Steps to Install and Use Dosbox for 64-Bit Operating Systems

Steps to install and use Dosbox for 64-bit operating systems

Suppose the NASM assembler and AFD debugger are stored at the following path on your computer.

Y:\Assembly

And you have created a source file named ex01.asm as shown in the fig 1.0 below.

Fig 1.0 (Directory path of assembler and debugger)

Considering the given scenario, you must follow these steps to install and use Dosbox for assembling and debugging an assembly program on 64-bit operating systems.

Step 1:

Login to your VULMS and download Dosbox setup from Downloads tab inside Course Website page of CS401. It is shown in the fig 1.1

Fig 1.1 (Link for downloading DosBox application)

Step 2:

After downloading the Dosbox setup execute and install it on your required path. Once installation is completed, go in the directory where it is installed and run dosbox application (fig 1.2).

Fig 1.2 (Dosbox application icon)

You can do the same by running this application by shortcut icons on desktop or in start menu.

Step 3:

Once you execute the dosbox application, a command prompt will be visible on your screen. First of all you have to mount a drive letter to the path of Y:\Assembly. Mounting is like making a shortcut to the required path with a single drive letter. For example:

Mount M Y:\Assembly

Now drive letter M is same as path Y:\Assembly (fig 1.3)

Fig 1.3 (Mounting a drive letter to required path)

Step 4:

After you see the message of successful mounting, write m: and press Enter. The command prompt will change Z:\> to M:\>

Writing any command here will be same as you write in the pathY:\Assembly in command prompt. For example your ex01.asm file is stored at path Y:\Assembly. If you write command nasm ex01.asm –o ex01.com –l ex01.lst here, it will assemble ex01.asm file and produce the output files ex01.com and ex01.lst (fig 1.4 and 1.5)

Fig 1.4 (Assembling the .asm file and producing output files)

You can see the output files are created at the path Y:\Assemblyin fig 1.5

Fig 1.5 (Output files created at the path Y:\Assembly)

Now you can load .com file in the debugger by writing the command afd ex01.com

NOTE:

You must repeat the process of mounting a drive letter to the path where you have stored NASM and AFD debugger each time Dosbox application is executed. Also drive letter M is used as an example. You can use any other drive letter you want to.