playing win95/dos games on xp

i've just installed Dark Reign on this laptop, i boot it up and i get

win95 not detected
something else not detected

all i can do is press cancel.  how can i play older games on new systems without the game offering to install drivers about 10 years old?

i get this when i select New Game

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/9682/drsq8.png

cancelling exits to desktop

DOSBox.