOSBox (See Internal Commands: CONFIG).
   - Disney Soundsource
     Using the printer port, this sound device outputs digital sound only.
   - Gravis Ultrasound
     The emulation of this hardware is nearly complete, though the MIDI 
     capabilities have been left out, since an MPU-401 has been 
     emulated in other code.
   - MPU-401
     A MIDI passthrough interface is also emulated.  This method of sound 
     output will only work when used with a General Midi or MT-32 device.

Q: DOSBox crashes on startup and I'm running arts.
A: This isn't really a DOSBox problem, but the solution is to set the 
   environment variable SDL_AUDIODRIVER to alsa or oss.

Q: Great README, but I still don't get it.
A: While unlikely, this seems to happen. A look at "The Newbie's 
   pictorial guide to DOSBox" located at 
   http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewforum.php?f=39 might help you.
   You could also try the wiki of dosbox:
   http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/wiki/


For more questions read the remainder of this README and/or check 
the site/forum:
http://dosbox.sourceforge.net




=========
3. Usage:
=========

An overview of the command line options you can give to DOSBox.
Windows Users must open cmd.exe or command.com or edit the shortcut to 
DOSBox.exe for this.
The options are valid for all operating systems unless noted in the option
description:

dosbox [name] [-exit] [-c command] [-fullscreen] [-conf congfigfile] 
       [-lang languagefile] [-machine machinetype] [-noconsole]
       [-startmapper] [-noautoexec]
       
dosbox -version

  name   
        If "name" is a directory it will mount that as the C: drive.
        If "name" is an executable it will mount the directory of "name" 
        as the C: drive and execute "name".
    
  -exit  
        DOSBox will close itself when the DOS application "name" ends.

  -c command
        Runs the specified command before running "name". Multiple commands
        can be specified. Each command should start with "-c", though.
        A command can be: an Internal Program, a DOS command or an executable 
        on a mounted drive.

  -fullscreen
        Starts DOSBox in fullscreen mode.

  -conf configfile
        Start DOSBox with the options specified in "configfile".
        See Chapter 9 for more details.

  -lang languagefile
        Start DOSBox using the language specified in "languagefile".

  -noconsole (Windows Only)
        Start DOSBox without showing the console window. Output will
	be redirected to stdout.txt and stderr.txt
	
  -machine machinetype
        Setup DOSBox to emulate a specific type of machine. Valid choices are:
        hercules, cga, pcjr, tandy, vga (default). The machinetype affects 
        both the videocard and the available soundcards.

  -startmapper
        Enter the keymapper directly on startup. Useful for people with 
        keyboard problems.

  -noautoexec
        Skips the [autoexec] section of the loaded configuration file.

  -version
        output version information and exit. Useful for frontends.

Note: If a name/command/configfile/languagefile contains a space, put
      the whole name/command/configfile/languagefile between quotes
      ("command or file name").

For example:

dosbox c:\atlantis\atlantis.exe -c "MOUNT D C:\SAVES"
  This mounts c:\atlantis as c:\ and runs atlantis.exe.
  Before it does that it would first mount C:\SAVES as the D drive.

In Windows, you can also drag directories/files onto the DOSBox executable.



=====================
4. Internal Programs:
=====================

DOSBox supports most of the DOS commands found in command.com. 
In addition, the following commands are available: 

MOUNT "Emulated Drive letter" "Real Drive or Directory" 
      [-t type] [-aspi] [-ioctl] [-usecd number] [-size drivesize] 
      [-label drivelabel] [-freesize size_in_mb]
MOUNT -cd
MOUNT -u "Emulated Drive letter"

  Program to mount local directories as drives inside DOSBox.

  "Emulated Drive letter"
        The driveletter inside dosbox (eg. C).

  "Real Drive letter or Directory"
        The local directory you want to have inside dosbox.
        (Under Win32 usually the same as "Emulated Drive letter".
	For Example: mount c c:\ )

  -t type
        Type of the mounted directory. Supported are: dir (standard),
        floppy, cdrom.

  -size drivesize
        Sets the size of the drive.

  -freesize size_in_mb
        Sets the amount of free space available on a drive in MB's. This
        is a simpler version of -size.	

  -label drivelabel
        Sets the name of the drive to "drivelabel". Needed on some 
        systems if the cd label isn't read correctly. Useful when a 
        program can't find its cdrom. If you don't specify a label and no
        lowlevel support is selected (-usecd # and/or -ioctl/aspi): 
          For win32: label is extracted from "Real Drive".
          For Linux: label is set to NO_LABEL.

