DOSVAXJ3 vs DOSVisor

DOSVAXJ3 is a free emulator for AX, J-3100, and DOS/V systems, based on DOSBox. It runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS, starting in DOS/V mode; J-3100 mode is enabled through the configuration file. Japanese keyboard and text entry work through Windows or macOS IME or Linux XIM. Japanese fonts are included, and additional font files can shape the display like original hardware. The emulator boots Toshiba DOS, DOS/V, and other disk-image files. It supports long filenames and copying displayed text to the clipboard. The maker lists Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11, plus Linux and macOS. Windows downloads include 32-bit and 64-bit executable bundles and separate debugger bundles. Linux and macOS users must build and install SDL-IM-plus before building their versions. DOSVAXJ3 is listed under GPL v2, with source code on GitHub.

DOSVisor is a Windows project that runs some MS-DOS programs in a virtualized 16-bit real-mode environment using the Windows Hypervisor Platform API. It is presented as a demonstration of that API rather than a complete DOS emulator. Hardware virtualization handles the CPU, while software emulates the DOS layer. A custom Interrupt Vector Table uses CPUID instructions to trigger VM exits and intercept DOS interrupts. DOSVisor captures I/O requests but supports only a small set of common requests. Timing support includes the BIOS counter, RAM refresh toggle bit, system clock, RTC registers, clock interrupts, and DOS current-time calls; the 8253 PIT timer is not fully implemented. Keyboard handling monitors state, keeps a simple buffer, and passes input through interrupts. Basic terminal commands support simple text-based games and other basic programs. BIOS data areas and the Program Segment Prefix are allocated but mostly unpopulated. The free public repository contains bin and src directories, with no releases or packages listed.