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Solve : How the *censored* do i install MSCDEX ????

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I have windows XP and would like to play an old game.
I have resolved all issues with DOSBOX and VDMSound except one.
It asks me to install MSCDEX v2.21 or above.
I have downloaded the latest version , but i have no clue what to do with it !!!

I have read hundreds of posts and yet cannot figure where my driver (mscd001 or something) is? There is no such line in my autoexec.nt and config.nt .

There is also no such thing as config.sys or autoexec.bat in my c:\Windows\system32

Please guide me to install this MSCDEX , it's driving me crazyQuote from: hopefulguy on April 22, 2008, 10:02:42 PM

It asks me to install MSCDEX v2.21 or above.
I have downloaded the latest version , but i have no clue what to do with it !!!

I have read hundreds of posts and yet cannot figure where my driver (mscd001 or something) is? There is no such line in my autoexec.nt and config.nt .

There is also no such thing as config.sys or autoexec.bat in my c:\Windows\system32

you have to put mscdex "microsoft cd extension" in c:\autoxec.bat
(or autoexec.nt or whatever winXP uses, perhaps in
c:\WinNT\System32\ or c:\Windows\System32\ instead of c:\ ?)
so dos and dos-programs can read the FILES on your cd.
(without it, dos just ignore your cd-disks)

but since back in the dark ages (~1990 or so) all cd players were not connected
in the pc in the same way, you needed a device driver too, and that driver should
be loaded in c:\config.sys (or perhaps config.nt if you use winXP)

Since you have a new computer, you need one for cd-players connected
with the normal ide/atapi -interface in the computer (the same way you connect
normal parallell harddisks)

it can look something like this

in c:\config.sys this line was added:
DEVICE=C:\ATAPICDD\ATAPICDD.SYS /D:MSCD001

in c:\autoexec.bat this line was added:
C:\SHSUCDX\SHSUCDX /D:MSCD001

"MSCD001" is just a NAME, but it have to be the same name
in both files. you can write FRITJOFF if you like :-)

if you're not having a cd-driver file there allready you can
SEARCH google for dos cdrom driver or something
or use this one that freedos uses:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/files/util/system/xcdrom/

with that one you have to write
DEVICE=C:\Xcdrom.sys /D:MSCD001
instead of course (if you put your driver in c:\)


....but if you use DOSBOX, perhaps you should instead just look at this page
http://www.dosbox.com/wiki/MOUNT
about how to "Mounting your CD-ROM in DOSBox"
More info about how to run games in dosbox at http://www.dosbox.com/

:-)
Woah ! Thats real good information right there .
But i tried to use your info and it still says mscdex not installed.

What is all that ATAPICDD and SHSUCDX in the syntax ?

Do i have to make a autoexec.bat and config.sys for myself ??Quote from: hopefulguy on April 23, 2008, 09:49:24 PM
But i tried to use your info and it still says mscdex not installed.
What is all that ATAPICDD and SHSUCDX in the syntax ?

oups :-)
I ment MSCDEX not SHSUCDX (I was just pasting from freedos pages,
and in freedos mscdex is called SHSUCDX. Both are small programs that
do the same thing, "extending" dos so it can use cds, the one made by
microsoft is called mscdex and the one made by someone at freedos is
called shsucdx. there are other such programs too that you can use
instead of course, some made to live under windowsNT/2000/XP)

ATAPICDD.SYS is just the dos cd-rom driver in the example
(a generical one for modern cd players I belive, but there are others,
and with old computers you want one that matches the way
the cd player is connected)


Another example how it could look like with windows98.....

in c:\config.sys:
device=c:\oakcdrom.sys /d:hello

in c:\autoexec.bat:
c:\windows\command\mscdex /d:hello


When dos start it first read config.sys and load drivers like
himem.sys (for extended memory) and oakcdrom.sys
("Generic device driver for ATAPI CD-ROM drives") into memory
and read settings there. Then it starts to execute the dos-commands
and run the programs listed in autoexec.bat, like setting the path
variable and running the program mscdex.exe (a program that helps
dos understands cd's). After that it displays the dos-prompt where
you can enter commands and start programs.

If you start a dos-program from within windows, things work a little differntly
depending on what windows version you use.

O.K. I get it , Thanx.

This really helped me. I'm 1 step closer to getting the game to work.
But the thing is my MSCDEXNT (already installed from when i bought this computer)
seems to be corrupt (i.e the game talks about a fatal error due to corrupted MSCDEX) . I downloaded the new MSCDEX version but i can't get it to replace the already present MSCDEXNT. Every time i delete MSCDEXNT it promptly appears back again and again.
What am i supposed to do


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