How to download and run Doom

 ''Note: This article is not a general troubleshooting guide for any of the operating systems listed below. It assumes that your hardware and existing software is set up correctly; even then, it probably does not pertain to every possible configuration. If you are having computer problems, please seek help wherever you would normally seek help.''

The central experience of the Doom community, of course, is playing the game. If you have never played before, this article should help you get started.

You will need a computer or game console capable of running Doom (a fairly complete list can be found here), as well as two pieces of software: Console versions of Doom always include both of these. If you have a Windows or Macintosh computer, and you buy a prepackaged game from id Software or your favorite retailer or online auction site, both pieces are also included. If you have a different operating system, or you have simply encountered an annoying bug in the included Doom95, you may require or prefer an alternative executable (a source port) or an emulator; as open source programs and freeware these are generally free of charge, but do not include the IWAD, which is proprietary software owned by id Software. (The Freedoom project intends to create a non-commercial IWAD, but it is far from complete.)
 * The program, or executable, which tells the computer how the players and monsters move around and what the weapons and other objects do. Different operating systems usually require different executables.
 * The data file, or IWAD, which contains all the actual maps and the graphics used to draw them. This is the same for every system.

For more detailed instructions, click on the kind of machine you are using:

Consoles
If you have a Game Boy Advance, GamePark 2X, Xbox, or Xbox 360, you should be able to buy games (or at least get up-to-date advice about buying them) wherever you bought the console. The next paragraph, about secondhand software, applies as well.

Doom titles have also been released for the 3DO, Atari Jaguar, GamePark 32, Nintendo 64, Sega 32X, Sega Saturn, Sony PlayStation, and Super Nintendo. (The Sega Dreamcast port is not an officially licensed product; see nxDoom for details.) These consoles are all discontinued, but secondhand games can be obtained in various ways, including:
 * online auction sites, such as eBay;
 * online gaming shops which sell used titles, such as Gamestop;
 * brick-and-mortar gaming shops which sell used titles (if your console is really old, your best bet is a local store, not a national chain like EBX);
 * garage sales or yard sales.

The current availability of the WebTV Plus version is questionable, given its age and its thin client characteristics. ItPlaysDoom.com (via the Wayback Machine) provides some instructions for downloading this version.

You can read our articles about console ports if you have more than one of these machines and want to know how their Doom versions differ.

Mac OS X
The original commercial distributions of Doom predate OS X, but several major source ports have been compiled for it. Here is one way to get started:


 * 1) Download the latest version of PrBoom.  This can be done, for example, at the Sourceforge project page; look for versions marked "prboom stable".
 * 2) Mount the disk image. You should get a volume called PrBoom-N, where N is the version number.
 * 3) Download the shareware IWAD. This can be done, for instance, at ibiblio.org; the file is called doom1v18.wad.gz.
 * 4) Decompress the archive. You should get a file called doom1v18.wad.
 * 5) Rename the IWAD doom.wad.
 * 6) Double-click the application, PrBoom.app. This brings up the launcher window.
 * 7) From the Tools menu, select Show Game Folder</tt>. This opens PrBoom's working directory in the Finder.
 * 8) In the Finder, drag the IWAD into the folder you just opened. The Launch</tt> button in PrBoom should now become active.
 * 9) Return to PrBoom and click the Launch</tt> button.
 * 10) Press Esc</tt> to bring up the main menu. Before starting a new game, you may want to view or change the controls by selecting OPTIONS</tt>, then SETUP</tt>, then KEY BINDINGS</tt>.

If you want more than the nine shareware levels, just place one of the full IWADs into the directory you opened in step 7 (see the Windows XP section for advice on obtaining those). Note that this version of PrBoom does not recognize the name doom1.wad</tt>, so if you want to use the full version of Doom or Ultimate Doom, remove the shareware IWAD first.

