If you cannot get the game to run in Compatibility Mode and you cannot get it to run acceptably under DOSbox, as a last resort you may be able to run the game from MS-DOS itself. You can do this by creating an MS-DOS bootable floppy or CD-ROM. You will not be able to use the Windows screen dump feature to capture screenshots, if you choose this option, but you may be able to get the game to run and be able to play it. And there is still a chance that a boot disk won't work for you, as not all Windows XP systems are configured to allow it. There may be hardware issues, problems with drivers, and more.
A bootdisk will boot from removable media (floppy or CD) directly into the MS-DOS operating system, instead of into Windows. DOS is an old operating system and a minimal configuration can be loaded onto even a small floppy disk. Because MOO was made to run in DOS, the game is far easier to get running in DOS. DOS itself can be hard to configure, though. Getting modern drivers to run is challenging. To bypass this problem we will be using a generic bootdisk. Be warned, boot disks simply wont work on some computers. You may make your bootdisk and find that, due to your computer's setup, it won’t work. You should definitely exhaust all other methods of running the game before you try this one.
In order to boot from removable media, your system's BIOS settings must allow for booting from floppy or CD. If your hard drive is set to boot first under all circumstances, you would have to go into your BIOS and change that, to force your system to boot from floppy or CD first. Otherwise your computer will ignore the boot disk and boot from the hard drive, which won't help you. If you don't know how to go into your BIOS and change the boot order, WITHOUT CHANGING ANYTHING ELSE, you should not be messing around in your BIOS at all. Therefore, I will not provide instructions for changing BIOS settings. You either know how, or you don't. If you don't know how to change BIOS settings, a boot disk may still work for you, but only if your current settings allow for it.
If your computer has a 3 1/2 inch floppy drive then use the section entitled "Making a Bootable Floppy Disk". If your computer doesn’t have a floppy drive, use the section entitled "Making a bootable CD".
Advanced users familiar with MS-DOS, who own the operating system and are familiar with using it, may be able to customize a boot disk to fit their own needs. If you are not in that category, follow these instructions for setting up a generic boot disk that should get the job done for you.
Step 1: Use your web browser to visit The Underdogs and download the program called whive12. This is the Beehive bootdisk, which Isit believes to be the best generic bootdisk program available.
Step 2: Insert a 3 1/2 inch floppy into your drive. It should be called whive.exe. This will create your bootdisk.
Step 3: Identify your MOO directory on your hard drive. For most people this will be the C drive and the directory ORION or MPS/ORION. Note this information for later use. (You may want to print the rest of this section or take notes because you will not be able to access this document while you are in DOS).
Step 4: Insert your boot disk into your floppy drive and restart your computer.
Step 5: You will be presented with several lists of options to choose from when you use this bootdisk. Experiment with them if you like, but the following options should be optimal for running MOO:
1. Select option 1.
2. Selection Option 1. Start with Qemm.
3. Select option 1 to load a cd driver, if you access to your CD drive to install or run MOO. Otherwise select option 2 to not load a cd driver.
4. Select option 1 to load your mouse driver.
You should now be greeted by a DOS screen. You will see a line on it that says A:\> with a flashing cursor. You have booted into DOS. Now you need to change to the correct directory and run MOO.
Step 6: Change drives. Switch to the hard drive where MOO is installed. Type drive letter and colon, then hit enter. Example: C:
You will get a new line of text that reflects the fact that you switched drives.
If you chose the correct drive letter and you get an error message here about an invalid drive selection, the boot disk has failed to detect your hard drive. MS-DOS does not recognize the FAT32 or NTFS file systems on its own. Advanced users may be able to resolve this problem. Otherwise, if you encounter this roadblock, you are stuck. This problem is beyond our ability to help you resolve.
