# Game installation tips

The tips below apply when dropping games onto the Import window. This runs the game’s installer if necessary, and bundles the game into a new gamebox.

## Telling the game where to install

Choose any location on drive C. The path within drive C doesn’t matter, so use whatever the game suggests.

When importing a game, Boxer creates an empty drive C inside a new gamebox.
Installing to drive C will put the game files directly into the gamebox, where they belong.

## Choosing an install size

Many CD-ROM games offer a choice of installation sizes, where smaller installations leave more data on the CD.

For most games you should choose the smallest install size, because Boxer will import the whole CD into the gamebox regardless. A larger install size wastes disk space and will have no effect on loading times.

Some game installers will state that they disable features or leave out content at smaller installation sizes. You should choose the maximum installation size for such games.

## Choosing a sound card

Many game installers will happily autodetect the correct sound card settings, and it’s easiest to let them do that when available. If you do need to choose a sound card manually, then Boxer supports the following:

### Sound Blaster/Pro/16

The most reliable choice and supported by almost all games. Choose Sound Blaster 16 if available, otherwise Pro or regular Sound Blaster. Use the following settings if asked:

I/O Address: | 220
IRQ: | 7
DMA: | 1
High DMA: | 5 (rarely asked for)

### General MIDI (“MPU-401 compatible”, “Roland Sound Canvas”)

This provides high-quality music (better than Sound Blaster) and is supported by most later DOS games. If the game lets you choose separate soundcards for digital audio and music, choose Sound Blaster 16 for digital audio and General MIDI for music.

I/O Address: | 330
IRQ: | 2 (rarely asked for)

### Roland MT-32 (“CM-32L”, “LAPC-I”)

Requires MT-32 ROMs or a real MT-32. The precursor to General MIDI, the MT-32 provided excellent-quality music with programmable instruments, and is supported by many games from the late 80s and early 90s.

If the game also supports General MIDI, it’s usually better to choose that instead.

I/O Address: | 330
IRQ: | 2 (rarely asked for)

### Gravis Ultrasound/Max (“GUS”)

An late-era sound card that provided high-quality music using banks of digital instrument samples. Not widely supported: but in games that do properly support it, this can provide better-quality sound and music than Sound Blaster or General MIDI.

If the game’s music card option is labelled “Gravis Ultrasound MIDI synth” then it does not provide native Gravis Ultrasound music, and you should choose General MIDI instead.

I/O Address: | 240
IRQ: | 5
DMA: | 3

### AdLib

This early music-only card became a de facto standard, and is supported by most DOS games. Choose Sound Blaster instead if the game supports it.

I/O Address: | 388 (rarely asked for)

### Disney Sound Source/Covox Speech Thing

A cheap sound peripheral that provided low-quality digital sound. Supported by some games and demos. Requires no extra configuration.

### Tandy 3-voice sound

Only available if the game is set to emulate a Tandy 1000 computer. Provides synthesized music and speech, and is supported by many EGA-era DOS games.

Enabling Tandy graphics and sound emulation requires adding settings to a gamebox’s configuration file. See DOSBox Configuration for details.

### PC speaker

Boxer emulates the tinny little “beeper speaker” included in every DOS-era PC. Requires no configuration and is always available as a last resort, but choose anything else if you can.

PC speaker sound is very dependent on the CPU speed: you may need adjust the CPU speed from the CPU Inspector until the game sounds right.

(If you do, then let me know the right speed so Boxer can configure that game automatically in future.)

## If the installer can’t copy its files

If the installer asks you to insert floppy disks you don’t have, or says that required files are missing, this usually means the game has already been installed. This is frequently the case for downloaded games.

In this case, quit the installer without copying files and tell Boxer to “Finish Importing”. Boxer will copy the game files itself.

### Further reading

- Installing expansions and add-ons
- Applying patches and cracks
- Solving common problems when importing