# old games with no sound

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-games-with-no-sound/167571>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 9, 2003, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-games-with-no-sound/167571 "2003-04-09T16:27:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![shea241](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@shea241](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shea241)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-games-with-no-sound/167571/1 "2003-04-09T16:27:22Z")

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every time I try to install an old game like kings quest 6 it can’t detect the sound on my system what do I do???

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**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-games-with-no-sound/167571/2 "2003-04-09T18:15:50Z")

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- 
  - 
    - Get an emulator, or get an older os with DOS. And check that your soundcard has DOS drivers installed, too…  
~

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**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-games-with-no-sound/167571/3 "2003-04-09T19:12:47Z")

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If you’re running Windows NT/2000/XP, then your DOS boxes don’t have access to the sound card. Instead of DougC’s suggestions, which can be inconvenient or complicated to set up, I’d recommend downloading [VDMSound](http://ntvdm.cjb.net/). This is a free software package which allows Windows NT/2000/XP DOS boxes access to your Windows sound driver.

If you’re using Windows 95/98/XP, then it may be that your sound card’s driver is not supported in DOS mode. (This was the case for the SoundBlaster Live! back when it was released, for example.) In that case you should see if there are DOS drivers on the installation media or on the product’s web page, and then install them. If not, complain to the company, or get a new sound card.

If you’re running Linux, I presume you’re using DOSEMU. This project is under active development so the quality of sound support may vary from one release to the next. You should see if there’s a more recent version available for download, and/or consult the documentation on the project web page.

If you’re using another OS, you should probably tell us what it is so that we can better help you.

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**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-games-with-no-sound/167571/4 "2003-04-09T19:15:17Z")

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Oops… in my previous post, 95/98/XP should have real 95/98/ME.

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**Author:** ![Joe\_Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Joe\_Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Random)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-games-with-no-sound/167571/5 "2003-04-09T19:31:26Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by psychonaut \*  
> **I’d recommend downloading [VDMSound](http://ntvdm.cjb.net/). This is a free software package which allows Windows NT/2000/XP DOS boxes access to your Windows sound driver.**

There is some useful information at [This Site](http://users.snip.net/~besterp12/) as well. Most importantly, if you scroll down to the bottom, there’s a link for updated Sound Blaster driver for old Sierra games. That driver may work even without installing VDMSound, so it’s worth a shot.