| General Category > General Discussion |
| Advice needed: Classic PC gaming |
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| TyrannicalFascist:
So I've got Windows 7 on my computer, and I find myself wanting to play all the old PC classics I have, from MS-DOS through Windows 98. Unfortunately, a lot of them either don't work or won't even install off the disc. Building a second "retro" PC is not really an option for me both financially and due to physical space. I also know some of these are on Steam, but I'd like to play all these old CD-Roms I kept (just like I don't want to re-buy games on Virtual Console I already have in cart form). I've seen that there are ways to do it on a modern PC, like emulating through DOSBox or setting up a virtual machine or even installing an older OS on a partition, but I wanted the suggestions of the members here. I figure you guys know more about computers than me and can help me figure out the best, simplest, and easiest-to-access method. Ideally, I'd like to: * Play DOS games (Commander Keen, Star Trek TNG A Final Unity, DuckTales, Wacky Wheels) * Play Windows 3.1 era Games & Programs (Batman Cartoon Maker, Rebel Assault II, Spelling Jungle, Myst) * Play Windows 95 Games & Programs (Jedi Knight, Starfleet Academy, SimCity 2000) * Play Windows 98 Games & Programs (Sonic & Knuckles Collection, Sonic R, Star Wars Episode I, Star Trek Voyager Elite Force, Starcraft) * Have all these easily accessible from one central location on my computer, possibly separate from my modern PC stuff I believe most or all of my XP and higher games work on my computer now. I looked into building a small home theater PC like is shown on Lifehacker every so often, but I'm not sure I'd want to play those old games on a TV. And as I said, building an older PC would be overkill for what I'm wanting. So what method do you guys recommend? And what do you do to play your old PC games? |
| quickfingers818:
I personally play my old DOS games on an old school machine and that route would probably yield the best performance, but playing it through a virtual machine is much more practical. I tried it a few months back playing some old school oregon trail and it played like a champ with no performance issues whatsoever. |
| Dr.Agon:
you wouldnt need to build a retro pc, just buy one off ebay, plenty on there for cheap |
| sheep2001:
For dos and win 3.x definitely use dos box. A lot less hassle than trying to set up a win 3.x partition on your PC. I doubt whether most of your hardware would have drivers for 3.x, so probably wouldn't work anyway.. For win 95/98 if you can't get the game to run in compatibility mode, then google install win98 to flash drive. |
| quickfingers818:
--- Quote from: Dr.Agon on March 03, 2014, 05:11:34 PM ---you wouldnt need to build a retro pc, just buy one off ebay, plenty on there for cheap --- End quote --- Yes, very cheap. You can find dirt cheap dos machines at local flea markets, garage sales and in my area, thrift stores. They are literally stacked up at my local thrift stores here for less than 40 bucks. plus there is nothing quite like playing these old dos games on an authentic machine using a crt monitor. |
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