Each set of files is compressed using Winzip to reduce network bandwidth and your phone bill! To copy the files, click on each link in a browser, this will normally start by asking you for a destination folder - use your normal 'Temp' folder. If you are using an FTP program (you know who you are), follow your normal steps to get the files.
After downloading the files, examine any readme files using your unzip utility. Unzip to a new directory then follow the instructions in the readme to set up the game - this is normally fairly simple but you will often need to know what colour depth (bits) and resolutions (pixels) your display card can provide. Most run at between 320 x 200 - 640 x 480, with between 4 and 256 colours (2 to 8 bit colour). Some games have sound support, this varies and goes from basic PC speaker bleeps to Soundblaster compatible sound. This can often be the most tricky part and may need you to know something about the IRQ, DMA and I/O Port address - if you have a manual for your soundcard, please look at this. Also, at the DOS prompt, typing MSD (Microsoft Diagnostics) will show a list of active (in-use) IRQ's and I/O ports - along with a host of other information about the PC. If you still have difficulty in getting sound, several sites have helpful information about this any many other hardware topics : see for example - Ron Windeyer's Ultima pages as they have lots of information on getting older games running.
Confused by
DOS ? At this point I could have lost some readers who are used to the Windows
way of working. If you are stuck, using DOS could prevent you having to reinstall
all that software after the *next* crash.
For an article called 'Saving your Butt in DOS' visit http://www.winmag.com/columns/explorer/2000/22.htm
One last note, please respect the copyright of the authors, most of the games are shareware, this is not the same as freeware, and if you use the games regularly, please consider sending a donation to the named author so that their families & dog aren't turfed out on the street in poverty!
IRQ
: Interrupt request - this refers to a signal sent on a special circuit
to your PC's processor. This signal interrupts the processor from its present
task and directs it to execute a series of instructions, in this case to send
more data to the sound card. They are often used when time-critical events need
immediate attention. IRQ's are numbered, and most PC's can use up to 14 separate
IRQ's from different devices, including the hard and floppy disks, mouse, keyboard
and modem. IRQ's can conflict if two devices are assigned the same number
- conflicts can result in unpredictable behaviour and crashes, though Windows
95 and Linux generally hide this aspect of hardware from the user.
I/O Ports are memory locations used as communication channels between the processor and attached hardware devices - these respond to data sent to the port, usually by changing the hardware setting or processing data sent to this port. A common port number used is 1F0-1F7, this sends data to an IDE hard disk controller under the control of the BIOS.
DMA
(Direct memory access) is a method used by hardware devices to read &
write blocks of data directly to memory, bypassing the processor. This can allow
other things to be done by the processor while the transfer is in progress.
IRQ, IO Ports and DMA addresses are used by the software to correctly address the sound card and other hardware, so as long as you feed the software the matching values for your PC, things should work together properly - though older PC's tend to be more difficult to configure (sound cards especially). If in doubt, specify 'no sound' and put your favourite CD on instead!