MetaChat - So close, and yet so far away from being a Hero

MetaChat is an informal place for MeFites to touch base and post, discuss and chatter about topics that may not belong on MetaFilter. Questions? Check the FAQ. Please note: This is important.

02 May 2009

So close, and yet so far away from being a Hero Okay, so I posted this question on AskMe and found out where to get the game I used to love to play back in 1994. But... I'm technologically challenged and can't figure out how to get the game to work on my computer. Will someone please explain the process to me like the technotard I am?→[More:]

I get as far as downloading the game and unzipping the files. Then I try to run install, and get through the process for that... but nothing happens. I gather I need another program to make the old game work on my relatively modern computer, and I download that, but can't seem to figure what I should do after that.

I am so not a computer type I don't even know what the specs are for my computer. All I know is, I have a PC and MS Office 2003.

Your tips and patience with my know-nothingness will be greatly appreciated.

post by: Orange Swan at: 13:26 | 8 comments

I would post this question as a comment in your AskMe.

posted by Ardiril 02 May | 13:52

Looks like you may have to run DOSBox to get the game to play, if I'm reading that page correctly. It has an XP-compatible icon on there (what version of Windows are you running?), but you might try installing DOSBox and running it that way. If you scroll about 2/3 of the way down the page you'll see the instructions on the .bat file you'll need to run to make it play.

posted by middleclasstool 02 May | 14:06

Okay, I've got as far as creating a c: directory on DSBox and installing the game there, but when I typed in QG1Old.Bat with the intention of running it, it said "unable to change to QG1Old.Bat" and now won't let me type in anything. What do I do?

posted by Orange Swan 02 May | 14:35

"q" is the command for quit, so what do you do when you have a file to run that starts with the letter q?

posted by Orange Swan 02 May | 15:03

Well, I don't know for sure, but I googled your error message and found this thread which should help you get it installed. There's a post in that thread from a guy named Charles who appears to know what the hell he's talking about. If that doesn't work, I'd second the suggestion of posting your probs to the Ask thread you started and see if you can get help there -- I've only installed a few abandonware DOS games in the past, and it's been awhile.

posted by middleclasstool 02 May | 15:04

I tried the advice from Charles and still don't seem to be able to get my game on.

So I've taken your advice and posted to my AskMe question, though who knows if anyone will see it or answer at this point. Thanks for the advice and links though! I do seem to have been able to work through a few steps with it.

posted by Orange Swan 02 May | 15:51

When you start up DOSBOX, does it say "Z:\>" ?
If so, you need to type "mount C C:\QG1" (Except instead of "C:\QG1" you'll need to put the drive letter and directory of wherever it is that you installed Quest For Glory). Then type "c:". That should bring up the C prompt instead of the Z prompt.

If you've put QG1 somewhere awkward like "C:\Program Files\Stuff I Downloaded From the Internet\That Old DOS Game\", do yourself a big favour and delete it and re-install it directly off a drive like C: (you probably don't have any other drives than C that aren't DVDs or the like).

Now type "QG1Old.Bat" and you should be good to go.

posted by GeckoDundee 03 May | 06:23

Oh yeah, go back and download the manual. It will ask you things like "what's the longest adverb on p45?" at crucial moments in order to test whether you actually bought the thing or not.

posted by GeckoDundee 03 May | 06:28

← Swine flu death watch || look what I found..... →

HOME || REGISTER || LOGIN