Installation Instructions
Download the current version, the DSx86.ini and the 4dos.com files from the downloads page at http://dsx86.patrickaalto.com/
In the root of your card create a folder called 'data' and within that a folder called 'dsx86'
Copy the DSx86.nds file to the root of your card
Copy the DSx86.ini and the 4dos.com files to the dsx86 folder you created above
Extract your games into the dsx86 folder (best to use a short folder name without spaces e.g ALIEN, ABREED etc.)
Basic Usage
Use DIR (list directory) and CD (change directory) to browse to your game folder (e.g cd data/dsx86/ALIEN)
Type the name of the .exe to run the game.
Using Commands
LOADFIX - Some games that give a "packed file is corrupt" require this to run. |
Usage - LOADFIX <name of exe> | eg LOADFIX snooker |
VER - Required to run Windows 2.03. Sets the version number of DOS. |
Usage - VER 4.00 <name of exe> | eg VER 4.00 win |
/n - Required to run Dreamweb. It disables sound in Dreamweb to allow it to run. |
Usage dreamweb /n | |
Advanced Usage
How To Create A Batch File For Easy Game Execution
Thanks to midwinter from the gbadev forums for the batch file example.
| @echo off text|set op=%@trim[%@select[con,0,0,24,47,Select Game:]] Test Test2 None endtext if "%op" == "Test" goto TEST if "%op" == "Test2" goto TEST2 if "%op" == "None" goto NONE :TEST cd c:\data\dsx86\ALIEN alien goto end :TEST2 cd c:\data\dsx86\tsummon start goto end :NONE @echo Nothing Selected :end |
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The above is an example of a batch file you can create to make executing your games much easier. It creates a selectable list (as shown in the above image) so there's no need to keep entering commands everytime you want to run your games.
The green section is the list of names that will be shown in your list, in this example Test, Test2 and None.
The blue section tells 4dos which section in the orange section to go to. In this example when Test is selected it goes to TEST in the the orange section and executes the code below it.
The orange section contains the code needed to run the games. In this example when Test is selected it goes to TEST and first executes "cd C:\data\dsx86\ALIEN" which is the folder in which the game is located, then goes to the next line which is "alien" which is the name of the executable file, before finally going to end which closes the batch file and runs the game.
Adding a new game is incredibly easy. Just add new lines into each section (keeping the formatting the same) with what's required for your games. (e.g Dune 2 in the green section making sure None and endtext are always the bottom options, if "%op" == "Dune 2" goto DUNE2 in the yellow section and making sure the None option is always the bottom option and then :DUNE2, cd c:\data\dsx86\DUNE2, dune2, goto end into the orange section making sure the :NONE options are always the bottom option.)
The final batch file should be saved as 4start.bat (or 4start.btm) and should be saved into the same folder as your 4dos.com file. This will then be executed everytime you run DSx86 making game execution much easier every time.