How to Play DOS Games on Nintendo DS

Thanks to Sam Timmins!

You'll need:

  • Nintendo DS
  • Acekard 2
  • MicroSD card (at least 512MB; bigger gives more storage)
  • USB MicroSD card reader

Tip: The speed of your card is shown by a “C” with a number inside. The higher the number, the faster the transfer speed. See Wikipedia for more details. The 8GB MicroSD card shown above is a Class 6.

Process:

  1. Use this Compatibility Wiki to see which of your games will work with DSx86.
  2. Download the AKAIO software here. Click "Download Selected Version" on the right and save the RAR file to your PC.
  3. Open the RAR file and extract everything into the root directory of your blank MicroSD card, e.g: F:\. This lets you use the AKAIO operating system on your Acekard.
  4. Put the MicroSD card into the Acekard.
  5. Put the Acekard into your DS.
  6. Turn on the DS's power.
  7. You’ll either go directly to the AKAIO menu or to the DS's Choice menu. Acekard should show up in the DS slot.
  8. Tap Acekard to enter the AKAIO menu.
  9. Turn off the DS's power.
  10. Remove the Acekard from your DS.
  11. Remove the MicroSD card from the Acekard.
  12. Put the MicroSD card in your computer’s card reader.
  13. On the DSx86 site, click “Downloads” in the left column.
  14. Click the link for DSx86022.nds (or the latest non-beta version if you prefer) and save the file to the root directory of your MicroSD card, e.g: F:\.
  15. In Windows Explorer, create the following folders on the MicroSD card:

    F:\data\dsx86\4dos

    F:\DOSgames

  16. Back on the DSx86 site, click “Downloads” in the left column and scroll down to the 4DOS section. Find the 4DOS shell; it’s the link named “4dos750b130.exe”. Do NOT just click it! Do NOT open it. Instead, right-click it and choose "Open with WinRAR" (or your unzipping program). You do not want to install 4DOS on your PC! You want to save it to your PC so you can install it on the MicroSD card.
  17. After 4dos750b130.exe is open in your unzip program, extract its files to the F:\data\dsx86\4dos folder you made earlier. This installs the 4DOS operating system on your card so that DSx86 can use it.
  18. Make folders inside F:\DOSgames for each game you want to install, e.g.:

    F:\DOSgames\LSL1

    F:\DOSgames\LSL2

    F:\DOSgames\KQ1

  19. Copy the game disks into those folders.
  20. Put the MicroSD card back into the Acekard.
  21. Put the Acekard into your DS.
  22. Turn on the DS's power.
  23. In the AKAIO menu, tap-drag scroll, then tap to select using the D-Pad until you’re at the the DSx86022 icon. Press the A button.
  24. Using good ol’ DOS commands, open the \DOSgames folder, the game's folder, and then type the command needed to start the game. For example, to play Leisure Suit Larry 1, type "cd DOSgames", "cd LSL1", then type "LSL1".
  25. Enjoy some classic gaming fun!
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© 1998 - 2010 by Al Lowe • All Rights Reserved • Updated December 3, 2010