Need Advice on Raspberry Pi

Me | 1/13/19 | Me

[The Louiswu]

I am starting research into using a Raspberry Pi to run some only DOS and XP games and I was hoping to pick up some good advice, tips and tricks before I go spending money on this project. Thanks in advance.

[Mr. K]

just do it...! it’ll be fun and you’ll learn a lot

[The Louiswu]

Is there a kit or set up that you’d recommend?

[Sparticus]

Windows XP only runs on X86 cpus. The Raspberry PI runs on an ARM architecture. I’d just buy an old PC for DOS and XP.

[Mr. K]

no, sorry - that’s a learning process in itself... and also a worthy effort

[max americana]

Aw man, the memories..

[PAR35]

They aren’t going to run on a Raspberry unless someone has ported them over.

And the chip is just the start. To do most of the projects you can find on the internet, you’re going to have to buy other ‘stuff’, although you may have some old things around the house that you can use - old wi-fi dongles, or keyboards, etc.

[ptsal]

Try looking through the material at....
https://hamradio1.com/411-introduction/

published by Bobby Chartier KM6JKH

You may find the kind of background data that you are seeking.
73s

[DEPcom]

Rasberry PI can run Windows 10 Internet of Things. That does not support the Windows Forms. You would need to update the application to use UWP (Universal Windows Platform). I am currently running Windows 10 Rasberry pi for simple apps that I wrote.

[Textide]

Bought a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ recently. Nice little machine. Have the old Zork text game installed on it, but otherwise use it for weather stuff.

Not sure about XP or other Windows OS running on it, but sounds like an interesting project. Good luck!

[Reno89519]

We got a pair of Raspberry Pi 3, packages of sensors, and already had lots of breadboards, and other electronic parts. We’ve tied ours to Adruino circuits. Lots of DIY projects online. One of my twin 11 year olds is using one to lear Python. Lots of things you can do with them and very cheaply.

[Sparticus]

In order to run XP or DOS on a Pi, you'd need to emulate an X86 environment on a Linux Pi distro using something like QEMU. This introduces lots of overhead and would make the normally weak Pi run even worse. If you want to make something cool, you could do something like this: https://hackaday.com/2018/08/18/pc-in-an-snes-case-is-a-weirdly-perfect-fit/

[E. Pluribus Unum]

You can run DOS programs on Windows with the DOSBOX emulator.

https://www.dosbox.com/

It works great.

[bigbob]

Won’t run any Windows or DOS software. Welcome to the world of Linux!

[E. Pluribus Unum]

https://www.download3k.com/articles/How-to-add-an-XP-Mode-Virtual-Machine-to-Windows-10-or-8-using-Hyper-V-00770

[fuzzylogic]

As others mentioned, PC’s use x86 architecture and the Pi uses ARM. So you need to have an x86 emulator for ARM....but that is not all. You’ll need something that can emulate the BIOS to run DOS.

...I did a bit of checking and came across this:

http://rpix86.patrickaalto.com/

I’ve never tried it, have no idea how much success you’ll have or how well it works in general, and especially for the software you’re looking to run.

Then there’s the whole issue of emulating devices, like graphics and audio. The link says it supports SVGA at 640x480 pixels at 256 colors, along with Soundblaster 2.0 support.

Good luck!!

[mrsmith]

You scream and you leap? Louis Wu has heard that before...

I’m getting into drone control and will look back later.
Pi and Arduino seem to be the rage.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

I was wondering the same myself. Is there an x86 emulator of some sort? I know you can run Core on some of them. Maybe recompile? Knowning C language I’d say no.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

And I answered my own question.

Run DOS on the Raspberry Pi – Use rpix86 to turn your Pi into a 1980s super-computer.

https://devtidbits.com/2013/04/23/run-dos-on-the-raspberry-pi-use-rpix86-to-turn-your-pi-into-a-1980s-super-computer/

[dpetty121263]

I run radios and other devices with Raspberries...works well...just learn Linux...