For whatever reason, my laptop freaks out and [censored] itself any time I try to open a PDF file. The installation instructions for Daggerfall are in a PDF file. Obviously this is a problem for me because I can't for my life figure out how to install it, and I can't follow any instructions because there's no basic html version of them. Can anyone just like copy paste the instructions into this thread, or simply explain step by step what I need to do to get Daggerfall going?

I had heard a while back that all hope of Daggerfall being released again, in any way, was impossible because the source code was lost. I'm sure this means that we have a pretty raw version of the game, but I really want to try it out, as I've always heard amazing things about it (no, I'm not going to be put off by how much the game has aged; I played Arena when it was released for free right before Oblivion, and I enjoyed that, so this shouldn't be a problem... though I might have a tough time dealing with how buggy I have heard this game is).

Any help is appreciated.

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE INSTALLING THE ELDER SCROLLS II: DAGGERFALL? ("THIS PRODUCT").

THIS IS A LEGAL DOCUMENT STATING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS GOVERNING INSTALLATION AND USE OF THIS PRODUCT. BY INSTALLING OR USING THIS PRODUCT, YOU AGREE TO THE TERMS STATED HEREIN BY BETHESDA SOFTWORKS.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, DO NOT INSTALL.

1. You have a non-exclusive, non-transferable license and right to use this Product for your own personal use and enjoyment. This Product is not provided for any non-personal, commercial purpose. All rights not expressly granted to you herein are hereby reserved by Bethesda Softworks.

2. As between you and Bethesda Softworks, all rights, title and interest in and to the Product, and all worldwide intellectual property rights that are embodied in, related to, or represented by the Product, are and at all times shall remain the sole and exclusive property of Bethesda Softworks.

3. This Product is provided "as is." Bethesda Softworks makes no representation, warranty or covenant of any kind as to merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use, and disclaims any liability with respect thereto. In no event shall Bethesda Softworks, its affiliates, or their respective officers, directors, employees or agents be liable in any way to you or to any third party for any damage whatsoever that may result from use of this Product or its installation.

4. Neither Bethesda Softworks nor any of its affiliates will provide any technical or customer support with respect to this Product or its use by you or any third party.

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Instructions for setting up
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
For Windows XP/Windows VISTA

Daggerfall is not fully compatible with the NTVDM used to emulate DOS under Windows NT (XP/Vista) so an alternative DOS emulator should be used.

1) The first step is to install DOSBox. Launch its setup program and install with default options.

2) After DOSBox is installed, navigate to its entry in the Start Menu (DOSBox-0.73) and then select "Configuration," and then "Edit Configuration." If you have used DOSBox before, it may be best to run "Reset Configuration" first before running "Edit Configuration."

3) This will open up Notepad with the config file displayed. Look for the section [dosbox]. In this section will be a setting "memsize=xx." Change the value of xx to 32 (i.e. memsize=32) and then save and close the file.

4)The next step is to extract Daggerfall from the archive. The archive is a zip file named "DFInstall.zip." Using a zip program such as Winzip or Winrar, open the archive and choose to Extract. You want to extract the entire contents of the zip file to a directory on your C:\, such as C:\dosgames. So, when you chose Extract, the program will ask for a path, enter C:\dosgames. This will create the folders C:\dosgames\DFCD and C:\dosgames\DAGGER.

5) Once the archive extraction is completed, DOSBox must be launched to start the installation process. Use the DOSBox icon on your desktop or the entry in the Start Menu to launch it.

6) Once launched, you will be presented with a window containing a command prompt (Z:\> ).

7) As DOSBox is a virtual environment, the locations to work with must be mounted within the virtual environment. First, you must mount the location that contains Daggerfall's files to a virtual C: within DOSBox.

8) To do this, type this line in at the command prompt: mount c c:\dosgames -freesize 1000. Press enter to process the command. This will map C:\dosgames to virtual C:\.

9) Next, you must emulate the Daggerfall CD-ROM for the installation and running of the game.

10)To this, type this line in at the command prompt: mount d c:\dosgames\dfcd -t cdrom -label Daggerfall. Press Enter to process the command. This will map the files in C:\dosgames\dfcd to to virtual D:\, which is acting like a CD-ROM with the volume label of Daggerfall (needed to run the game). Be sure the label is "Daggerfall" and not "daggerfall" or "dAGGERFALL" or anything else

11) Once the two locations are mounted, at the command prompt type: D:, then push enter and the prompt will change to D:\>.

12) Next, type: INSTALL. Press Enter and the Daggerfall installation program will launch. At this point you can move your actual mouse pointer into the DOSBox window and click once. Mouse control will be handed off to DB and will work within the Daggerfall installer to select items.

13) Now, agree to the terms and then select "Install the Game to Your Hard Drive." Then select "Change the Install Size" and set it to "Huge." Next select "Yes, This Install Size is Fine." The installer will suggest C:\Dagger as the installation directory. Install the game to that location. Select "Yes, I want to install the game here." Following this, confirm the choices by selecting "Go ahead and install the game." The install will begin.

14) After installation, Daggerfall will offer to configure the sound card. At this point it is important that DOSBox be running in windowed mode and not full screen. If DOSBox is in full screen, hit ALT + Enter on the keyboard to place it back into windowed mode before choosing to configure the sound card.

15) Choose "Yes" to configure the sound card. Another program will appear. There is no mouse support in this program so the keyboard arrow keys and the Enter key will need to be used.

16) Press Enter while "Auto-Detect" is highlighted. Next, press Enter while "Detect" is highlighted. This will detect an emulated Sound Blaster 16. Navigate over to "OK" and press Enter.

17) Navigate down to "Select MIDI" and press Enter. Select "Sound Blaster 16" from the list and press Enter. Press Enter again to select the default Port of "388." Navigate to "OK" and press Enter.

18) Navigate down to "OK" on the menu and press Enter twice. This will save the config and return you to Daggerfall's installer. Select OK and the installer will exit and drop you off at C:\DAGGER.

19) At the command prompt, type: DAG213. Press Enter. This will launch the patch to update the game to 1.07.213. Answer "YES" to both prompts when the patch asks for confirmation.

20) Once the patch is done, the game may be started. At the C:\DAGGER> prompt, type: DAGGER. Press Enter. Daggerfall should now load.

21) Each time you want to run Daggerfall, you will need to start DOS-Box and enter these commands:

• mount c c:\dosgames -freesize 1000
  
• mount d c:\dosgames\dfcd -t cdrom -label Daggerfall
  
• c:
  
• cd\dagger
  
• dagger

Each of the above commands is followed by a press of the Enter key.

many thanks

I got an "error 0" and now when I try to load the game up it says that I have a critical error and I need to delete and reinstall my game. Why is this and is there anyway a reinstall could possibly be avoided?

I reinstalled. I got the error 0 again and it still refuses to play. Help????