Windows On The Nintendo Ds!

[marovada]

Windows 3.00a can now run on the Nintendo DS via DSX86 - which is the ARM version of a DOS emulator.

I can't program in ASM, but think of the possibilities?

Link

Also feel free to test various 16-bit Windows games, many of those should now run (as long as they don't try to use some 386 processor features).

 

[CPUnltd]

there is a program that lets the Pandora run Windows 3.1.... I've seen it around here somewhere...

 

[mcobit]

The emulation runs at a speed of around 40MHz 80386 (which equals a 20MHz 80486) machine.

This on a 66 Mhz Nintendo DS?

Would fly on the Pandora. OMG!

Somebody should take a look at this.

Edit: Is it opensource?

 

[MonkeyChops]

doesn't look like it unfortunately:

DSx86 is freeware but copyright © 2010-2011, Patrick Aalto.

http://dsx86.patrickaalto.com/

Maybe someone should email him?

[edit] although there is source code listed for AdLib emulation, useful? IDK

 

[IsSuE]

AFAIR someone already talked to the author of DSx86 and the response was something like: he doesnt want to port it to the pandora and the source might be available someday. [dont quote me on this]

edit: source http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?/topic/58563-dsx86/page__p__938180__hl__dsx86__fromsearch__1&#entry938180

 

[DaMummy]

im sorry, why is this in general talk for pandora?

 

[WizardStan]

Most likely the interest in getting it ported from the DS to the Pandora.

 

[CPUnltd]

http://apps.open-pandora.org/cgi-bin/viewarea.pl?Emulators
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMG8xASMGcI

this has already been done for Pandora.... so why are we asking for another one that runs an older version of Windows than the one we already have?

 

[marovada]

http://apps.open-pandora.org/cgi-bin/viewarea.pl?Emulators
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMG8xASMGcI

this has already been done for Pandora.... so why are we asking for another one that runs an older version of Windows than the one we already have?

The others are ports. This one is hand crafted for an ARM processor from scratch. It's way way faster. As someone pointed out, if it works on a Nintendo DS, it would literally fly on a Pandora.

 

[Jourdy288]

http://apps.open-pandora.org/cgi-bin/viewarea.pl?Emulators
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMG8xASMGcI

this has already been done for Pandora.... so why are we asking for another one that runs an older version of Windows than the one we already have?

The others are ports. This one is hand crafted for an ARM processor from scratch. It's way way faster. As someone pointed out, if it works on a Nintendo DS, it would literally fly on a Pandora.

Wow, this gives me hope for Win 98.
Gives me hope for Dreamcast.
This gives me hope.

 

[CPUnltd]

I see... well, more power to the DS port...

 

[God Ginrai]

http://apps.open-pandora.org/cgi-bin/viewarea.pl?Emulators
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMG8xASMGcI

this has already been done for Pandora.... so why are we asking for another one that runs an older version of Windows than the one we already have?

The others are ports. This one is hand crafted for an ARM processor from scratch. It's way way faster. As someone pointed out, if it works on a Nintendo DS, it would literally fly on a Pandora.

Wow, this gives me hope for Win 98.
Gives me hope for Dreamcast.
This gives me hope.

It shouldn't give you hope, since there is little to no connection between the 3 things.

-God Ginrai

 

[Jourdy288]

What I'm saying is that if the 66 MHZ DS can do Windows 3, how much more can the Pandora do?!

 

[Exophase]

The emulation runs at a speed of around 40MHz 80386 (which equals a 20MHz 80486) machine.

This on a 66 Mhz Nintendo DS?

Would fly on the Pandora. OMG!

That's what the author says for DS2x86, which runs on a DSTwo card with an Ingenic processor, not on the DS natively. Look at the bullet above it, which says that it runs like a 10MHz 286 when on a DS at 66MHz (20MHz when the DS is at 133MHz).

Bear in mind, these figures are just the result of one synthetic benchmark, which doesn't necessarily correlate well with how useful software performs.

DSx86 is written in highly optimized ARM code, and it has the benefit of running in an environment where the other stuff it has to emulate doesn't add a lot of overhead. That, and it doesn't perform cycle counting (so it can run much more "at max") and it takes a lot of shortcuts. But it's still an interpreter, and a very good recompiler will usually beat it by a good margin... so not really anything to get excited about with regards to potential for other platforms.

 

[fearofshorts]

Bugger.

Well, thanks for the expert opinion Exo.

While there are still helpful devs looking at this thread, I distinctly remember Exo mentioning that few emulators are optimized beyond the initial port and that the developers usually just find hacks. Is there any hope for significant improvement in speed for the more taxing emulators in the future?
Oh, and does the DSP have a future in emulation on the Pandy, or is it going to continue to be the little useless bit of silicon it is (excluding video and audio playback -duh) forever?