Definitive Privateer 1 on XP statement... please

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evil_dave

Spaceman
I would dearly love to play Privateer (1), but I have Windows XP Pro. It doesn't work.

I have read about a million websites and newsgroup/forum postings, including on this forum, where people have struggled to get this game to work on this OS. Every time people mention DOS and boot disks and win98... but nowhere have I seen a straightforward answer to this query: can it be done?

So, has anyone got this Privateer to run on winXP Pro? Yes or no? And if yes, what *exactly* did you do?

My particular problem is the lack of EMS memory message. I've not tried fiddling with very much in order to get it to work beyond trying the compatibility mode and memory emulation, because I still don't know for sure if it can even be run on XP, and don't want to waste my time if it can't.

Can anyone enlighten me?

-Dave
 
It can be done in theory - create a boot disk that runs DOS, and then you can run the game with a diskette-based DOS system.

It cannot be done otherwise. WinXP does not have true DOS, like Win 98 and those before it, which is what Privateer will only run in. Privateer will never run in Windows in any version though, you need to run it in pure DOS.
 
Originally posted by Saturnyne
It can be done in theory - create a boot disk that runs DOS, and then you can run the game with a diskette-based DOS system.
Click to expand...

That's not what he asked... he knew that already... That's not running in XP, that's booting a DOS system off a disk. It *can't* be done in theory (unless your theory involves coding changes)
 
The answer is Yes and No. P1 can't run from Windows.

If you're running XP with NTFS you have no access to a DOS prompt. Using FAT32 you do have access to a DOS prompt and can use a Win98 Rescue Disk. You'll need to run HIMEM.SYS AND EMM386.EXE from the a: drive since XP doesn't have them.

Now here's the kicker. If you don't use NTFS you lose it's advantages. Read these two links to understand the deferences between NTFS and FAT32.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/columns/russel/october01.asp
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.html?i=63

I have two suggestions for you.

1) Buy a old PC from Ebay. A 486Dx/66 or better with at least 16MB Ram. And put DOS on it.

2) Multi-boot: You can have up to 4 partition on one hard drive. This means you can have up to 4 OS's on one system. Get Partition Magic to help you do this. You can have XP, Win98 and even DOS if you want.
 
OK, thankyou all for your precise answers. That's exactly what I needed!

So it won't run in XP, it will run in DOS... My windows partition is NTFS, though I'm planning on reducing a few of my Linux partitions in order to make a FAT32 drive so I can safely transfer files from Mandrake to Windows and back.

I downloaded a DOS 6 bootdisk from http://www.mirrors.org/archived_software/www.bootdisk.com/original.htm , and a few others, but for some reason I can't even access anything other than the A drive using it - 'cd' command won't work. I'm no DOS expert but I've never had problems navigating through directories and running programs before!

Any clues? Can anyone recommend a good DOS version to use for Privateer, or is it just futile if I use NTFS? If so I might have to crack out Partition Magic and make me a little 500MB DOS partition.

Thanks all,
-Dave
 
Maybe you need to add your CD-Rom drivers to the Config.sys
Post the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys
 
I had the same problem – WinXP and a craving to play P1 again. Tried a DOS6 bootdisk and could only see A: drive. Finally made a bootdisk ( Rescue Diskette ) from my old Win98 pc and lo and behold my hard disk was visible. I had to manually change the lines for my cd-rom though ( different make and model on my new pc.)
 
Originally posted by evil_dave
OK, thankyou all for your precise answers. That's exactly what I needed!

So it won't run in XP, it will run in DOS... My windows partition is NTFS, though I'm planning on reducing a few of my Linux partitions in order to make a FAT32 drive so I can safely transfer files from Mandrake to Windows and back.

I downloaded a DOS 6 bootdisk from http://www.mirrors.org/archived_software/www.bootdisk.com/original.htm , and a few others, but for some reason I can't even access anything other than the A drive using it - 'cd' command won't work. I'm no DOS expert but I've never had problems navigating through directories and running programs before!

Any clues? Can anyone recommend a good DOS version to use for Privateer, or is it just futile if I use NTFS? If so I might have to crack out Partition Magic and make me a little 500MB DOS partition.

Thanks all,
-Dave
Click to expand...
I already answer this question. There is no DOS in NTFS. You can't access NTFS in DOS. It's part of it's security feature. This is why you can't see a c: drive.
 
I already answer this question. There is no DOS in NTFS. You can't access NTFS in DOS. It's part of it's security feature. This is why you can't see a c: drive.
Click to expand...

Yes, but as I said I had booted into DOS from a floppy. Which, being a "DOS 6 boot disk", would lead one to believe it contains DOS.
 
The long – and complete – answer to your problem lies in the “tech stuff”. The short answer is that if your hard disk is NTFS, DOS can´t see it. My setup – WinXP and DOS boot disk – works because my hard disk is still FAT 32.
 
Originally posted by Farzone
The long – and complete – answer to your problem lies in the “tech stuff”. The short answer is that if your hard disk is NTFS, DOS can´t see it. My setup – WinXP and DOS boot disk – works because my hard disk is still FAT 32.
Click to expand...
Which is why you shouldn't tell someone to just make a bootdisk without first finding out what File Systems they are using. When he said he had NTFS that was your clue. You need to remember that by default XP/2000/NT will most likely have NTFS. You need to keep this in mind before given any advise.

Also if he has a Highpoint controller he can't use a "DOS" bootdisk. He's would need to use a Win98 bootdisk.
 
i was going to suggest converting the partition back to fat32, but the convert tool only converts fat32 to ntfs.

but on a side note, if u feel like reinstalling and u have a real XP cd, repartition the hd using fat32, it will run just fine, but u would loose security on the file system, but you might also get a speed boost, though it is not likely to be very much. once xp is installed with fat32, u can use a dos/98 boot disk and access C:
 
Originally posted by Happy
i was going to suggest converting the partition back to fat32, but the convert tool only converts fat32 to ntfs.

but on a side note, if u feel like reinstalling and u have a real XP cd, repartition the hd using fat32, it will run just fine, but u would loose security on the file system, but you might also get a speed boost, though it is not likely to be very much. once xp is installed with fat32, u can use a dos/98 boot disk and access C:
Click to expand...
Actually, Partition Magic can convert NTFS to FAT32. I would not recommand doing this which is why I didn't suggest it. Dual boot to Win98 or DOS would be the better way to go. But if you want to convert, first make sure you have the most current version PM which I believe is 7.x and check for any updates. Don't use a older version of PM since there are deference version of NTFS so it's best to be safe and get the version of PM that's supports XP. Oh' and make sure you back up your HDD. Do this at your own risk!
 
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