This guide is under construction.
I recently CFW'd (custom firmwared) my PSP, with the only intention of using it for emulators. However, I just learned not too long ago that there is an emulator available for the PSP that I was unaware of - DOSBox, a DOS emulator for Windows that has now been ported to the PSP.
This allows the execution of older DOS programs/games, though usually nothing requiring a 486 or higher (if you want playability/useability.) I will show you how to copy DOSBox over to your PSP, alter the configuration file to allow you easily navigate through DOS, and how to play games. The next post in this thread will contain a list of known games/program that work WELL.
Materials needed:
CFW'd PSP (Aguiluz's excellent guide)
DOSBox for PSP
DOSBox configuraton file (I'll upload this here after bit.)
Dos Navigator (DN)
Old DOS games
A thing to keep in mind with DOS on the PSP is that without the graphical interface Dos Navigator (I prefer Norton Commander, but it isn't free... and I have the original installation disc from 1987 or something) it is very difficult to do ANYTHING, because you can't use the PSP's graphical keyboard to input letters; instead, the port uses some kind of weird keymapping setup that is just obnoxious. So don't skip getting DN.
Go download the above files, get your DOS games ready, and let's have some fun.
First, unzip the DOSBox archive and copy the contents over to your PSP's "PSP/GAME/dosbox" directory. Obviously you'll have to create the folder "dosbox." Then copy the configuration file provided above into that directory, overwriting the existing one (if needed.) After you have done this, unzip the contents of the DN archive into the Dosbox directory as well.
Next, create a directory under the DOSBox folder and name it "Games." Copy your games to this directory, obviously you will want to create new folders for each game.
Right now, you can go to your PSP's game menu and select DOSBox, and you will load into Dos Navigator. But, I would read further before you get too excited - there are some things you need to know.
Major keys are predifined in DOSBox as the following:
Mouse input: Stick
Left-click: L
Right-click: R
Enter: Start
Backspace: Down
A major part of using DOSBox on your PSP is how well DOSBox's configuration file is set up. The configuration file I supplied above is the one I use on my PSP; the frameskip setting is set to 5. That helps the more "intensive" games actually play without too much stutter.
What you need to concern yourself with is what is at the end of the configuration file, which looks something like this:
Under the heading [autoexec] follows the commands that are automatically ran when DOSBox is first fired up. You will notice that drive C is automatically mounted to the directory where dosbox resides.
You should also see a whole bunch of lines that start off with "INPUTMAP." This is the keymapping instruction given to DOSBox that maps what buttons on the PSP correspond to a standard US keyboard.
These commands can be ran at any time under DOSBox, which is something you would want to do as some games use different keys of the keyboard to operate.
But how, you ask?
By creating batch files on your computer and copying over to the game directory that you want to specify commands for. For instance, the game Stunts (which doesn't actually run very well, but we'll use it as an example) requires only up, left, right, and down to operate correctly. To create a batch file that sets these commands for the game, we would open a file in notepad and type this:
Save this file as "runmefirst.bat" or "runmeDangit.bat" or whatever. Copy this file over to the game's directory on the PSP (in this case, Stunts.) Fire up DOSBox, navigate DN to the Stunts directory, and double-click on the .bat file you created.
The game will execute, using the keymapping you specified in the batch file. The name of the batch file really doesn't matter, just so long as you recognize it as the file you need to run instead of the main executable for the game.
Some limitations to keep in mind:
The PSP only has 8 megs worth of RAM, increasing the memory allocation setting in your configuration file isn't going to do any good. Leave it where it is.
Any game that uses DOS4GW will not operate.
As with any kind of emulation, don't expect perfection. With that said, a surprising amount of things can be done.
Sound generally sucks.
Slow loading speed is slow. Don't assume something's locked up until you see your memory stick quit flashing.
I recently CFW'd (custom firmwared) my PSP, with the only intention of using it for emulators. However, I just learned not too long ago that there is an emulator available for the PSP that I was unaware of - DOSBox, a DOS emulator for Windows that has now been ported to the PSP.