Mac OS 8.6 - 9.x
Although the Doom series was actively marketed to Macintosh users in the mid-1990s, finding a copy in 2024 is quite difficult. Therefore, the following procedure is recommended:


 * 1) Download the Macintosh executable and shareware IWAD. This can be done, for instance, at Doomworld.com; the file is called MacDoomDemo.hqx</tt>.
 * 2) Decompress the archive. You should get a folder called Doom I Demo </tt>&#x0192;.
 * 3) (Optional)  In your Monitors control panel, change the screen depth to 256 colors. (If you also change the resolution to 640x480, the game will run faster and fill the screen.)
 * 4) Double-click the executable, DOOM</tt>.
 * 5) Choose New Game</tt> from the File</tt> menu to begin playing. (You may first want to choose Movement...</tt> from the Control</tt> menu to see which keys do what.)

If you want more than the nine shareware levels, just remove DOOM1.WAD</tt> from the folder Doom I Demo </tt>&#x0192; and replace it with one of the full IWADs (see the Windows XP section for advice on obtaining those). Because this executable predates Ultimate Doom and Final Doom, however, it has two significant limitations:


 * Episode IV of Ultimate Doom is inaccessible.
 * To play Final Doom, you must also have the IWAD for Doom II. Start the program as though you were going to play Doom II, then press <tt>S</tt> during the opening credits to access the single-player setup screen. Click <tt>Load WAD File...</tt>, locate the Final Doom maps (<tt>TNT.WAD</tt> or <tt>PLUTONIA.WAD</tt>), then click <tt>Start Game</tt>. When the built-in demo begins, choose <tt>New Game</tt> from the <tt>File</tt> menu.

In addition, no music will be played unless it is present in Episode I of Doom. For instance, all of the intermission screens have music, but level 29 of Doom II does not.

To avoid these problems, you can try a source port. Doom Legacy, for example, has been compiled for this operating system.

Mac OS 7.x - 8.5
Although the Doom series was actively marketed to Macintosh users in the mid-1990s, finding a copy in 2024 is quite difficult. Therefore, the following procedure is recommended:


 * 1) Download the Macintosh executable and shareware IWAD. This can be done, for instance, at Doomworld.com; the file is called <tt>MacDoomDemo.hqx</tt>.
 * 2) Decompress the archive. You should get a folder called <tt>Doom I Demo </tt>&#x0192;.
 * 3) (Optional)  In your Monitors and Sound control panel, change the screen depth to 256 colors. (If you also change the resolution to 640x480, the game will run faster and fill the screen.)
 * 4) Double-click the executable, <tt>DOOM</tt>.
 * 5) Choose <tt>New Game</tt> from the <tt>File</tt> menu to begin playing. (You may first want to choose <tt>Movement...</tt> from the <tt>Control</tt> menu to see which keys do what.)

The game needs about 5MB of free memory to run at all, and 10MB to run smoothly. If you do not have 10MB of memory, you can speed the game up by choosing <tt>Small Graphics</tt> from the <tt>Options</tt> menu, or by pressing <tt>S</tt> during the opening credits, checking the <tt>"Kill" Finder & Other Apps</tt> box, then restarting the program.

If the sound is missing or choppy, and you have plenty of memory:


 * for 680x0-based machines, make sure you have Sound Manager 3.0 (or higher), and disable the "QuickTime PowerPlug" extension if it is present;
 * for PowerPC-based machines, make sure you have Sound Manager 3.1 (or higher). Sound Manager 3.0 can also be used if you have the "Apple Multimedia Tuner" extension.

If you want more than the nine shareware levels, just remove <tt>DOOM1.WAD</tt> from the folder <tt>Doom I Demo </tt>&#x0192; and replace it with one of the full IWADs (see the Windows XP section for advice on obtaining those). Because this executable predates Ultimate Doom and Final Doom, however, it has two significant limitations:


 * Episode IV of Ultimate Doom is inaccessible.
 * To play Final Doom, you must also have the IWAD for Doom II. Start the program as though you were going to play Doom II, then press <tt>S</tt> during the opening credits to access the single-player setup screen. Click <tt>Load WAD File...</tt>, locate the Final Doom maps (<tt>TNT.WAD</tt> or <tt>PLUTONIA.WAD</tt>), then click <tt>Start Game</tt>. When the built-in demo begins, choose <tt>New Game</tt> from the <tt>File</tt> menu.