        If you do specify a label, this label will be kept as long as the drive
        is mounted. It will not be updated !!

  -aspi
        Forces use of the aspi layer. Only valid if mounting a cdrom under 
        Windows systems with an ASPI-Layer.

  -ioctl   
        Forces use of ioctl commands. Only valid if mounting a cdrom under 
        a Windows OS which support them (Win2000/XP/NT).

  -usecd number
        Forces  use of SDL cdrom support for drive number.
        Number can be found by -cd. Valid on all systems.

  -cd
        Displays all detected cdrom drives and their numbers. Use with -usecd.

  -u
        Removes the mount. Doesn't work for Z:\.

  Note: It's possible to mount a local directory as cdrom drive. 
        Hardware support is then missing.

  Basically, MOUNT allows you to connect real hardware to DOSBox's "emulated"
  PC. So MOUNT C C:\GAMES tells DOSBox to use your C:\GAMES directory as drive 
  C: in DOSBox. It also allows you to change the drive's letter identification
  for programs that demand specific drive letters.
  
  For example: Touche: Adventures of The Fifth Musketeer must be run on your C:
  drive. Using DOSBox and its mount command, you can trick the game into
  believing it is on the C drive, while you can still place it where you
  want it. For example, if the game is in D:\TOUCHE, the command MOUNT C D:\
  will allow you to run Touche from the D drive.

  Mounting your entire C drive with MOUNT C C:\ is NOT recommended!
  If you or DOSBox makes a mistake you may loose all your files.
  It's recommended to put all your applications/games in a subdirectory and 
  mount that.

  General MOUNT Examples:
  1. To mount c:\DirX as a floppy : 
       mount a c:\DirX -t floppy
  2. To mount system cdrom drive E as cdrom drive D in DOSBox:
       mount d e:\ -t cdrom
  3. To mount system cdrom drive at mountpoint /media/cdrom as cdrom drive D 
     in dosbox:
       mount d /media/cdrom -t cdrom -usecd 0
  4. To mount a drive with 870 mb free diskspace (simple version):
       mount c d:\ -freesize 870
  5. To mount a drive with 870 mb free diskspace (experts only, full control):
       mount c d:\ -size 4025,127,16513,1700
  6. To mount /home/user/dirY as drive C in DOSBox:
       mount c /home/user/dirY

MEM
  Program to display the amount of free memory.

CONFIG [-writeconf] [-writelang] localfile
CONFIG -set "section property=value"
CONFIG -get "section property"

  CONFIG can be used to change or query various settings of DOSBox 
  during runtime. It can save the current settings and language strings to
  disk. Information about all possible sections and properties can 
  be found in section 9 (The Config File).

  -writeconf localfile
       Write the current configuration settings to file. "localfile" is 
       located on the local drive, not a mounted drive in DOSBox. 
       The configuration file controls various settings of DOSBox: 
       the amount of emulated memory, the emulated soundcards and many more 
       things. It allows access to AUTOEXEC.BAT as well.
       See section 9 (The Config File) for more information.

  -writelang localfile
       Write the current language settings to file. "localfile" is 
       located on the local drive, not a mounted drive in DOSBox.
       The language file controls all visible ouput of the internal commands
       and the internal dos.

  -set "section property=value"
       CONFIG will attempt to set the property to new value. At this moment
       CONFIG can not report whether the command succeeded or not.

  -get "section property"
       The current value of the property is reported and stored in the 
       environment variable %CONFIG%. This can be used to store the value 
       when using batch files.

  Both "-set" and "-get" work from batch files and can be used to set up your
  own preferences for each game.
  
  Examples:
  1. To create a configfile in your current directory:
      config -writeconf dosbox.conf
  2. To set the cpu cycles to 10000:
      config -set "cpu cycles=10000"
  3. To turn ems memory emulation off:
      config -set "dos ems=off"
  4. To check which cpu core is being used.
      config -get "cpu core"

LOADFIX [-size] [program] [program-parameters]
LOADFIX -f
  Program to reduce the amount of memory available. Useful for old programs 
  which don't expect much memory to be free. 