This allows the execution of older DOS programs/games, though usually nothing requiring a 486 or higher (if you want playability/useability.) I will show you how to copy DOSBox over to your PSP, alter the configuration file to allow you easily navigate through DOS, and how to play games. The next post in this thread will contain a list of known games/program that work WELL.
Materials needed:
CFW'd PSP (Aguiluz's excellent guide)
DOSBox for PSP
DOSBox configuraton file (I'll upload this here after bit.)
Dos Navigator (DN)
Old DOS games
A thing to keep in mind with DOS on the PSP is that without the graphical interface Dos Navigator (I prefer Norton Commander, but it isn't free... and I have the original installation disc from 1987 or something) it is very difficult to do ANYTHING, because you can't use the PSP's graphical keyboard to input letters; instead, the port uses some kind of weird keymapping setup that is just obnoxious. So don't skip getting DN.
Go download the above files, get your DOS games ready, and let's have some fun.
First, unzip the DOSBox archive and copy the contents over to your PSP's "PSP/GAME/dosbox" directory. Obviously you'll have to create the folder "dosbox." Then copy the configuration file provided above into that directory, overwriting the existing one (if needed.) After you have done this, unzip the contents of the DN archive into the Dosbox directory as well.
Next, create a directory under the DOSBox folder and name it "Games." Copy your games to this directory, obviously you will want to create new folders for each game.
Right now, you can go to your PSP's game menu and select DOSBox, and you will load into Dos Navigator. But, I would read further before you get too excited - there are some things you need to know.
Major keys are predifined in DOSBox as the following:
Mouse input: Stick
Left-click: L
Right-click: R
Enter: Start
Backspace: Down
A major part of using DOSBox on your PSP is how well DOSBox's configuration file is set up. The configuration file I supplied above is the one I use on my PSP; the frameskip setting is set to 5. That helps the more "intensive" games actually play without too much stutter.
What you need to concern yourself with is what is at the end of the configuration file, which looks something like this:
Code:
[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
INPUTMAP up up
INPUTMAP right right
INPUTMAP down down
INPUTMAP left left
INPUTMAP triangle d
INPUTMAP square lshift
INPUTMAP cross lctrl
INPUTMAP circle lalt
mount c ms0:/PSP/GAME/dosbox
c:
dnUnder the heading [autoexec] follows the commands that are automatically ran when DOSBox is first fired up. You will notice that drive C is automatically mounted to the directory where dosbox resides.
You should also see a whole bunch of lines that start off with "INPUTMAP." This is the keymapping instruction given to DOSBox that maps what buttons on the PSP correspond to a standard US keyboard.
These commands can be ran at any time under DOSBox, which is something you would want to do as some games use different keys of the keyboard to operate.
But how, you ask?
By creating batch files on your computer and copying over to the game directory that you want to specify commands for. For instance, the game Stunts (which doesn't actually run very well, but we'll use it as an example) requires only up, left, right, and down to operate correctly. To create a batch file that sets these commands for the game, we would open a file in notepad and type this:
Code:
INPUTMAP up up
INPUTMAP right right
INPUTMAP down down
INPUTMAP left left
stuntsSave this file as "runmefirst.bat" or "runmeDangit.bat" or whatever. Copy this file over to the game's directory on the PSP (in this case, Stunts.) Fire up DOSBox, navigate DN to the Stunts directory, and double-click on the .bat file you created.
The game will execute, using the keymapping you specified in the batch file. The name of the batch file really doesn't matter, just so long as you recognize it as the file you need to run instead of the main executable for the game.
Some limitations to keep in mind:
The PSP only has 8 megs worth of RAM, increasing the memory allocation setting in your configuration file isn't going to do any good. Leave it where it is.
Any game that uses DOS4GW will not operate.
As with any kind of emulation, don't expect perfection. With that said, a surprising amount of things can be done.
Sound generally sucks.
Slow loading speed is slow. Don't assume something's locked up until you see your memory stick quit flashing.
