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@Aetherinox
Last active August 20, 2025 10:49
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DosBox + FreeDOS

Download

Download FreeDOS legacy files:

Download Windows 3.11




Install

  1. Create folder structure for system
πŸ“ dosbox-images
   πŸ“ system
   πŸ“ setup
       πŸ“ FreeDOS
          πŸ“„ FD14BOOT.img
          πŸ“„ FD14LGCY.iso
       πŸ“ Windows
          πŸ“ MSBOB
          πŸ“ WINDOWS
             πŸ“ MSAPPS
             πŸ“ SYSTEM
             πŸ“ TEMP
             πŸ“„ _DEFAULT
             πŸ“„ _IU14D2N.TMP
             πŸ“„ [...]
          πŸ“„ 256COLOR.BM_
          πŸ“„ 386MAX.VX_
          πŸ“„ 1252_UNI.00_
          πŸ“„ 8514.DR_
          πŸ“„ 8514FIX.FO_
          πŸ“„ 8514OEM.FO_
          πŸ“„ [...]
  1. Start DosBox
  2. Mount your main system folder to C:
mount C "..\dosbox-images\system"
  1. Mount the FreeDOS floppy
imgmount a FD14BOOT.img -t floppy
  1. Mount FreeDOS CD
imgmount d FD14LGCY.iso -t iso
  1. Change to floppy and start install
A:
SETUP.BAT
  1. Follow instructions to install FreeDOS


Option 2


  1. Start DosBox-X
  2. Create blank image

In DosBox, type the command:

imgmake c.img -t hd_2gig

Or create the image locally in Windows using Powershell and move it to DosBox:

fsutil file createnew c.img 2147483648

  1. Mount folder with temp files such as FreeDOS
mount M "..\dosbox-images\system"

  1. Mount the newly created c.img
cd M:\
imgmount 2 c.img -fs none -size 512,63,16,1300

  1. Mount the FreeDOS floppy
cd M:\setup\freedos
imgmount a FD14BOOT.img -t floppy

  1. Mount FreeDOS CD:
cd M:\setup\freedos
imgmount d FD14LGCY.iso -t iso

  1. Start FreeDOS:
boot FD14BOOT.img

You can also boot both the .img to floppy and iso to CD:

boot FD14BOOT.img FD14LGCY.iso



Mount FreeDOS

Run FreeDOS:

If you want to run FreeDOS, use the following command. For the -size values:

  • 512 = bytes per sector
  • 63 = sectors per track
  • 16 = heads per cylinder
  • 520 = number of cylinders
imgmount 2 c.img -t hdd -size 512,63,16,520 -ide 1m
boot -l c

Only Browse FreeDOS Drive:

If you only want to look at files:

imgmount c c.img -t hdd -fs fat -offset 32256



dosbox.conf

[sdl]
fullscreen=false
fulldouble=false
fullresolution=desktop
windowresolution=original
output=opengl

[dosbox]
machine=svga_s3
captures=capture
memsize=32

[render]
frameskip=0
aspect=true
scaler=normal2x

[cpu]
core=dynamic
cputype=auto
cycles=max
cycleup=500
cycledown=20%

[mixer]
nosound=false
rate=44100
blocksize=2048
prebuffer=20

[midi]
mpu401=intelligent
mididevice=default

[sblaster]
sbtype=sb16
sbbase=220
irq=7
dma=1
hdma=5
mixer=true
oplmode=auto
oplemu=default
oplrate=44100

[gus]
gus=false

[speaker]
pcspeaker=true
pcrate=44100
tandy=auto
tandyrate=44100
disney=true

[joystick]
joysticktype=auto

[serial]
serial1=dummy
serial2=dummy
serial3=disabled
serial4=disabled

[dos]
xms=true
ems=true
umb=true
keyboardlayout=auto

[ipx]
ipx=false

[autoexec]
# #
#   Autoexec section runs every time DOSBox starts
#   You can mount your FreeDOS disk image and ISO here
# #

imgmount 2 c.img -t hdd -size 512,63,16,520 -ide 1m
boot -l c

# Example: mount hard disk image as drive C
# imgmount 2 c.img -fs none -size 512,63,16,520

# Example: mount FreeDOS ISO as drive D
# imgmount d FD14LGCY.iso -t iso

# Boot floppy to start installer
# boot FD14BOOT.img

Automatically load the conf when you start DosBox-C by finding the DosBox-X shortcut for Windows, right-click on it, select Properties and change the Target to:

  • D:\Emulators\all\dosbox-x\dosbox-x.exe -conf "D:\Emulators\all\dosbox-images\dosbox.conf"



Install Windows 3.11

imgmount a win31_1.img -t floppy



Mount .img on Windows

To mount and view the .img disk on Windows, install:




Resources

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