Solve : Installing DOS on a Virtual Machine?

1.	Solve : Installing DOS on a Virtual Machine?
Answer» I've been trying for awhile now to get MS-DOS, and eventually Windows, installed on a VIRTUAL machine, without hardly any luck. Having seen this site before, and its relative familiarity with DOS subjects relative to most, I thought it might be a good place to ask how to get MS-DOS 6.22 up and working. So far I've been using Virtual PC 2007. I don't know if VMWare would be easier, but if the software costs too much I might as well just go buy a copy of XP and try to install it to dual-boot (which, given the difficulties I've had with VMs, I'm not sure I want to try). I have an old, now-unused copy of MS-DOS 6.22 from 1995. Since my laptop doesn't have a floppy DRIVE, I copied each MS-DOS disk onto a USB Flash Drive, each disk having a seperate folder. I then used the Virtual Floppy Disk Control Panel available at http://chitchat.at.infoseek.co.jp/vmware/vfd21-050404.zip to create a virtual floppy drive and disk that Windows Vista, as well as the Virtual Machines, recognized. I copied the files on the original MS-DOS floppies onto the virtual floppy drive, and started up the Virtual PC. I expected to be able to install. To be short, it didn't work. I got errors such as, "Remove any disks or media", and could only get to an A:\ PROMPT when I had Vista create an MS-DOS startup disk out of my A:\ (virtual) floppy. MS-DOS simply would not install. The only luck I had was using the file available from http://www.svrops.com/svrops/downloads/zipfiles/dos622.exe. It is an MS-DOS statup disk with utilities that is different from the one Windows creates, but not including a setup.exe - so you can't install DOS off of it. With that I was able to access C:\ - the virtual hard drive - by using fdisk and format c:. To install DOS, I then replaced the files on the A:\ drive (which the downloaded statup had replaced) with the Setup Disk #1 files, and typed setup. The DOS setup started, and went OK, until it started to install. I get the following error, no matter what: Quote from: MS-DOS Install Please insert the following disk in drive A:\: Setup Disk #1 When you are ready to continue, press ENTER. The thing is, the exact copy of Setup Disk #1 is the entire contents of the A:\ drive. If I type dir from the command prompt, it runs through the exact contents of the original diskette. I read somewhere that the disk has to be labeled "DISK 1" in order for the setup to recognize it (six spaces so it uses all 11 characters), but when I set it up that way in Vista it still didn't recognize it. Whenever I try to use the label command in DOS, I get the old "Bad command or file name" error. So...how exactly am I supposed to install DOS to a blank hard drive? I've figured out how to fdisk it and format it, with the downloaded startup disk, but I just can't get it to install correctly. I did try FreeDOS, too. It used a CD ISO image, and install comparitively easily. It even worked. Unfortunately, though I was able to install Windows 3.11 with FreeDOS installed, I got an "Incorrect MS-DOS version" error whenever I tried to start Windows after it was installed - so I'd really rather have MS-DOS installed. Thanks alot! I know there has to be some way to do this, but I haven't been able to stumble onto the right one! Computer Info: OS: Vista Home Premium, HD: 136 GB, 7200 RPM, CPU: Core2Duo T7500, RAM: 2 GB 667 MHz. VM Experience: None until I decided to try this.VMWare Player is free, isn't it? You can use the easyvmx website VM generator to make a DOS virtual machine to download. Then you can install FreeDOS or MS-DOS and run apps. Ths thread mentions Vista but I've done this on XP just the same way. http://www.easyvmx.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=2;t=82;&#top

Answer»

I've been trying for awhile now to get MS-DOS, and eventually Windows, installed on a VIRTUAL machine, without hardly any luck. Having seen this site before, and its relative familiarity with DOS subjects relative to most, I thought it might be a good place to ask how to get MS-DOS 6.22 up and working.

So far I've been using Virtual PC 2007. I don't know if VMWare would be easier, but if the software costs too much I might as well just go buy a copy of XP and try to install it to dual-boot (which, given the difficulties I've had with VMs, I'm not sure I want to try).

I have an old, now-unused copy of MS-DOS 6.22 from 1995. Since my laptop doesn't have a floppy DRIVE, I copied each MS-DOS disk onto a USB Flash Drive, each disk having a seperate folder. I then used the Virtual Floppy Disk Control Panel available at http://chitchat.at.infoseek.co.jp/vmware/vfd21-050404.zip to create a virtual floppy drive and disk that Windows Vista, as well as the Virtual Machines, recognized. I copied the files on the original MS-DOS floppies onto the virtual floppy drive, and started up the Virtual PC. I expected to be able to install. To be short, it didn't work. I got errors such as, "Remove any disks or media", and could only get to an A:\ PROMPT when I had Vista create an MS-DOS startup disk out of my A:\ (virtual) floppy. MS-DOS simply would not install.

The only luck I had was using the file available from http://www.svrops.com/svrops/downloads/zipfiles/dos622.exe. It is an MS-DOS statup disk with utilities that is different from the one Windows creates, but not including a setup.exe - so you can't install DOS off of it. With that I was able to access C:\ - the virtual hard drive - by using fdisk and format c:. To install DOS, I then replaced the files on the A:\ drive (which the downloaded statup had replaced) with the Setup Disk #1 files, and typed setup.

The DOS setup started, and went OK, until it started to install. I get the following error, no matter what:

Quote from: MS-DOS Install

Please insert the following disk in drive A:\:

Setup Disk #1

When you are ready to continue, press ENTER.

The thing is, the exact copy of Setup Disk #1 is the entire contents of the A:\ drive. If I type dir from the command prompt, it runs through the exact contents of the original diskette. I read somewhere that the disk has to be labeled "DISK 1" in order for the setup to recognize it (six spaces so it uses all 11 characters), but when I set it up that way in Vista it still didn't recognize it. Whenever I try to use the label command in DOS, I get the old "Bad command or file name" error.

So...how exactly am I supposed to install DOS to a blank hard drive? I've figured out how to fdisk it and format it, with the downloaded startup disk, but I just can't get it to install correctly.

I did try FreeDOS, too. It used a CD ISO image, and install comparitively easily. It even worked. Unfortunately, though I was able to install Windows 3.11 with FreeDOS installed, I got an "Incorrect MS-DOS version" error whenever I tried to start Windows after it was installed - so I'd really rather have MS-DOS installed.

Thanks alot! I know there has to be some way to do this, but I haven't been able to stumble onto the right one!

Computer Info: OS: Vista Home Premium, HD: 136 GB, 7200 RPM, CPU: Core2Duo T7500, RAM: 2 GB 667 MHz.

VM Experience: None until I decided to try this.VMWare Player is free, isn't it? You can use the easyvmx website VM generator to make a DOS virtual machine to download. Then you can install FreeDOS or MS-DOS and run apps.

Ths thread mentions Vista but I've done this on XP just the same way.

http://www.easyvmx.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=2;t=82;&#top

Solve : Installing DOS on a Virtual Machine?

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