# ??? I can't get this shareware version of Space Quest 2 to play on my computer. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 8, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-this-shareware-version-of-space-quest-2-to-play-on-my-computer/316192 "2005-08-08T21:49:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-this-shareware-version-of-space-quest-2-to-play-on-my-computer/316192/1 "2005-08-08T21:49:45Z")
[http://www.jogi.com/schrege-voegel/software/\_sq2.htm](http://www.jogi.com/schrege-voegel/software/_sq2.htm) So what am I doing wrong? I have Windows XP and Gigabytes of freespace. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-this-shareware-version-of-space-quest-2-to-play-on-my-computer/316192/2 "2005-08-08T21:54:06Z")
Specifically, I get a screen that says ‘16 bit MS-DOS Subsystem’ across the top, and a SYSTEM32 folder in my C: drive that says “The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose ‘Close’ to terminate the application. Close/Ignore.” ---
**Author:** ![mblackwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@mblackwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mblackwell)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-this-shareware-version-of-space-quest-2-to-play-on-my-computer/316192/3 "2005-08-08T23:28:47Z")
Is the file autoexec.nt? I have had this problem with other programs several times. I fixed the problem by replacing the file with a copy from another XP computer. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-this-shareware-version-of-space-quest-2-to-play-on-my-computer/316192/4 "2005-08-09T02:33:31Z")
It _is_ the autoexec.nt file… so… I’m going to try downloading an autoexec.nt patch from somewhere… I’ll let you know how that goes… ---
**Author:** ![Opus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/858c86/32.png) [@Opus1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opus1)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-this-shareware-version-of-space-quest-2-to-play-on-my-computer/316192/5 "2005-08-09T02:50:03Z")
Space Quest 2? Crikes, I’ve had trouble playing games as recent as 5-6 years old. Modern operating systems just aren’t set up to run old programs specifically designed for their specs. If you have a fair amount of computer knowledge you might be able to hack it, but for an average schmo like me, my old classics might as well be written on punchcards. ---
**Author:** ![Domokun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c77e96/32.png) [@Domokun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Domokun)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-this-shareware-version-of-space-quest-2-to-play-on-my-computer/316192/6 "2005-08-09T03:05:04Z")
You might need a DOS emulator for playing those ancient games. DosBox covers a variety of sins: [http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/dosbox/DOSBox0.63-win32-installer.exe?download](http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/dosbox/DOSBox0.63-win32-installer.exe?download) Also sometimes you get that error message with Windows XP’s long files names, so try moving the spacequest folder into C:\SpaceQ2 or some such and try runnig it again. If that doesn’t work, run DOSBox and type something like (minus stuff in parenthesis) mount K: c:\SpaceQ2 (where K is any unused drive letter) K: nameOfSpacequestExecutable.exe