Here are my installation instructions for getting Dev-C++ and Allegro working together. It took me about an hour to download all the data, do the installation and write those instructions, so they should be easy to follow. I would appreciate any comments you have. I will bring the necessary modifications as they become needed.
code:
Dev-C++ instructions:
---------------------
These instructions are for Dev-C++ 4.00 and 4.01. They may or may not
apply to other versions.
If you happen to have Mingw, DJGPP or any other version of GCC
installed, then uninstall them. Dev-C++ will replace them from now on.
This step is required for getting Allegro to compile - we don't want
your DJGPP installation to conflict with Dev-C++'s. Don't worry,
you'll still have a fully functional gcc for Windows, and you can
always reinstall the other compilers if you don't need to compile
Allegro for Dev-C++.
1) Download the complete development package from
http://www.bloodshed.net/devcpp.html. Unzip it in a temporary
directory (such as C:\temp), and run setup.exe from there.
Select Typical install.
Install it in a directory of your choice, but make sure do not
use '+' in the name. For example, use Dev-Cpp instead of Dev-C++.
This step is required for getting the command line utils to
work properly. If you are running under Windows NT or 2000,
you will need administritive priviliges to complete the
installation.

Also download the latest Allegro WIP, and unzip it in a
directory of your choice (usually C:\Dev-Cpp\allegro)
2) Dev-C++ is based off the Mingw32 compiler, so to get Allegro
working, you'll need to update a few packages of Dev-C++.
Following this procedure will update the whole compiler to the
latest version of gcc (as of this writting).
Download the following packages:
1. http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/mingw/MinGW-1.1.tar.gz
2. ftp://ftp.franken.de/pub/win32/develop/gnuwin32/mingw32/porters/Mikey/
fileutils316-ming.tar.bz2
3. http://sunsite.auc.dk/allegro/wipdll/dx70_mgw.zip
You may need to get a program to read the .gz and .bz2 files.
Power Archiver http://www.powerarchiver.com/ is recommended for
this task. WinRAR or WinZip will not work properly.
3) You should unzip all of them in your Dev-C++ directory. They will
overwrite the older files.

4) Now is the time to set up your path. If you're running Windows 95
or Windows 98, then open notepad, and edit your c:\autoexec.bat.
Add those lines at the end of the file:
SET PATH=C:\Dev-Cpp\bin;%path%
SET MINGDIR=C:\Dev-Cpp
Make sure you write the exact path of where you installed Dev-C++
in Step 1, and add \bin at the end of it. Reboot your computer for
the change to take effect.
If you're running Windows ME, you'll need to select "Run" off the
start menu, then type in "msconfig". Select the environment
tab, then make the changes as noted above.
Reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.
If you're running Windows 2000 (NT?), then open Control Pannel,
then the "System" applet, then the "Advanced" tab, and
finally the "Environment" button. Select the PATH= entry, and add
"C:\Dev-Cpp\bin" to it (without the quotes, and assuming you
installed Dev-C++ in C:\Dev-Cpp). Create a new environment
variable called MINGDIR and set it equal to "C:\Dev-Cpp" (again,
without the quotes). You will need to log off and log back in
for the changes to take effect.

Note: If at any stage, you get an "Out of Environment space"
message, then please see the Allegro FAQ for how to fix this.
5) Open a DOS prompt. This is done by running the comamnd:
C:\COMMAND.COM
(or cmd.exe for Windows 2000 and Windows ME). You can create a
shortcut to it on your desktop or start menu if you like.
Find your way to whereever you installed Allegro. Now's the time
to test your installation. Type "gcc -v" (without the quotes) at
the command prompt, followed by the <enter> key. You should see
something like this:
G:\Dev-Cpp\allegro>gcc -v
Reading specs from g:/dev-cpp/bin/../lib/gcc-lib/mingw32/2.95.3-6/specs
gcc version 2.95.3-6 (mingw special)
From now on, we're done setting up Dev-C++, and will now set up
Allegro (don't worry, it gets much easier)
6) At the DOS prompt you were in from step 5, type "fix mingw32"
(without the quotes), then type "make" and watch Allegro compile.
This may take a few minutes. Once Allegro is compiled, you'll need
to install it.
7) Installing Allegro is a simple matter of typing "make install" at
the command prompt.
Some poeple had trouble in this step, so you may need to manually
run SET MINGDIR=C:\Dev-Cpp before running make install.
Ok, now that Allegro is properly set up and installed, we can create
our first Allegro program (yay!)
8) Launch Dev-C++ and create a new project (File/New Project). Select
"Windows Application", then click on the "Ok" button. Name your
project and give associate it to a new file. You should now see a
sample code in a window. Close that window since you won't be
needing it (Allegro is much simpler to use than this). Create a
new file (File/New Source File), then write a small Allegro
program. You can inspire yourself by the Allegro examples if you
wish. Here's a small program you can type to see if everything
worked until now:
#include "allegro.h"
int main() {
allegro_init();
allegro_message("Hello World!");
return 0;
}
END_OF_MAIN();

