86box/86boxmanager

A configuration manager for the 86Box emulator

86Box

86Box is a low level x86 emulator that runs older operating systems and software designed for IBM PC systems and compatibles from 1981 through fairly recent system designs based on the PCI bus.

Features

• Easy to use interface inspired by mainstream hypervisor software
• Low level emulation of 8086-based processors up to the Mendocino-era Celeron with focus on accuracy
• Great range of customizability of virtual machines
• Many available systems, such as the very first IBM PC 5150 from 1981, or the more obscure IBM PS/2 line of systems based on the Micro Channel Architecture
• Lots of supported peripherals including video adapters, sound cards, network adapters, hard disk controllers, and SCSI adapters
• MIDI output to Windows built-in MIDI support, FluidSynth, or emulated Roland synthesizers
• Supports running MS-DOS, older Windows versions, OS/2, many Linux distributions, or vintage systems such as BeOS or NEXTSTEP, and applications for these systems

Minimum system requirements and recommendations

• Intel Core 2 or AMD Athlon 64 processor or newer
• Windows version: Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or later
• Linux version: Ubuntu 16.04, Debian 9.0 or other distributions from 2016 onwards
• macOS version: macOS High Sierra 10.13 or newer
• 4 GB of RAM or higher

Performance may vary depending on both host and guest configuration. Most emulation logic is executed in a single thread; therefore, systems with better IPC (instructions per clock) generally should be able to emulate higher clock speeds.

It is also recommended to use a manager application with 86Box for easier handling of multiple virtual machines.

• 86Box Manager by Overdoze (Windows only)
• 86Box Manager X by xafero (Cross platform Port of 86Box Manager using Avalonia)
• sl86 by DDX (Command-line 86Box machine manager written in Python)
• Linbox-qt5 by Dungeonseeker (Linux focused, should work on Windows though untested)
• MacBox for 86Box by Moonif (MacOS only)

It is also possible to use 86Box on its own with the --vmpath/-P command line option.

Getting started

See our documentation for an overview of the emulator's features and user interface.

Community

We operate an IRC channel and a Discord server for discussing 86Box, its development and anything related to retro computing. We look forward to hearing from you!

Contributions

We welcome all contributions to the project, as long as the contribution guidelines are followed.

Building

For instructions on how to build 86Box from source, see the build guide.

Licensing

86Box is released under the GNU General Public License, version 2 or later. For more information, see the COPYING file in the root of the repository.

The emulator can also optionally make use of munt, FluidSynth, Ghostscript and Discord Game SDK, which are distributed under their respective licenses.

Donations

We do not charge you for the emulator but donations are still welcome: https://paypal.me/86Box.

You can also support the project on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/86box.

86boxmanager's Issues

"Configure" action for a stopped VM causes process related errors

Due to missing quotes around the VM path, 86Box.exe would not find the VM and close immediately, usually before the Manager could handle it. Additionally, due to lack of proper exception handling and recovery, this resulted in an unstable state.

Confirmed in 1.0.1, fixed in 1.0.2.

Existing VMs aren't relocated when the VM folder is changed in the settings

Currently, existing VMs will stay where they are and new ones will be created in the new folder. The VM folder should instead just be renamed/moved and every VM's path variable updated so that all VMs are kept in one place.

Confirmed in 1.0.3. Since I'll implement this as part of an optional action (yes-no message box…), this has been pushed back to 1.1.

Freeze after reboot or shutdown machine

1.1.0 - freeze after reboot or shutdown machine. Tested standalone 86box - its ok.
Tried: hard reset, soft reset (save BIOS and reboot), ctrl+alt+de - same thing.

Exit option in tray icon menu does not work

As the title says.

Add support for -L parameter for 86Box

A checkbox and a textbox in settings to enable 86Box logging to the specified log file.

Only one running VM is closed before Manager quits

All runnings VMs should be closed, but only one is for some reason. Confirmed in 1.4.0.

Add the ability to group VMs together

Similar to how VirtualBox does it. Would probably require a different control than ListView, so this is probably not coming before version 2.0.

Add more VM management features

Clone/duplicate a VM, wipe a VM (delete config and nvr).

VM context menu opens in the wrong location

Usually on the far left side of the screen. Confirmed in version 1.3.3. Will be fixed in 1.4.0, since it's a non-critical issue.

Add the option to select a folder for adding a VM

Basically add a folder browse dialog for selecting a folder to add as a VM. Name of the selected folder becomes the name of the VM. Should be done in version 1.4.0.

[Bug] Configuration not saved when I select generic XT clone PC.

Hello!

When I select Generic XT clone, and save, the 86box does not save any data and the configuration is still the default. This bug seems to happen only when I select an XT machine. Also checked this configuration on 86box executable and there is no problem with the config.

Thanks in advance!

Add "open folder in explorer" and "create a desktop shortcut" options for VMs

Probably coming in 1.1.

Importing existing VMs seemingly fails for unknown reason

Under investigation. Confirmed in 1.4.2.

Display a list of VMs in the tray icon context menu

Could be useful for some people I imagine. Probably coming in version 2.0 or later.

Manager doesn't detect when a VM gets paused directly in 86Box

When a VM gets paused directly in 86Box, its status is still STATUS_RUNNING.

Furthermore, when the Manager's pause button is used on such Schrödinger's VM, the status gets updated to STATUS_PAUSED, but the machine actually gets unpaused.

Can't find prebuilt 86BoxManager ;( Can you provide us with some builds?

Allow selecting multiple VMs

This is useful for bulk starting, stopping, resetting or deleting multiple VMs. VirtualBox does support this and they disable menu items for move, clone, settings that trigger a UI when multiple VMs are selected.

Add the option to search for VMs

As the title says, the VM list should be searchable.

