Guest Additions for MS-DOS Guests?

Discussions about using non Windows and Linux guests such as FreeBSD, DOS, OS/2, OpenBSD, etc.
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wyeknott
Posts: 11
Joined: 1. Jan 2011, 21:33
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE Debian
Guest OSses: ubuntu

Guest Additions for MS-DOS Guests?

Post by wyeknott »

I had a MS-DOS 6.22 running under Microsoft's Virtual PC but I'm trying to move all my VMs to VBox.
Virtual PC DOES have a nice set of Guest Additions for DOS though and it tames the keyboard and mouse, and allows folder sharing.
I don't know about networking but with folder sharing, there's no real need.

The DOS machine gets a folder on the C: drive (VMADD) to hold the Guest Additions. Contents are as follows:
CDROM SYS 5,241 04-07-04 5:23p
FSHARE EXE 14,847 04-07-04 5:23p
IDLE COM 128 03-11-04 3:03p
MOUSE COM 9,169 04-07-04 5:23p
VMADD386 SYS 102 03-11-04 3:03p

CONFIG.SYS mods are:

DEVICE-C:\VMADD\VMADD386.SYS
DEVICE=C:\VMADD\CDROM.SYS /D:IDECD001 /L:E

AUTOEXEC.BAT mode are:

SET DOSVMADD13=INSTALLED
C:\VMADD\FSHARE.EXE
C:\VMADD\IDLE.COM
C:\VMADD\MOUSE.COM

This actually makes DOS well-behaved -- UNDER Virtual PC.
Converting the .VHD to a .VDI using VBOXManage results in a bootable image that will loop forever though.
It's the VMAdditions that are doing it because when disabled, the OS runs.
But it's completely isolated.

To me, the most important part was the ability to have shared folder(s).

Does anyone know if there is a similar facility for VBOX?
I realize that DOS isn't the hottest topic in the world but there are a few things that still work better under DOS than under just about anything else.

Has anyone really solved this?
Sasquatch
Volunteer
Posts: 17798
Joined: 17. Mar 2008, 13:41
Primary OS: Debian other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows XP, Windows 7, Linux
Location: /dev/random

Re: Guest Additions for MS-DOS Guests?

Post by Sasquatch »

As noted in the User Manual, Guest Additions are only for Windows 2000 and newer, Linux and Solaris. They are not made for Windows 9x and DOS because those systems are considered ancient and a waste of development resources to create them. If you want to have shared folders, you have to set up networking with DOS.
Read the Forum Posting Guide before opening a topic.
VirtualBox FAQ: Check this before asking questions.
Online User Manual: A must read if you want to know what we're talking about.
Howto: Install Linux Guest Additions
Howto: Use Shared Folders on Linux Guest
See the Tutorials and FAQ section at the top of the Forum for more guides.
Try searching the forums first with Google and add the site filter for this forum.
E.g. install guest additions site:forums.virtualbox.org

Retired from this Forum since OSSO introduction.
kebabbert
Volunteer
Posts: 321
Joined: 31. May 2008, 10:00
Primary OS: OpenSolaris 11
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: WinXP, RedHat, Ubuntu

Re: Guest Additions for MS-DOS Guests?

Post by kebabbert »

Or you could try DosBox.
SlickStretch
Posts: 1
Joined: 5. Apr 2015, 09:47

Re: Guest Additions for MS-DOS Guests?

Post by SlickStretch »

What I do is use an iso file as a swap disc. I can use imgburn to create an iso out of a folder, and then mount it in the virtual DOS machine.
ak120
Posts: 35
Joined: 14. May 2008, 15:12
Primary OS: Other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: OS/2, Windows NT
Location: Pommern
Contact:

Re: Guest Additions for MS-DOS Guests?

Post by ak120 »

It needs some extra work by creating a floppy image with CD-ROM drivers to support the access to iso images. Otherwise you could use a network product for DOS. LAN Manager Client disks are still available for download from Microsoft's ftp server, but I would only recommend it if you have OS/2 or Windows LAN services already running. For IP networking it's quite easy to use mTCP (http://www.brutman.com/mTCP/) with packet driver.
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