9) You now need to tell Dev-C++ that you'd like to make a program
that uses Allegro. For that, go in the Project Options screen
(Project/Project Options menu), then click on "Load Object Files".
You need to select the file called liballeg.a (of liballd.a for
the debug mode); the file should be in C:\Dev-Cpp\lib. Notice
it's a .a file, and not a .o file, so you'll need to get the file
dialog to show all files.
10) Compile your project! Simply click on the green check mark on
your Dev-C++ toolbar. Correct any syntax errors in your code,
then click on "Execute" to run the program. If all worked
you will see a message box pop up with "Hello World" inside of it.
And we're done!
Recommended reading:
allegro.txt - The Allegro API, and main documentation
faq.txt - Frequently Asked Questions. There you will find
answers to most asked questions about Allegro
help.txt - How to properly ask for help, if ever you need to.

And most importantly, have fun!

[ October 25, 2001: Message edited by: Bob ]

I'll follow it word for word today and see what happens

You da man, Bob! Thanks!

No comments yet. I haven't tried installing this again since the last time, but I'm gonna give it a shot after work.

Bob: You're going to merge this into readme.mgw, right?

I'm wondering if I should follow your instructions and do what it says there, because my Dev-C++ version of GCC is an older one, 2.95.2 I believe. Is it worth updating?

Ok, I never have used Dev-C++ before so I thought I'd be a prime suspect for testing. I think rule 4.5 should ask them to Download the latest Allegro WIP and install it to "/Dev-Cpp/Allegro". An obvious step indeed, but one never knows...

Of course it didn't work for me though.... I get a message saying it cannot find "libbfd-2.10.91.dll" when I try to compile. I did a search on my PC for that file, and didn't find anything. What'd I do wrong?

I'm running Windows 2000 with no previous copy of Dev-C, DJGPP or whatever. Error message upon compiling is:
"The dynamic link library libbfd-2.10.91.dll could not be found in the specified path: [my_path]"
Upon unzipping the package you mentioned above, everything worked fine and I was able to compile a "Hello World" via allegro.
The only other comment I have is you may want to supply a small working program such as:
code:
#include "allegro.h"
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
allegro_init();
allegro_message("Hello World");
return 0;
}
END_OF_MAIN()

so they can test if it works. You may be getting first time Allegro users that haven't read the documentation yet. The coolest thing is if you can follow rule-by-rule and have everything work. After they can see it works, they may be more apt to hit the books.

Bob: I can confirm that your method works also with version 4.01 of Dev-C++.

Allegro project templates are available here.
Simply unzip the above file into the C:\Dev-Cpp\Templates directory (or wherever you installed Dev-C++). Then whenever you select 'New Project', an Allegro tab will be available. Under the Allegro tab, you can select either a DLL or Statically Linked version of Allegro.
DLL Version: Uses all39??.dll, where ?? is the subversion of your Allegro WIP copy.
Static Linked Version: Makes an executable that does NOT require all39??.dll. The executable will be larger, but will still be significantly smaller than distributing both the Allegro DLL and your game's DLL-linked executable in one ZIP/GZIP file, if that's what you intend to do.
I will contact the Dev-C++ developer about including the Allegro project templates in the next version of Dev-C++. Feel free to come up with a better Allegro icon.
Enjoy!
- Connelly Barnes.
Bob: Microsoft code not only is O(n^20), but it also runs in a processor speed compensated environment. So 1 GHz is only twice as fast as 1 MHz...
[ September 01, 2001: Message edited by: Connelly Barnes ]
[ September 01, 2001: Message edited by: Connelly Barnes ]
[ September 01, 2001: Message edited by: Connelly Barnes ]

OK, I'm downloading it now (not everyone has a high-speed Internet connection, y'know ). Just wondering; I can remove that path crap from autoexec.bat when I'm done setting up, right? I don't thing Dev-C++ needs it, but my DJGPP does. Also just to clarify, I create a C:/DevCpp folder, unzip everything into that folder (not any sub folders) and then move make.exe from C:/DevCpp to C:/DevCpp/bin? I only ask because I remember getting confused the last time I tried this.

Mattias: Yes, gcc 3.0 is newer, but contains lots of bugs (a lot of code was changed since the 2.95 series), so it's not recommended to use unless you want to debug it I would wait for it stabilize before using the new compiler.

Ok, I'll mention DJGPP too. Thanks everybody!

DanielH: you got a clean copy of Allegro WIP 3.9.37?

Is the error message exactly what you wrote?
I try again from the clean Allegro sources...

Why does w32api-1.0.1-20010726.tar.gz appear empty? It's got two folders; one with two dots and another with just one. I think I move the latter into C:/Dev-C++/, yes?