What is 86Box?
86Box is an open-source emulator specifically designed for recreating the software and hardware environment of PCs from the 80s and early 90s, the era dominated by DOS and early versions of Windows such as Windows 3.x.
As an emulator focused on DOS and early Windows versions, 86Box provides highly accurate simulations of processors like Intel's 8086 to 80486 line, old graphics cards like CGA, EGA, and early VGA cards, sound devices like the AdLib and Sound Blaster, as well as peripherals such as serial and parallel ports, mice, and floppy drives. This makes 86Box useful for running classic DOS games and apps in a period-authentic environment.
In addition to its excellent hardware emulation capabilities, 86Box prioritizes running actual legacy DOS and Windows software. Its compatibility with thousands of classic DOS programs, games, and Windows 3.x applications is one of its key strengths. 86Box focuses on maintaining highly accurate emulation and prioritizes compatibility with this older software over performance and features aimed at newer software.
The project is open-source, with an active community continually contributing compatibility fixes and improvements to 86Box's emulation accuracy. If you have nostalgia for the computing experience in the DOS and early Windows eras and want to authentically recreate that environment to run old programs, games, and system software, 86Box is an excellent emulator to use.