Hi,

Complete Linux newbie here, but I have an idea. I want to create a Linux Distro that loads directly into DOSBox.

The idea is basically FreeDOS but with all the hardware support built into a modern linux kernel for nearly universal SoundBlaster emulation. Ideally the Distro wouldn't even load a desktop manager (unless thats a requirement for DOSBox), just the typical dos console experience.

Since I know very little about Linux, after some quick googling it seems the quickest and easiest way I can accomplish this is using Slax. My luck there is even a DOSBox module already created.

So I have some Slax related questions for those with experience with that:

Can I remove some of the modules that are 'standard' like Chromium.sb, apps.sb, and Desktop.sb?

And how do I 'autostart' DosBox?

Because Slax seems like the simplest solution, I'm anticipating a lot of people replying with explanations on why this is the wrong approach. I'll gladly listen to your alternative, but keep in mind it's likely beyond my current knowledge / skill level.

Thanks for any replies!

-BinaryDemon

I'd look at LFS instead. But maybe get some experience with Linux first.

Hello and welcome to LQ. Generally a distro has a few features that other users may wish to have.


Many distro's have an ability to be custom on install or have re-spins based on.
Gentoo like LFS is a sort of build it all deal.

To start a program you use the method that the distro uses. At some point in the boot process the OS looks to scripts to perform tasks. In that you eventually run dosbox. There are two many ways to run processes.

As you may know Slax is based on Debian and you could easily use the netinstaller to create a distro based on your minimal needs. No need to undo stuff.

Give Suse Studio a try, it's an online distro builder. But yes get some experience first.

Suse Studio was actually my first destination when searching for a tool to make this as painless as possible, but it seems that it only supports the x64 version. I wanted to support the widest variety of hardware possible, so I continued looking for something simple with 32bit x86 support.

i think any ol' distro with 32bit support will do, but this:seems to be the crucial bit.
i'd start with a command line (no gui) install of something like debian stable, then do a simple "apt install dosbox" - it should pull in all dependencies like Xorg etc. - and start the X session with that.
https://wiki.debian.org/Xsession
so where the lat line in .xsessionrc is "exec fvwm", yours would be "exec dosbox".

1 members found this post helpful.

After some googling, I found the perfect solution:

https://github.com/superjamie/lazywe...Boot-to-DOSBox

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Thanks for the update and solution.