USB Peripherals in DOS

More and more peripherals, such as keyboards, mice and joysticks, come in USB format, which native DOS cannot recognize. This poses quite a problem for those of us wanting to play games and use applications without serial or PS2-based peripherals. For game controllers and joysticks, there are two options available. First, the aforementioned DOS Box appears to have a system for recognising USB-based joysticks/game pads and making them usable within its own virtual DOS environment, which is nice.

The second option is a utility called Joy-to-Key, which allows a user to map a keystroke to joystick buttons/functions. The program is not limited to DOS usage only and is very easy to set up and get running. All one has to do is make sure Joy-to- Key is running in the background with the preferred key/joystick configuration selected and begin the game. While the operation of this utility can sometimes be less than perfect (for example, I once used it to run Fifa 2004 and the game felt, well, less than natural to play), in some instances it works beautifully (again, Speedball 2 works perfectly with Joy-to-Key), and it is well worth a dabble with: http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA016823/joytokey/english.html

As for peripherals such as USB keyboards and mice, the only solution which I know of is the use of PS2-to-USB adaptors, such as those found at the this link. Quality peripheral manufacturers such as Logitech often include converters of this type with their USB keyboards and mice freely; however, if you do not get one with your hardware, they should be easily available for purchase on the Internet. As always, Google is your friend.

Limiting System Performance for Older Games/Applications

In these days of 3GHz CPUs, it's no surprise that even if you can get your old games running properly given that in their day 33Mhz CPUs were the norm they often run at ridiculously fast rates, to the point at which playing them becomes impossible.

While this is not a necessarily common affliction, it does crop up now and again, even on games that aren t that old (such as Silver from 1999, which has numerous issues running on today's faster machines) and can make games, sadly, unplayable.

However, help is at hand in the form of a handy little utility called Turbo. This application allows you to run the CPU at anywhere from 1%-100% of its stock power (for example, setting turbo to 10% on a 2GHz machine would reduce your CPU to 200 MHz performance). This particular application is fairly easy and self-explanatory to use: simply fire it up and set your desired CPU percentage, then run your desired game/application. One word of warning, however: do not set your CPU speed too slow, particularly on XP/2K systems, as everything will slow to an absolute crawl, which will not be pleasant.

Check the Online Community

This applies to games in particular. One of the best places to find information about incompatibilities and problems with old programs/games is the numerous gaming communities that can be found on the Internet. Sites of this ilk can provide valuable help and support in running old software, and there are many individuals out there who even take the time to write unofficial patches to solve incompatibility issues/bugs or create additional content to enhance classic games, such as the following sites:

• http://www.scummvm.org/
• http://www.thediscworld.co.uk/d2prob.htm
• http://www.cdos.org/forum/forum.php?forumid=3

The Windows Compatibility Tool

For the most part, the compatibility tools provided by Microsoft in Windows XP and 2000 are, in my experience, as much use as a glass hammer; however, you have nothing to lose by giving them a try.

In Windows XP, to access compatibility settings, simply right click on any executable or shortcut and select properties. From the page that opens then click the Compatibility tab and you should be presented with the following screen:

From here, checking the box labelled Run this program in compatibility mode for will present you with a list of operating systems from which to choose. With the compatibility tool I would simply advise a course of trial and error. Try every operating system and every option available to you. Who knows, you might just get lucky.

For Windows 2000, the application compatibility tool is hidden away on your OS Setup CD, so pop it in your machine and navigate to D: Support (where D: is the name of your CDROM drive) and double click APCOMPAT.EXE, which will then present you with the following screen:

As with the XP Compatibility tool, trial and error is your best tool once again. As a side note, APCOMPAT.EXE can also be copied from the CD to your hard drive using the copy and paste function to avoid the fuss of inserting your CD every time you wish to use it.

Conclusion

Well, that just about covers it; sorry if it's been a bit wordy for you, but that's the nature of the problem. As always, if you have any queries, post them in the forum thread at the end of this article and I ll be glad to help. I hope this has been of use to some of you, and if it's encouraged you to dust of some of your old classics and give them a try in your new PCs, then even better!