Am I using windows 98 correctly? - DOSBox-PURE

Libretro Cores
#1

I heard that when I installed windows 98 in dosbox pure on retroarch the operating system (windows 98) and the games would be two separate files (which sounds awesome to me). Is that contingent on me installing the games on D:drive and not on the actual operating system? I noticed the games show up in D and the installation disc of the game shows up in E and using E I installed the games windows 98 recommended me to install them.

Does this mean when I play the game and make a save state I am now playing the operating system and saving the operating system as a state? That might explain why windows 98 has been complaining to me that I don’t shut it down the correct way, I’m making multiple states of the operating system and they are conflicting with each other.

If that is the case and I want to salvage the system all I have to do is uninstall the games from the operating system, make copies of their save file, and reinstall them in D: drive correct?

#2

basically you have the drive image for the os…and if you boot another title it makes an image(save) for that game …and this will show up as drive D: the file/iso name is import not if you boot windows

you can change this behavior in the core options and also the size of these created drives

if you wanna avoid such chaos you should allways boot the windows iso

you can swap iso files over the quick menu via disc control it acts like the CDrom drive

.i use it like this and set the d: drive size to 8gb that goes with my 24gb c: drive

if you need to copy some other files just use a app like power iso …make a new image drag and drop the files and save the result as iso … :grin:

#3

I want to keep the file associated with windows 98 separate from the games, If I install the game in windows 98 instead of running it from D: do I increase the size of the windows 98 file and remove the game/windows separation? Because I like to use save states but I want to save the state of the game not the windows operating system.

#4

just my guess but i don´t think they are seen as 2 different processes while running a OS and still wouldn´t windows 98 also had to know that the game should now running etc.?

#5

If it didn’t shut down properly, it’s out of the question now: the game on the E drive is corrupted, or the C drive…Windows 98 is corrupted, it’s a case by case basis.

If the game on drive E is corrupted, it should be OK to mount the game iso on D, uninstall the game and reinstall it, or overwrite Install it. All of these with the E drive designated.

Which file is that saved file, the C drive of the OS? If so, uninstalling the game doesn’t make much sense.

ps
The combination of Dospure + Windows is similar to the old hot-swap environment with free HDD removal.
Today, it would be like a USB portable HDD.

#6

The save file I’m talking about is sometimes games have a built in save feature that gets saved on the computer, my concern in all this is that I have been mixing the games with the operating system. I was told retroarch can keep them separate otherwise if I try using the save state feature I will save the entire operating system and all the games total in that operating system

#7

Ah.
It’s the save file for the game itself. This may be generated on the E drive where you installed the game, or it may be generated on the C drive.

I too was confused about this at first. Therefore, in this case, it is correct to back up the save file on the C drive once to another location and reinstall the game. After the installation is complete, put the save files back in, as you would if you were reinstalling the OS or if you were restoring an image of the C drive that you had backed up. The ideal backup location would be a blank FD on the A drive.

In the case of a game reinstallation, it is important to note that the mount on the D drive must be identical in order for the RA state saving feature to function properly.

#8

I did not understand. You are installing on E:? that is not possible.

This post is related to the previous one. You will get the solution if you follow the steps.

You are installing on C:, yes you can but you need a very large disk with the consequence that some games are not compatible, you lose the ‘saves’ files on the D: disk, and you will have very large ‘state’ files.

PURE allows a wide variety of uses, the most elementary way, as I have already mentioned, is to load zips and install on D: (for Windows games). You can use all the other options but it is necessary to have a medium-advanced knowledge.

I think it is best to follow the basic steps (which are not easy, because this core is especially complicated), as indicated by the developer of PURE. And then gradually acquire knowledge. And it is very useful to have a Windows image just for ‘testing’, to destroy.

Having such large limits will give you problems with many games, especially those prior to '96.

#9

What I meant was the installation disc shows up in E, and from the installation disc I installed the game where it recommended me to install it which was on C. I’m assuming C is the windows 98 img file that is located in the systems folder and my concern was if I install 10 games in my img file and I save a state then that state would be the size of 10 games.

As I understand save states they save the entire game and I think the system but if the system is my entire library than that sounds very space inefficient. I assume I’m supposed to install the game in a separate D drive and that keeps things nice and compartmentalized.

But I solved this issue, at the time I only had two games installed so I just reinstalled a clean windows 98 and reinstalled my games the correct way.

#10

If you open a disk image in Windows it loads in E: because it is the CD-ROM drive.

Programs will generally give the C: drive as the first choice, but almost all of them allow you to change the path.

‘save states’ do not save the entire operating system, they are snapshots of memory and a few other things, but my knowledge is limited, are supposed to weigh the same whether the game is installed on C: or D:, although, I have found that if it is installed on C: the file is larger. This is something that should be commented in the core github.