  -size	        
        number of kb to "eat up", default = 64kb
  
  -f
        frees all previously allocated memory
  

Examples:
  1. To start mm2.exe and allocate 64kb memory 
     (mm2 will have 64 kb less available) :
     loadfix mm2
  2. To start mm2.exe and allocate 32kb memory :
     loadfix -32 mm2
  3. To free previous allocated memory :
     loadfix -f


RESCAN
  Make DOSBox reread the directory structure. Useful if you changed something
  on a mounted drive outside of DOSBox. (CTRL - F4 does this as well!)
  

MIXER
  Makes DOSBox display its current volume settings. 
  Here's how you can change them:
  
  mixer channel left:right [/NOSHOW] [/LISTMIDI]
  
  channel
      Can be one of the following: MASTER, DISNEY, SPKR, GUS, SB, FM.
  
  left:right
      The volume levels in percentages. If you put a D in front it will be
      in deciBell (example mixer gus d-10).
  
  /NOSHOW
      Prevents DOSBox from showing the result if you set one
      of the volume levels.

  /LISTMIDI
      Lists the available midi devices on your pc (Windows). To select a 
      device other than the Windows default midi-mapper, add a line 
      'config=id' to the [midi] section in the configuration file, where
      'id' is the number for the device as listed by LISTMIDI.


IMGMOUNT
  A utility to mount disk images and CD-ROM images in DOSBox.
  
  IMGMOUNT DRIVE [imagefile] -t [image_type] -fs [image_format] 
            -size [sectorsbytesize, sectorsperhead, heads, cylinders]

  imagefile
      Location of the image files to mount in DOSBox.  The location is on a 
      mounted drive inside DOSBox. CD-ROM images can be mounted
      directly as well. They don't have to be on a mounted drive.
   
  -t 
      The following are valid image types:
        floppy: Specifies a floppy image or images.  DOSBox will automatically 
                identify the disk geometry ( 360K, 1.2MB, 720K, 1.44MB, etc).
        iso:    Specifies a CD-ROM iso image.  The geometry is automatic and 
                set for this size. This can be an iso or a cue/bin.
        hdd:    Specifies a harddrive image. The proper CHS geometry 
                must be set for this to work.

  -fs 
      The following are valid file system formats:
        iso:  Specifies the ISO 9660 CD-ROM format.
        fat:  Specifies that the image uses the FAT file system. DOSBox will attempt
              to mount this image as a drive in DOSBox and make the files 
              available from inside DOSBox.
        none: DOSBox will make no attempt to read the file system on the disk.
              This is useful if you need to format it or if you want to boot 
              the disk using the BOOT command.  When using the "none" 
              filesystem, you must specify the drive number (2 or 3, 
              where 2 = master, 3 = slave) rather than a drive letter.  
              For example, to mount a 70MB image as the slave drive device, 
              you would type:
                "imgmount 3 d:\test.img -size 512,63,16,142 -fs none" 
                (without the quotes)  Compare this with a mount to read the 
                drive in DOSBox, which would read as: 
                "imgmount e: d:\test.img -size 512,63,16,142"

  -size 
     The Cylinders, Heads and Sectors specification of the drive.
     Required to mount hard drive images.
     
  An example of CD-ROM images:
    1a. mount c /tmp
    1b. imgmount d c:\myiso.iso -t iso
  or (which also works):
    2. imgmount d /tmp/myiso.iso -t iso


BOOT
  Boot will start floppy images or hard disk images independent of the 
  operating system emulation offered by DOSBox.  This will allow you to play 
  booter floppies or boot to other operating systems inside DOSBox.

  BOOT [diskimg1.img diskimg2.img .. diskimgN.img] [-l driveletter]

  diskimgN.img 
     This can be any number of floppy disk images one wants mounted after 
     DOSBox boots the specified drive letter.
     To swap between images, hit CTRL-F4 to change from the current disk 
     to the next disk in the list. The list will loop back from the last 
     disk image to the beginning.

  [-l driveletter]
     This parameter allows you to specify the drive to boot from.  
     The default is the A drive, the floppy drive.  You can also boot  
     a hard drive image mounted as master by specifying "-l C" 
     without the quotes, or the drive as slave by specifying "-l D"


IPX

  You need to enable IPX networking in the configuration file of DOSBox.

  All of the IPX networking is managed through the internal DOSBox program 
  IPXNET. For help on the IPX networking from inside DOSBox, type 
  "IPXNET HELP" (without quotes) and the program will list the commands 
  and relevant documentation. 

