Automate the MS-DOS Settings

Microsoft has released a package of utility programs called Kernel Toys. You can download them from Microsoft's Web page (www.microsoft.com). One of the programs in this group is a configuration wizard for programs that need to run in MS-DOS mode, called DOSWZCFG.EXE. Instead of repeatedly entering the commands to load your DOS mouse driver, CD-ROM drive, sound card etc., you can give instructions to DOSWZCFG.EXE. Then the next time you configure a game for MS-DOS mode, DOSWZCFG will write the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files for you.

After retrieving Kerneltoys.exe from Microsoft's site:

1.      Run it to extract the individual utilities.

2.      Run DOSWZCFG.EXE

In the DOSWZCFG window you can

·         Label commands

·         Enter tips to explain those commands

·         Enter the necessary lines for CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT

Sound Cards

All audio data coming into your computer, whether from a game, the Internet, a music composition program or a disk of digital music needs to be interpreted for your computer to manage it and direct it to your speakers. This is where the sound card comes in.

DOS only supports the standard PC speaker, which is where the common alert noises come from. Sound cards bring you voice, music and sound effects that sound like actual voices, music and sound effects.

Sound Blaster from Creative Labs was the first  widely accepted sound card. As such, it is the industry standard for compatibility and is the most widely supported card.

Almost all other sound cards claim varying degrees of Sound Blaster compatibility. None can quite match it, because if they copied Creative Labs' product 100% they would be impinging the patent. There are, therefor, subtle differences between Sound Blaster and Sound Blaster compatibles, sometimes in the quality of components used, or the architecture of the card. Sometimes these differences are enough to confuse the program that is trying to use the card.

Some cheaper cards don't have enough hardware to mimic a Sound Blaster and try to use "software emulation." Software emulation cards run a program on the computer which inserts itself between a game and the audio hardware and attempts to fool the game into believing a Sound Blaster card is really there. This usually doesn't work under protested mode systems (Win95, WindowsNT) and so DOS mode must be used to run games with sound cards that employ software emulation. Also, cards may be compatible with one model of Sound Blaster card and conflict with others. Creative Labs' drivers work only with Sound Blaster cards and have a good update history regarding parched and bug-fixes. Not all other cards do. If comparability is important to you, buy a genuine Sound Blaster.
 

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