Best Version Windows for all round emulation?

[OldSchoolGamer]

OK, I use XP Pro, seems great for MAME. I've found M.U.G.E.N to have some issues (I know it's not really an emulator as such) but anyways, for all round emulation MAME, 8-16 bit computers and consoles etc. What is the best version of windows to use? Should I stick with XP or would Windows 98 be better? Opinions please..............................

[roushimsx]

Windows XP (Home or Pro, doesn't matter) is the way to go so long as you stick with the 32 bit version. If you go 64 bit then you'll undoubtably run into lots of fun problems. By fun problems, I mean headaches.

There's a Win32 port of MUGEN, IIRC. Even if you want to stick with the DOS version, you can run it in VirtualPC.

[diskoboy]

Windows Me.









Kidding!!! Definitely XP.

[Jorpho]

Indeed, if you're only running emulators written for Windows, there's not really much reason why Windows 98 would be superior to Windows XP. Anything that might have problems (i.e. some of the fancier 3D stuff) is still being actively developed, methinks.

Doesn't MUGEN run in DOSBox now?

[mregashu]

Does anyone have much experience with emulation and Vista? I'm in the market for a new PC and am worried Vista will be a problem on that front.

[cyberfluxor]

I emulate most older games on my 98SE box. There are a few things on this laptop I emulate and it's running XP Media Center. For older computer emulation I use BSD.

But overall I like the emulation on my 98 machine the most.

[XYXZYZ]

99% of my emulation gaming is on a modded Xbox now, those are perfect for it. Even MUGEN, there's a stripped-down Linux build just for that.

For PCs I imagine XP SP2 is the way to go. When I used WinMUGEN on Win98, it would crash all over the place. But XP runs it fine so far.

[PentiumMMX]

I found that Windows 2000 Professional and either version of Windows XP work best for me (Win2K and WinXP arn't much different)

[PSerge]

I personally use Windows 2000 Professional as well..
It seems to use less resources then WinXP and I haven't had any problems myself.. Plus I love Windows 2000 Pro, I think it's the best version of Windows MS ever made.

[Trebuken]

MOst emulators work fine in Vista. If they don't you can run XP in Virtual PC or VMWare and then run the emulators. If your PC can handle Vista it should be able to handle VirtualPC. I would imagine XP is still best, though Windows 98 did really well before it.

[Chris]

I thnk Win98 2nd edition still has the best compatibility, especially with some of those older discontinued DOS emulators.
I still haven't found an emulator that runs Elite on NES as good as one of those old Nesticle versions.

But WinXP isn't bad either..

[Iron Draggon]

MOst emulators work fine in Vista. If they don't you can run XP in Virtual PC or VMWare and then run the emulators. If your PC can handle Vista it should be able to handle VirtualPC. I would imagine XP is still best, though Windows 98 did really well before it.

so does anyone else know more about getting emu's to run in Vista? I'd like to try out MAME and DOSBOX and VirtualPC... but I really don't know very much about running emu's... it's never worked for me before except I did get one of the SMS emu's to work in XP... so I could play the original Phantasy Star in English... I dunno why Sega never saw fit to re-release that one for Genesis...

anyhow, I've never had any luck getting MAME or DOSBOX to run before... and I have alot of old DOS games that I'd really like to be able to play... have them on CD and everything... so all I need is a way to make Vista run them!

BTW, does Virtual PC work for getting old Windows 95/98 games that won't run in XP's or Vista's 95/98 compatibility mode to run? I have alot of old 95/98 games that I can't play anymore because I'm not dual booting with an older OS... and I don't have an older OS that I can install anyway... all I have is an upgrade version of XP and a full version of Vista... so what can I do about it?

[Jorpho]

Dude, sentences end in a single period and begin with a capital letter!


so does anyone else know more about getting emu's to run in Vista? I'd like to try out MAME and DOSBOX and VirtualPC... but I really don't know very much about running emu's... it's never worked for me before except I did get one of the SMS emu's to work in XP... so I could play the original Phantasy Star in English... I dunno why Sega never saw fit to re-release that one for Genesis...

Emulators are (mostly) just ordinary Windows programs. You run them just like you would run anything else! Any problems you might have with them are likely not dependent on your Windows version.


anyhow, I've never had any luck getting MAME or DOSBOX to run before... and I have alot of old DOS games that I'd really like to be able to play... have them on CD and everything... so all I need is a way to make Vista run them!

Maybe you should start off by saying what problems you encountered in trying to run MAME or DOSBox.


all I have is an upgrade version of XP and a full version of Vista... so what can I do about it?

If you want to run Windows 98 in Virtual PC, you'll need a Windows 98 installation CD. (Note that there is generally now 3D acceleration supported in Virtual PC at this time.)

[Trebuken]

MAME and DosBox run fine in Vista. Some of the front-ends for DosBox don't work 100% though (so I've heard).

The lack of 3D acceleration support in VirtualPC is a real bummer, but much older games run very well. VMWare supports 3D acceleration but I have not used it much and think it may have issues with Vista.

VirtualPC will run many emulators though; many if not most do not use 3D acceleration: most work in Vista anyways.

If you use Vista and want legacy games to work, do not install the 64-bit version. YOu will lose compatibility for a ton of games with the 64-bit Vista...

proper Caps and Periods are Only Required for Formal Written Material...

[zektor]

I'd have to say Vista myself....and this is coming from somebody that has been emulating for over a decade....moving from OS to OS. Vista has run everything I used in the previous M$ incarnations, but that much more stable.