  With regard to actually setting up a network, one system needs to be 
  the server. To set this up, type "IPXNET STARTSERVER" (without the quotes)
  in a DOSBox session. The server DOSBox session will 
  automatically add itself to the virtual IPX network. For every 
  additional computer that should be part of the virtual IPX network, 
  you'll need to type "IPXNET CONNECT <computer host name or IP>". 
  For example, if your server is at bob.dosbox.com, 
  you would type "IPXNET CONNECT bob.dosbox.com" on every non-server system. 
  
  The following is an IPXNET command reference: 

  IPXNET CONNECT 

     IPXNET CONNECT opens a connection to an IPX tunnelling server 
     running on another DOSBox session. The "address" parameter specifies 
     the IP address or host name of the server computer. You can also 
     specify the UDP port to use. By default IPXNET uses port 213 - the 
     assigned IANA port for IPX tunnelling - for its connection. 

     The syntax for IPXNET CONNECT is: 
     IPXNET CONNECT address <port> 

  IPXNET DISCONNECT 

     IPXNET DISCONNECT closes the connection to the IPX tunnelling server. 

     The syntax for IPXNET DISCONNECT is: 
     IPXNET DISCONNECT 

  IPXNET STARTSERVER 

     IPXNET STARTSERVER starts and IPX tunneling server on this DOSBox 
     session. By default, the server will accept connections on UDP port 
     213, though this can be changed. Once the server is started, DOSBox 
     will automatically start a client connection to the IPX tunnelling server.

     The syntax for IPXNET STARTSERVER is:
     IPXNET STARTSERVER <port>

  IPXNET STOPSERVER

     IPXNET STOPSERVER stops the IPX tunnelling server running on this DOSBox
     session. Care should be taken to ensure that all other connections have 
     terminated as well, since stopping the server may cause lockups on other 
     machines that are still using the IPX tunnelling server. 

     The syntax for IPXNET STOPSERVER is: 
     IPXNET STOPSERVER 

  IPXNET PING

     IPXNET PING broadcasts a ping request through the IPX tunnelled network. 
     In response, all other connected computers will respond to the ping 
     and report the time it took to receive and send the ping message. 

     The syntax for IPXNET PING is: 
     IPXNET PING

  IPXNET STATUS

     IPXNET STATUS reports the current state of this DOSBox session's 
     IPX tunnelling network. For a list of all computers connected to the 
     network use the IPXNET PING command. 

The syntax for IPXNET STATUS is: 
IPXNET STATUS 

For more information use the /? command line switch with the programs.




================
5. Special Keys:
================

ALT-ENTER     Switch to full screen and back.
ALT-PAUSE     Pause emulation.
CTRL-F1       Start the keymapper.
CTRL-F4       Change between mounted disk-images. Update directory cache for all drives!
CTRL-ALT-F5   Start/Stop creating a movie of the screen.
CTRL-F5       Save a screenshot.(png)
CTRL-F6       Start/Stop recording sound output to a wave file.
CTRL-ALT-F7   Start/Stop recording of OPL commands.
CTRL-ALT-F8   Start/Stop the recording of raw MIDI commands.
CTRL-F7       Decrease frameskip.
CTRL-F8       Increase frameskip.
CTRL-F9       Kill dosbox.
CTRL-F10      Capture/Release the mouse.
CTRL-F11      Slow down emulation (Decrease DOSBox Cycles).
CTRL-F12      Speed up emulation (Increase DOSBox Cycles).
ALT-F12       Unlock speed (turbo button).

These are the default keybindings. They can be changed in the keymapper.

Saved/recorded files can be found in current_directory/capture 
(can be changed in the configfile). 
The directory has to exist prior to starting DOSBox, otherwise nothing 
gets saved/recorded !


NOTE: Once you increase your DOSBox cycles beyond your computer's maximum
capacity, it will produce the same effect as slowing down the emulation.
This maximum will vary from computer to computer; there is no standard.



=============
6. Keymapper:
=============

When you start the keymapper (either with CTRL-F1 or -startmapper as a
command line argument to the DOSBox executable) you are presented with 
a virtual keyboard.

This virtual keyboard corresponds to the keys DOSBox will report to its
applications. If you click on a key with your mouse, you can see in the
lower left corner which key on your keyboard corresponds to it.

