How To Install SBEMU on a Bootable USB Stick

SBEMU is an awesome new DOS program that emulates a Sound Blaster card.

It allows you to play DOS games, with sound effects and FM audio natively on modern hardware – no Sound Blaster required!

It’s a true breakthrough for DOS gaming. Here’s how to get started.

What you need

• USB stick
• Rufus
• SBEMU

Does SBEMU work on all PCs?

SBEMU works on a good variety of modern hardware. The supported sound cards:

• Intel ICH southbridge
• VIA VT82C686 or VT8233 southbrige
• nForce chipsets
• Intel High Definition Autio (HDA)
• Sound Blaster Live or Audigy

Step 1 – Download and run Rufus

First download and run Rufus. This utility helps create bootable USB flash drives.

Use Rufus to prepare the drive, make sure to select the FreeDOS option:

When you’re ready click START to create a bootable FreeDOS drive.

Step 2 – Download and extract SBEMU

Download SBEMU from the GitHub Releases page.

Extract and copy the files to your bootable USB stick:

Step 3 – Create CONFIG.SYS

Create a new text file and add the following 2 lines:

DOS=HIGH
DEVICE=jemmex.exe

Save it in the root of your USB stick as CONFIG.SYS.

Step 4 – Edit AUTOEXEC.BAT

Next, find AUTOEXEC.BAT in the root of your USB stick. Open in a text editor and add the following lines:

jload qpiemu.dll
hdpmi32i -r -x
sbemu

Once saved, the full file should look like this:

Step 5 – Copy DOS Games

Next, copy any software you want to the USB stick. These will be available when you start FreeDOS. I went with some shareware classics and demos:

Step 6 – Boot FreeDOS

The USB stick is now ready! When you boot from it, you should see:

This indicates a succesful boot.

Make a note of the Sound Blaster settings. I have:

• Port/Address: 220
• IRQ: 7
• DMA: 1

Step 7 – Play Games!

Now we’re ready to go! Configure some games and get ready to be Sound Blasted!