In addition, no music will be played unless it is present in Episode I of Doom. For instance, all of the intermission screens have music, but level 29 of Doom II does not.

You can avoid these problems with a source port. (Due to the age of your operating system, however, you may have to compile it yourself! If you have System 8.1 or later, Doom Legacy can be used.)

YOU SUCK

Portable media players
Rockbox, a custom firmware for certain iPods, irivers, and other various portable media players, has a Doom port called Rockdoom which is included by default in Rockbox builds.

GNU/Linux
In 1994, id Software released Linux versions of Doom. Although these versions can still be obtained (see the Doomworld.com shareware page, for example), Linux has changed a lot since 1994, and they probably will not work on your computer. Therefore, you will need to use a source port.

Here is one way:


 * 1) Download the latest version of the Doom Legacy executable. This can be done at the Doom Legacy home page.  Look for versions marked "stable (non-beta)".
 * 2) Decompress the archive. You should get a folder called <tt>legacy_N_linux</tt>, where <tt>N</tt> is the version number.
 * 3) (Optional)  Open the file <tt>config.cfg</tt> in a text editor.  Change <tt>320</tt> to <tt>640</tt> and <tt>200</tt> to <tt>400</tt>. Change <tt>No</tt> to <tt>Yes</tt> in the <tt>fullscreen</tt> line. Save the file.  (This should prevent the display from being squashed into one corner of the screen.) If you skip this step, skip the next step also.
 * 4) (Optional)  Create a folder in your home directory called <tt>.legacy</tt>, and copy the modified <tt>config.cfg</tt> into it.
 * 5) Download the shareware IWAD. This can be done, for instance, at ibiblio.org; the file is called <tt>doom1v18.wad.gz</tt>.
 * 6) Decompress the archive.  You should get a file called <tt>doom1v18.wad</tt>.
 * 7) Rename the IWAD <tt>doom1.wad</tt>.
 * 8) Put the IWAD into the folder <tt>legacy_N_linux</tt>.
 * 9) Run the executable, <tt>llxdoom</tt>.
 * 10) Press <tt>Enter</tt> or <tt>Esc</tt> to bring up the main menu. (Before starting a new game, you may want to look at the <tt>SETUP</tt> menu to see which keys do what.)

This method assumes that your machine has X. If you are running Linux without X, however, you are probably accustomed to this sort of problem; see our list of Unix source ports for other programs to try. (Note that some source ports can be installed only by the root user.)

Legacy occasionally crashes on startup due to demo incompatibility. You can avoid this by starting a new game quickly, before the first demo begins.

If you want more than the nine shareware levels, just replace <tt>doom1.wad</tt> with one of the full IWADs (see the Windows XP section for advice on obtaining those). Change the IWAD name to lowercase letters (e.g. <tt>doom2.wad</tt>, not <tt>doom2.WAD</tt> or <tt>DOOM2.WAD</tt>) before starting Legacy.

Irix
Id software released an unofficial port of Doom to SGI Irix machines, but it is quite old at this point and may be difficult to set up. More information is available at SGI DOOM FAQ.

More advanced topics
If the game is running, but you are having a lot of trouble finding your way through the levels, you can read our walkthroughs.

If you want to do more than just play the standard levels in single-player mode, your options are varied. You can try:
 * Playing multiplayer games.
 * Playing add-on levels (known as PWADs).
 * Playing a different Doom-engine game (such as Heretic, Hexen, or Strife). Many source ports work with multiple titles, although the additional IWADs are somewhat harder to find, and console versions are rare.
 * Recording and watching demos.
 * Speedrunning (competing against other players for the fastest demo on a given map).
 * Creating your own levels.
 * Helping to program, debug, or test a source port.
 * Otherwise interacting with the (still quite active) community of Doom fans; for instance, there are Doom web sites, IRC channels, and Usenet groups.