[The Fifth Horseman]

Foreword:

This guide assumes you know some basic terms associated with computing, like "file", "directory", and "operating system". If neither rings a bell then you might want to read something like "Computers for dummies" (or just spend an hour or two to check these and related entries on Wikipedia) so that you understand the basics.

Similarily, you should know how to install software on your machine (if you don't - "Windows for dummies" is your friend). Being familiar with DOS operating system and its' features is helpful, but not absolutely neccesary. If you want, you can check the Wikipedia list of Dos reference sites to catch up on the subject.

Well, of course you don't have to know any of these to proceed. So read on freely, and of your own will.

The examples I'm showing are just that - examples. Nobody forces you to do them, but if you have trouble getting a certain step done, you might want to follow the examples to understand how things are done.

It is assumed the operating system you use is Microsoft Windows, most likely XP (DOSBox works both on NT and 9x Windowses, and is used exactly the same on all of them).
Some things are different for Mac OS and Linux users (in particular the paths), but as newbies don't usually come within a mile of either OS, you should be able to get around those minor issues. There are DOSBox versions both of these systems.

I'm not going to give you complete detailed information on each and every keyboard shortcut accessible under DOSBox. To view their list, all you have to do is type in "help" when running DOSBox' command prompt. Similarily, I do not go into in-depth details of all internal programs you can call up from the command prompt (altough a more extensive listing will be in a later part of this guide).
For in-depth information on both of these, please refer to your README file. The one that's linked to in the DOSBox menu under the Start Menu.



Yes, that's the one.

NOTE: this guide was written for v0.70, and more specifically - the official release. It is fully applicable to v0.71 and v0.72 releases.

Don't come crying for help if you're using an outdated version - I've seen newbies downloading and installing versions as old as v0.61 after the v0.70 has been released. Don't follow in their steps, unless you really enjoy being ridiculed.

For the same reason, don't come crying for help if you're running an unofficial build. They are not supported by the DOSBox team, so if you ever think of using one - it's on your own responsibility.

Disclaimer: This guide is provided "as is", without any warranty given or implied.
This means I do not take responsibility for any damage you might cause to yourself, your data, computer hardware, parents, siblings, pets and whatever else (sanity included). If you're stupid enough to accidentally format your hard drive when trying to unpack an archive, it's your mess to deal with.