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DOS chess project
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Feb 5, 2021
0
#3
Perhaps you could look into something that back in the day was called an F Disk which was basically a start up floppy disc that had config file etc and a bare bones DOS so that one could format the C drive - usually to get rid of rogue software. That and a version of DOS would be needed.
To learn how to make a bootable thumb drive, I would recommend visiting a Linux Forum where they explain how to do that before installing Linux on a thumb drive.
In the absence of any other replies, that’s the best I can offer.
To learn how to make a bootable thumb drive, I would recommend visiting a Linux Forum where they explain how to do that before installing Linux on a thumb drive.
In the absence of any other replies, that’s the best I can offer.
GOG.com has an army of IT people who make DOS games work on Windows through DOSBox and continuously update their releases for a living. It might be too ambitious to do this for all the not-abandonware chess titles for the PC just for fun.
Thanks for the replies. Actually, I've already created a bootable thumb drive and have hundreds of DOS chess games on it, and some actually work, but many don't. I'd estimate about 1/3 of them work. The others I'm convinced it has something to do with extended memory/enhanced memory, or some DOS settings I'm unfamiliar with, and that's why I need the assistance of someone who's strong in DOS and has some time and interest to look at what the problems are.
Feb 6, 2021
0
#6
Recommend an MSDos forum. I remember there was a himem command but that’s all I remember.
There was also the EMM386.
I would HIMEM all the TSR drivers needed for the game such as sound card, mouse and cdrom.
Miss those days.
Feb 6, 2021
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#8
I miss the hardware sounds - the CRT monitor static crackle sound followed by the HD spin-up sound, then the floppy drive seek and the display and bios task complete confirmation beep. Felt like one was getting ready to launch on an Apollo mission to the moon and back LOL
Wonder if absolute addressing within the programs looking for drives and drivers on, what was in those days, set root directories?
Wonder if absolute addressing within the programs looking for drives and drivers on, what was in those days, set root directories?
And just to give you an idea of the difference in running on pure DOS as opposed to an emulator, I did a little test where I compared a program's nodes/sec on DOSBox, QEMU, and then running on DOS. On DOSBox it was about 150,000 nodes/sec, on QEMU 200,000 nodes/sec, but on pure DOS it was 2,000,000 nodes/sec!
Feb 6, 2021
0
#10
I was under the impression that DosBox limited the cycle speed so programs would run properly (like the Commodore 64 emulator is limited but can have that limit disabled).
The original turbo button on PCs actually slowed the computer down when inactive and allowed the CPU to run at normal speed when active. Turbo inactive was for 386 targeted programs whose speed was not controlled by a real time clock so would run too fast on a 486DX for instance.
The original turbo button on PCs actually slowed the computer down when inactive and allowed the CPU to run at normal speed when active. Turbo inactive was for 386 targeted programs whose speed was not controlled by a real time clock so would run too fast on a 486DX for instance.
Feb 6, 2021
0
#11
Anyway, I have a question for you @TracySMiller. You know that Dos Chess bundle you kindly pointed us to? I was wondering if there is a setting in DosBox to get the sound to work as aside onboard PC beeps, can’t get sound card based sounds to work. I am guessing it is because the set up programs for each chess program is missing or is there one setting that will work for the whole batch?
I wish I could help with that sound issue Rubicon, but I'm at a loss. I remember back in the day struggling with sound card issues with DOS games, and I'm not exactly sure how to solve that problem with the DOS Chess bundle. But as to your other point, yes, when doing that comparison of nodes/second, I made sure that DOS-Box was running on 100% cycles, so running as fast as it could under DOS-Box.
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Feb 20, 2021
0
#14
Have you tried different versions of dos? There's IBM Dos2000 and FreeDos, both of which are free.
Hello everybody,
i like old chess programs for dos too. I am currently using dos box for convenience.
Below I have a list of programs divided into various groups. Could anyone help me by better grouping programs based on their playing strength? (I hope I'm not ot).
http://lissandrello.it/wp-content/Download/Chess_Dos.txt
Best regards
Feb 21, 2021
0
#16
TracySMiller wrote:
I wish I could help with that sound issue Rubicon, but I'm at a loss. I remember back in the day struggling with sound card issues with DOS games, and I'm not exactly sure how to solve that problem with the DOS Chess bundle. But as to your other point, yes, when doing that comparison of nodes/second, I made sure that DOS-Box was running on 100% cycles, so running as fast as it could under DOS-Box.
I think the only solution is not to look for another version of Dos but rather to look for standalone versions of the games you want to download. This is because I think the person that grouped all the chess programs in the zip folder removed the individual files linked to the programmes which give the instructions regarding sound. I have tried to edit the files but it doesn't work therefore I think finding the standalone 'uncorrupted' version is the only hope.
lissandrello wrote:
Hello everybody,
i like old chess programs for dos too. I am currently using dos box for convenience.
Below I have a list of programs divided into various groups. Could anyone help me by better grouping programs based on their playing strength? (I hope I'm not ot).
http://lissandrello.it/wp-content/Download/Chess_Dos.txt
Best regards
That's a great question, and a great list. The best you can probably do to get relative strengths of these programs is to check an historical issue of the now defunct Selective Search Magazine, which started back in the early 80's originally as a way to discuss and rate dedicated chess computers, but as PC programs began to become powerful, rated those, too. Here's an example of an issue from 1990. The ratings are near the back of the issue: http://www.chesscomputeruk.com/SS_61.pdf
thank you, http://www.chesscomputeruk.com/ is a great resource I did not know about. I'm already working on updating my list.
but I don't find information on weaker programs. I think that in that context my data will be spannometric. In any case my goal is to create a list with summary values, accuracy is difficult because it would take too much time and work.
I will share the results as soon as possible.
Regards
In the past some chess programs were developed in assembler (partly or completely).
The assembler is used to speed up critical processes.
Chess programs developed in this way would not run on CP / M.
Free Dos, on the other hand, can be an alternative (but I would also reject this because I am too fond of the dos) 
Would anyone with a good knowledge of chess software and DOS like to help me with a project? I'm trying to get a huge package of DOS chess games (provided by Franz Huber) to run on a USB drive that is bootable so that I can run the games on my PC in a pure DOS environment (instead of having to run them through an emulator like DOSBox or QEMU), so they will take full advantage of a modern PC's power.