DOSBox emulates an Intel x86 PC, complete with sound, graphics, mouse, modem, etc., necessary for running many old DOS games that simply cannot be run on modern PCs and operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Linux and FreeBSD. However, it is not restricted to running only games. In theory, any DOS application should run in DOSBox, but the emphasis has been on getting DOS games to run smoothly, which means that communication, networking and printer support are still in early developement.

DOSBox also comes with its own DOS-like command prompt. It is still quite rudimentary and lacks many of the features found in MS-DOS, but it is sufficient for installing and running most DOS games.

This guide show you how to compile the latest version of Dosbox and with a nice point and click interface. If you don't want to compile from the source, please check Synaptic package manager for dosbox or Getdeb if they have an up-to-date ubuntu package available. But note you don't get a “point'n'click” interface.

Make sure that the driver to your 3D graphic card is proper installed and working.
Check if your sourcelist is fully enable (universe and multiverse).

Next step is to download Compiling tools and the right libs to make Dosbox work. To the terminal;

Code:

sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude upgrade
sudo aptitude install build-essential checkinstall
sudo aptitude install libsdl1.2-dev libsdl-net1.2-dev libsdl-image1.2-dev libsdl-sound1.2-dev libasound2-dev libgl1-mesa-dev
sudo aptitude install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin sun-java6-fonts

Done.

Download Dosbox Source Code to your Desktop.

Download

Once more to the terminal;

Code:

cd ~/Desktop
tar zxfv dosbox-0.72.tar.gz
cd dosbox-0.72
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall

You can now launch regular Dosbox by typing dosbox in CLI (Commandline Interface).

Download the latest linux version of DBGL (DOSBox Game Launcher) to your Desktop.

Download

Download the Dosboxgui.png to your Desktop.

Code:

mkdir -p ~/.dosbox/Launcher
cd ~/Desktop
tar zxfv dbgl060.tar.gz -C ~/.dosbox/Launcher
mv dosboxgui.png ~/.dosbox/Launcher
alacarte

Go to Games and make a new entry;

Enjoy!