Add the option to close all running VMs before quiting

This will allow the user to safely close all currently running VMs before closing the Manager.

Resetting a paused VM doesn't update its status to STATUS_RUNNING

If a paused VM is reset via CTRL+ALT+DEL or hard reset, it will be resumed but its status will remain STATUS_PAUSED. This causes the pause button to have the wrong label, etc. Can be fixed by pausing the VM and resetting it again.

Confirmed in 1.0.3. Fixed in 1.0.4.

Add additional tooltips to controls

Self explanatory.

Add the ability to start the selected VM by pressing the ENTER key

Minor usability improvement.

Improve the behaviour of desktop shortcuts/command line arguments

The VM from the selected desktop shortcut should be started regardless of whether or not the Manager is already running. In case it is, the new process must handle this by restoring and focusing the existing window, and sending any relevant command line arguments to it, so that the selected VM can be started.

Add a tray icon

Minimizing/closing to a tray icon should be an option for those who need it.

Virtual machines disappear after editing if name stays the same

After applying changes to a VM where the name remains the same, the VM Will disappear. Confirmed in 1.0.4.

Add the update check feature

The possibility of implementing an update check for 86box and the manager should be looked into. ETA unknown.

Use a timeout for WaitForInputIdle() when starting a VM

86Box crash or hang right on startup can bring down the Manager too, since the main thread is trying to obtain the window handle of the 86Box window that's unresponsive and potentially already gone if the process was terminated. This usually results in an error being displayed.

Will be done in version 1.4.0.

Making changes to settings and then undoing them does not dprevent the Settings Changed dialog on exit

The dialog should not appear if the settings controls were reverted back to the values they had at the start.

Group the Manager and 86Box buttons in the taskbar together

User request. Using SetCurrentProcessExplicitAppUserModelID in both apps will cause them to be displayed under a single taskbar button in Windows 7 and later. Will be added in version 1.5 on the Manager side.

Unhandled exceptions on first run with no way to close the Manager

Confirmed in 1.3.2. Caused by missing null checks on registry values and overly complicated first run procedure.

Add a setting for WaitForInputIdle() timeout

Allow the user choose the timeout for WaitForInputIdle() call.

A virtual machine with an empty name ("") can be created

Add button in Add a VM dialog should be disabled when the dialog opens, but it isn't. It's thus possible to create a virtual machine with an empty name. The folder for this VM will obviously not be created, config and nvr will instead be placed into the root virtual machines folder. Same issue exists in the Edit VM dialog.

Confirmed in 1.0.4.

Prepare for a Linux port

Once 86Box gets a Linux port, the Manager should follow suit. Testing and potential modifications should be done to prepare for this eventuality. ETA unknown.

Add ability to export/import packaged virtual machines

Similar in principle to how VirtualBox does it. Initial idea is to compress all the relevant files (config, nvr, hard disk images) into a single packed file with an extension that's associated with 86Box Manager.

Probably a feature for version 2.0.

Unhandled exception (object reference not set to an instance of an object) when adding a VM

Confirmed in 1.0.0. Caused by a missing null check for regkey in VMCheckIfExists(). Fixed in 1.0.1.

Add the "kill VM" option

There should be the option to kill an 86Box process that hangs or gets stuck.

Add the ability to sort virtual machines by name or other columns

Feature request by a user.

Add the ability to start VMs without the console window

Minor feature addition. Probably coming in 1.1.

Using illegal characters in VM name causes an unhandled exception

Characters which are illegal for a folder/file name in Windows have not been checked for in Add and Edit VM dialogs, resulting in an unhandled exception when such a VM is to be created. Confirmed in 1.0.4.

Starting a VM that no longer exists from an old shortcut results in an unhandled exception

"Object reference not set to an instance of an object." Confirmed in 1.3.1, looks like I forgot to handle the case when the specified VM doesn't exist.

Add the option to start the VM after creating it

Configure and start/stop buttons/menu items are not properly enabled/disabled for paused VMs until the VM is reselected

These UI controls should be enabled/disabled immediately when a pause or resume action is performed, but instead remain in their current state until another VM is selected.

Confirmed in 1.0.5.

Starting and/or configuring a new VM after adding it fails

Introduced in 3b59951 as part of the switch back to SelectItems instead of FocusedItem. Fixed in final 1.4.0. commit.

Path label can become longer than dialog width

In Add and Edit VM dialogs, the path label can become too long and extend beyond the dialog border. Can be solved either by breaking the path into two lines or shortening it and displaying the full string in a tooltip.

Improve handling of stuck VMs

At the moment, it's possible to stop a stuck virtual machine, which will set its status to stopped and thus disable the kill button. Since the stop command is sent by PostMessage, Manager doesn't wait for 86Box to process it. Using SendMessage with some timeout or check to detect stuck VMs might be a better approach.

Enable toggling grid lines in VM list

Just a minor UI option. Coming in 1.5.0.

Separate VM management code from UI code

Currently, VM managament functions are in the main form code and are directly tied into UI code. This should be split off into a separate class with only VM-related code that's UI-independent (e.g. could work with WPF instead of WinForms, etc.). ETA unknown.

Confirmation for exiting if VMs are still running is displayed multiple times

Instead of only once, the confirmation message box would be displayed for every running VM. Confirmed in 1.0.1, fixed in 1.0.2.

Opening VM settings window for a running VM locks manager window until settings window is closed

Clicking the Configure option for a running VM opens the settings window for that VM, but it also locks the manager window until the settings window of the VM is closed. Does not happen if VM is stopped (and thus only the settings window opens).

Cause unknown, possibly related to SendMessage win32 API call.

Improve the UI

Most importantly, add icons to buttons, context menus, etc. Should be done soon