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As part of the MSDN subscription I just got, I can download MS-DOS 6.22 (wow indeed).

MSDN Screenshot

I want to install it to a VirtualBox VM so I can try old games and viruses (due to viruses, I can't install it to DOSBox- some viruses would infect my actual files too), how can I do this?

The file you can download is an .exe SFX file which outputs these files.

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  • I also asked the same for Windows 3.1.
    – ave
    Jun 12, 2016 at 4:18
  • Have you tried just booting up your VM with the disk drive set to C:\msdos\DISKS\144UPG1.IMG? I don't have this exact installation package, but the one I have is also made up of three 1.44MB image files, and I just tried and succeeded in installing MS DOS 6.22 by booting from the first one, and then changing it to the 2nd/3rd as the installation procedure went on.
    – Cactus
    Jun 12, 2016 at 4:53
  • @Cactus 0ws.pw/5nvg.png
    – ave
    Jun 12, 2016 at 5:01
  • Was that via Devices/Floppy drive/Choose image? That worked for me. If you turn on the VM for the first time, I think it asks for a CD image which would be a different format, so you'll have to add it as a floppy disk image.
    – Cactus
    Jun 12, 2016 at 5:44

3 Answers 3

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C:\msdos\DISKS\144UPG1.IMG
C:\msdos\DISKS\144UPG2.IMG
C:\msdos\DISKS\144UPG3.IMG

From your listing, I believe these are 1.44 MB images of the installation floppies. In that case, installation is simple:

  1. Create the virtual machine you intend to install MS-DOS on.
  2. In the "Settings" dialog for the VM, select the "Storage" tab. Click on the "Empty" line below the "Controller: Floppy controller" option.
  3. Click on the floppy-disk icon next to the "Floppy Device 0" dropdown menu and select "Choose a virtual floppy disk file" from the menu that appears.
  4. Select 144UPG1.IMG.
  5. Boot the VM. It should start up using the virtual floppy as the boot disk.
  6. Run the installer: a:\setup
  7. Follow the prompts. When you need to switch disks, right-click on the floppy-disk icon at the bottom of your VM window, select "Choose a virtual floppy disk file", and select the image corresponding to the disk the installer is asking for.
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  • 2
    You shouldn't even need step 6, at least my DOS 6 floppies boot straight to the installer!
    – Stephen Kitt
    Jun 12, 2016 at 16:27
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I understand you asked about MS-DOS, but if FreeDOS would be acceptable, the following website has some handy pre-installed VDI images of FreeDOS.

https://www.lazybrowndog.net/freedos/virtualbox/

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I can't tell from your screenshot if you can download them as .img or .iso's, but if you have a .iso version of MS-DOS, you can create your virtual machine, then go to storage and select the CD icon. Find your .iso file and open/attach it. It should then boot-up when you hit "start".

It may be necessary to un-check the "Enable VT-x/AMD-V" checkbox under the "System" section in the "Acceleration" tab because you may get an error when running or installing DOS with acceleration. You don't need this option anyway because DOS should run pretty fast on your computer.

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