COMP: Obscure OS ramblings Re: The games are all crap; let's make a decent one.

From: Emlyn (onetel) (emlyn@one.net.au)
Date: Fri Jul 21 2000 - 21:32:09 MDT


> > > I've given up trying to get those games to run under
> > > win 9x
> >
> > > (actually I use NT, which makes possibilities really
> >
> > > remote).
> >
<Ziana>
> > Well, maybe you could create a seperate partition (DOS
> > doesn't like NTFS) and install DOS on it (party!
> > party!), and then dual-boot into it...
> >
>
<Mike Lorrey>
> My recommendation based on my own experience is to create a DOS boot
> disk with the CDROM drivers on it, and boot from the floppy and run the
> game off the CD. This leaves your resources available for the game.
>

What I used to do was to set up elaborate boot menus in DOS 6+, to allow me
to boot into big ems setups, or no ems setups, or whatever, and then
autostart a given game; I had a bunch of batch scripts to generate
autoexec.bat and config.dat files, where I could specify code to start the
game (usually a batch file name), and which of my standard memory configs I
wanted to use for that game. The generated files would implement a set of
custom boot menus to do the job rather nicely.

What I'd like to do now is to do the same kind of thing, as a seperate
bootable OS on an NT machine, then have dos choosable from the NT boot
loader in the usual way; no 'orrible boot floppies. I think my old batch
files still exist, on a 100mb harddrive in my brother's computer (he lives
interstate), which is not connected up (just sits there dumbly inside the
box). His other HD is a couple of gig, so we never bothered to hook up the
littlun, thus my hope that my old files live on in the computer form of
cryo.

Of course, I'll do no such thing. Not only would it take ages, but I really,
really can't afford to have dedicated games machines sitting around,
beckoning!

----

All this multiple OS stuff is getting to me; I've recently come to have a need to run Linux, which means I've probably got to upgrade my (sorry, my wife's) desktop machine & dual boot it between NT & Linux, or get another machine just for that purpose; my notebook has room, but after the fight I had to install NT & 95 on it in a stable configuration, I'll be damned if I go upsetting things trying to get Linux to multi-boot & support obscure hardware. I can't have a CDROM & floppy disk drive connected simultaneously; I doubt I could even shoehorn Linux in at all.

Then I've got to bite the bullet and put a network in (my machines are currently totally seperate). It's a world of pain.

Is it just me, or is this kind of system setup stuff a true nightmare for everyone (well, except Harvey)?

Emlyn "100% recyclable. Safe for the environment. Upload me."



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