Event: EVENT
BIND: BIND
                        Add   Del
mod1  hold                    Next
mod2
mod3


EVENT
    The key DOSBox will report to the applications being emulated.
BIND
    The key on your keyboard (as reported by SDL) which is connected to the
    EVENT.
mod1,2,3 
    Modfiers. These are keys you need to have pressed as well, while pressing 
    BIND. mod1 = CTRL and mod2 = ALT. These are generally only used when you 
    want to change the special keys of DOSBox.
Add 
    Add a new BIND to this EVENT. Basically add a key from your keyboard which
    will produce the key EVENT in DOSBox.
Del 
    Delete the BIND to this EVENT. If an EVENT has no BINDS, then it's not
    possible to type this key in DOSBox.
Next
    Go through the list of keys(BINDS) which map to this EVENT.


Example:
Q1. You want to have the X on your keyboard to type a Z in DOSBox.
    A. Click on the Z on the keyboard mapper. Click "Add". 
       Now press the X key on your keyboard. 

Q2. If you click "Next" a couple of times, you will notice that the Z on your 
    keyboard also produces an Z in DOSBox.
    A. Therefore select the Z again, and click "Next" until you have the Z on 
       your keyboard. Now click "Del".

Q3. If you try it out in DOSBox, you will notice that pressing X makes ZX
    appear.
     A. The X on your keyboard is still mapped to the X as well! Click on
        the X in the keyboard mapper and search with "Next" until you find the 
        mapped key X. Click "Del".


If you change the default mapping, you can save your changes by pressing
"Save". DOSBox will save the mapping to a location specified in the configfile
(mapperfile=mapper.txt). At startup, DOSBox will load your mapperfile, if it's
present in the configfile.



=======================
7. System requirements:
=======================

Fast machine. My guess would be pentium-2 400+ to get decent emulation
of games written for an 286 machine.
For protected mode games a 1 Ghz machine is recommended - don't expect
them to run fast, though! Be sure to read the next section on how to speed
it up somewhat.



===================================
8. To run resource-demanding games: 
===================================

DOSBox emulates the CPU, the sound and graphic cards, and some other
stuff, all at the same time. You can overclock DOSBox by using CTRL-F12, but
you'll be limited by the power of your actual CPU. You can see how much free
time your true CPU has by looking at the Task Manager in Windows 2000/XP and
the System Monitor in Windows 95/98/ME. Once 100% of your real CPU time is
used there is no further way to speed up DOSBox unless you reduce the load
generated by the non-CPU parts of DOSBox. 

So: 

Close every program but DOSBox 

Overclock DOSBox until 100% of your CPU is used (use the utilities above to
check) 

Since VGA emulation is the most demanding part of DOSBox in terms of actual
CPU usage, we'll start there. Increase the number of frames skipped (in
increments of one) by pressing CTRL-F8. Your CPU usage should decrease.
Go back one step and repeat this until the game runs fast enough for you.
Please note that this is a trade-off: you lose in fluidity of video what you
gain in speed 

You can also try to disable the sound through the setup utility of the game
to reduce load on your CPU further. 



===================
9. The Config File:
===================

A config file can be generated by CONFIG.COM, which can be found on the 
internal dosbox Z: drive when you start up dosbox. Look in the internal 
programs section of the readme for usage of CONFIG.COM.
You can edit the generated configfile to customize DOSBox.

The file is divided into several sections (the names have [] around it). 
Some sections have options you can set.
# and % indicate comment-lines. 
The generated configfile contains the current settings. You can alter them and
start DOSBox with the -conf switch to load the file and use these settings.

If no configfile is specified with the -conf switch, DOSBox will look in the
current directory for dosbox.conf. Then it will look for ~/.dosboxrc (Linux),
~\dosbox.conf (Win32) or "~/Library/Preferences/DOSBox Preferences" (MACOSX).



======================
10. The Language File:
======================

A language file can be generated by CONFIG.COM. 
Read it, and you will hopefully understand how to change it. 
Start DOSBox with the -lang switch to use your new language file.
Alternatively, you can setup the filename in the config file in the [dosbox]
section. There's a language= entry that can be changed with the filename.



========================================
11. Building your own version of DOSBox:
========================================

Download the source.
Check the INSTALL in the source distribution.



===================
12. Special Thanks:
===================

Vlad R. of the VDMSound project for excellent SoundBlaster info.
Tatsuyuki Satoh of the Mame Team for making an excellent FM emulator.
The Bochs and DOSemu projects, which I used for information.
Freedos for ideas in making my shell.
Pierre-Yves Gérardy for hosting the old Beta Board.
Colin Snover for hosting our forum.
The Beta Testers.



============
13. Contact:
============

See the site: 
http://dosbox.sourceforge.net
for an email address (The Crew-page).
