Dosbox is an open source x86 emulator with DOS. What that essentially means is it makes the really really old DOS stuff you have lying around run even though Windows scoffs at it.
I had the opportunity to play around with it recently and I must say I’m impressed by its simplicity. Just download and install. Then the only hurdle is mounting your old files like this:
MOUNT C D:\My Old Dos Games
Now just zip over to them using DOS commands and run like normal. If you want full screen hit ALT+Enter.
I’ve got The Bard’s Tale and its sequel sitting on my desk. Can’t wait to hook up the old computer with a disk drive.