okay, i just found out something totally retarded today:

apparently, 3 of my friends say that Windows doesn't run on MS-DOS, but has it anyway, and 3 of my friends disagree and say that it does run on DOS, but only internally until you bring up the Command Prompt program. I personally thought that it didn't need it to start up, and just had it in there just for those games that almost no one ever plays anymore

so the other day i went to play wolfenstein by, omg, DOUBLE CLICKING THE ICON, and oddly enough, it worked... as well as doom and Christmas Lemmings... so i figured that well wadaya know, it must keep dos on as a process, yet hide it under another name, like maybe SVCHOST, but then i tried to double click the icons for Jazz Jackrabit, Wacky Wheels, and Quake. oddly enough, they don't work at all. it just pops up the command prompt for a split second and doesn't even do anything. so when i decided to use the command prompt and act as if i were typing the crap in like MS-DOS, it worked and i got the installs running, yet no programs...

3 questions:

1.) Does Windows XP run on MS-DOS, or does it keep it in the background? (to settle the arguement AND for curiousity's sake)

2.) Is there some sort of freeware MS-DOS emulator i can download? (i googled it, yet the only results were programs that replicated those that ran on DOS, yet were coded in C+ as to allow them to run on any 'ol OS., no actual MS-DOS involved)

and last, but not least, 3.) I have an old computer up and running with MS-DOS working on it. should i put all the old Quake, Wacky Wheels, and Jazz Jackrabit files on a CD and pop it in to see if it will work, or should i consult the companies and ask them what files need to be on what disks and arrange them accordingly...?

thanks for any help i might get! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]XP is based on the NT kernel, therefore, there is no DOS involved. The "DOS" that you see inside XP is merely a very basic emulator.

DOSBox is a useful DOS emulator for XP etc.

Your games should run fine on the DOS machine (Specs permitting of course) PROVIDED you read the manuals and pay particular attention to memory management. Any soundcards etc will need to be correctly set up.
Some limited success may be had under XP if the program compatibility wizard is utilised.

I could never get Jazz Jackrabbit to run on anything faster than a PI 166. But it was even great on a 386-40! Let me know if you get that one running. Quote

XP is based on the NT kernel, therefore, there is no DOS involved. The "DOS" that you see inside XP is merely a very basic emulator.

DOSBox is a useful DOS emulator for XP etc.

Your games should run fine on the DOS machine (Specs permitting of course) provided you read the manuals and pay particular attention to memory management. Any soundcards etc will need to be correctly set up.
Some limited success may be had under XP if the program compatibility wizard is utilised.

You're on your own now as I haven't used DOSBox in quite a while. There is a fullscreen mode switch from the command line so try another front end if there's nothing in the documentation.

Switches:
dosbox [name] [-exit] [-c command] [-fullscreen] [-conf congfigfile] [-lang languagefile] [-machine machinetype] [-noconsole] [-startmapper]