Step 7: If MS-DOS finds the hard drive where you have MOO, you need to switch to the correct directory. Use the change directory command (CD). Type "CD (directory/subdirectory)". For example if MOO was installed in the MPS/ORION directory we would type "cd mps/orion". If installed in the directory ORION, type "cd orion"
Step 8: Type "install" to configure sound. (You should only have to configure your sound once.). If your sound card supports Soundblaster emulation and you've been able to load a driver, you may be able to enable sound. The bootdisk recommended here has a generic sound driver on it that works with many soundcards. If you can't get your sound to work, choose "none" for sound options. Refer to the section on Configuring Sound for more help with this process.
Step 9: Type "orion" to run the game. When you are done playing, remove the floppy and reboot your computer to return to Windows XP.
Note: If using the generic bootable floppy and MOO doesn’t start correctly, or you get an error message, then reboot your computer again and select Option #2 for question #2.
You will need access to a CD burner and a blank CD. Again, using a boot disk should be your last resort. Have you tried Compatibility Mode and DOSbox first? If not, you should go back and try them. They are better options, if available to you. OK, so here we go with a bootable CD. Advanced users will already know how to make a bootable CD and can customize one to fit their system. For the rest of you, please read on.
Step 1: If you do not have CD burning software installed on your computer, you will need to obtain some. We cannot provide guidance for each CD-writing program. These instructions will be based on the trial version of NERO, which is a limited time demo version but is sufficient to do what we need here. Download Nero and install it.
Step 2: Download the CD image you will be burning. Use the BeeOS Bootdisk Image from Isit's website. This image will only work with NERO or a program that supports NERO file formats. Save this file to your desktop or some other place where you can easily find it.
Step 3: Start NERO and work your way through the demo version junk until you get to the main program. The first screen you will likely get is the cd-burning wizard, which you will want to close.
Step 4: Once the wizard is closed, select "file" from your menu from the top of the screen and then "burn image". A file selection box will open. Browse to the location where you saved the ISO image and double click on it. A new window will pop up. Leave all the options as they are and select write. Follow the on-screen directions to burn your image to your CD. Once you are done, exit NERO.
Step 5: Find which drive and directory MOO is installed in and make a note of it. This information can be found with Windows Explorer. Most people will have it installed on the C drive in the directory ORION or MPS/ORION.
Step 6: Make sure your new bootable CD is in your CD drive and reboot your computer. You will boot into MS-DOS instead of Windows.
Step 7: You will be presented with several lists of options when using this CD. You can play around with them if you like but the following should be optimal for getting MOO to run:
1. Select option 1.
2. Selection Option 1. Start with Qemm.
3. Select option 1 to load your CD driver
4. Select option 1 to load your mouse driver
You should now be greeted by a DOS screen. You will see a line on it that says A:\> with a flashing cursor. You have booted into DOS. Now you need to change to the correct directory and run MOO.
Step 8: Change drives. Switch to the hard drive where MOO is installed. Type drive letter and colon, then hit enter. Example: C:
You will get a new line of text that reflects the fact that you switched drives.
If you chose the correct drive letter and you get an error message here about an invalid drive selection, the boot disk has failed to detect your hard drive. MS-DOS does not recognize the FAT32 or NTFS file systems on its own. Advanced users may be able to resolve this problem. Otherwise, if you encounter this roadblock, you are stuck. This problem is beyond our ability to help you resolve.
Step 9: If MS-DOS finds the hard drive where you have MOO, you need to switch to the correct directory. Use the change directory command (CD). Type "CD (directory/subdirectory)". For example if MOO was installed in the MPS/ORION directory we would type "cd mps/orion". If installed in the directory ORION, type "cd orion"
Step 10: Type "install" to configure sound. (You should only have to configure your sound once.) If your sound card supports Soundblaster emulation and you've been able to load a driver, you may be able to enable sound. The bootable CD recommended here has a generic sound driver on it that works with many soundcards. If you can't get your sound to work, choose "none" for sound options. Refer to the section on Configuring Sound for more help with this process.
Step 11: Type "orion" to run the game. When you are done playing, remove the floppy and reboot your computer to return to Windows XP.
Note: If using the CD image provided by Isit and MOO doesn’t start correctly, or you get an error message, then reboot your computer again and select Option #2 for question #2.
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