Windows 98 for DOSBox Pure: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 00:27, 14 November 2025

The welcome screen of Windows 98

I will try to explain how to start a Windows 98 OS using Retroarch with the Libretro core DOSBox Pure. Even though you can go through the step of installing the OS, in this documentation I provide the OS already installed as an image that can be used with the emulator.

RetroArch is a powerful, open-source frontend for emulators, game engines, and media players. It provides a unified interface to run classic games and software across a wide range of platforms.

You can download RetroArch from the official website:

Retroarch download page

DOSBox Pure is a fork of the MS-DOS emulator, DOSBox. It is built specifically for Retroarch/Libretro. It is mostly used to play games or software in DOS but also has the capacity to run an entire Windows OS and all the applications supported by the OS. You can follow the project on GitHub: https://github.com/schellingb/dosbox-pure

To install or update Libretro cores, click on Online Updater then Core Downloader

You install this library directly inside Retroarch, by going to Main Menu, Online Updater and Core Downloader from there you find and install the DOXBox Pure core.

You can change the core settings after you start it, you can launch the core directly without any game or software by clicking on Load Core from the Main Menu, then you select the DOSBox Pure core and then you click on Start Core. Since we still didn't prepare any system images, the only thing that you can do is going to command line. We are going to prepare the OS so we can start an Operating System.

These are images of Windows 98 that can be started using DOSBox Pure.

I made a few versions for myself depending on the software that I want to use, I already installed all the drivers necessary to make full use of the OS.

W98 SE - Clean Install: A clean installation of Windows 98 Second Edition with no updates.

W98 SE - Game Ready 2G - Patched: 2GB disk, patched with latest updates, Voodoo Graphics Driver and DirectX 7 installed.

W98 SE - Game Ready 4G - Patched: 4GB disk, patched with latest updates, Voodoo Graphics Driver and DirectX 7 installed.

Links will be provided soon!

List of Operating System that can be started

You need to place these img files in the folder system of RetroArch, after doing that once you start the core again you can click on Run Installed Operating System, and you will be presented with a list of OS to launch, just click one of them and the OS will boot.

Now that you have the OS ready, you can run an old software or game by clicking Load Content. You can find the software or game you loaded in the D or E drive after you boot into the OS.

D and E drive are used to mount the software

You should always shutdown the OS properly from the Start menu to prevent corruption of your image. Close the content only after the shutdown screen show up. Set Game Focus OFF with Scroll lock, then you can go to the RetroArch menu with F1 and then Close Content, if you don't see it, just go back to Main Menu, Quick Menu then close the content.

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 Now that you have the OS ready, you can run an old software or game by clicking '''Load Content'''. You can find the software or game you loaded in the D or E drive after you boot into the OS.
-[[File:Dosbox-d-and-e-mounts.png|thumb|D and E drive are used to mount the software]]
+[[File:Dosbox-d-and-e-mounts.png|thumb|D and E drive are used to mount the software]]You should always shutdown the OS properly from the Start menu to prevent corruption of your image. Close the content only after the shutdown screen show up. Set Game Focus OFF with '''Scroll lock''', then you can go to the RetroArch menu with '''F1''' and then '''Close Content''', if you don't see it, just go back to '''Main Menu''', '''Quick Menu''' then close the content.
+[[File:Win-98-shutdown-screen.png|left|thumb]]