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Thread: does XP's compatibility mode work better than Vista/7?

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    ServBot (Level 11) Edmond Dantes's Avatar
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    Default does XP's compatibility mode work better than Vista/7?

    So lately, I've been looking into emulation and virtualization as an option in case the PC I play old games on finally decides to croak.

    A lot of virtualizers don't really have good support for 98, so I'm thinking of installing XP and using its compatibility mode to play all my Win98 games. Think this will work?

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    64-bit Windows 7 absolutely cannot run 16-bit Windows programs (including a lot of installation programs and such), so in that sense 32-bit Windows XP is superior, but 32-bit Windows 7 wouldn't have that disadvantage either - I think.

    Perhaps a better question is, what Windows 98 games are you specifically interested in playing? I have the impression that a considerable number of compatibility problems these days are caused by more recent versions of video drivers (required by more recent video hardware, of course) that lack certain legacy features. In that sense, installing XP with recent video drivers won't help much either.
    "There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." --Bertrand Russel (attributed)

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    I have't played around with it in a long time, but from what I understand, dosbox is an excellent way to play old-school dos games on modern Windows systems. As far as the virtualization route, have you virtual-box? Its a third party virtual pc program that has some pretty cool features going for it. It supports 3d acceleration up to directx8.

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    Jorpho: Excuse me, I meant to say I'm thinking of installing a virtualized Windows XP. Virtualization is basically emulation, except for computers.

    Darkman: Actually Virtualbox is the reason I'm curious about XP. Virtualbox has graphical acceleration, but only for WinXP on up (virtualization support for Windows 98 absolutely sucks right now--you can't even install Additions or transfer files between 98 and the host in most virtualizers).

    So currently, my attack plan is:

    1) See what games will work in Windows 7 with no hassle.
    2) Those that don't, see if they work in virtualized Windows 98 (running through Virtual PC 2007)
    3) If I find any that have/do graphical acceleration, run them through XP using Virtualbox.

    Or I could just sell them and save myself the headache.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jorpho View Post
    Perhaps a better question is, what Windows 98 games are you specifically interested in playing?
    I have no idea what ones I'm gonna want to play in the future, but here's all the ones I actually own at the moment:

    Allied General
    Amber: Journeys Beyond
    Command & Conquer 95
    Command & Conquer: Red Alert
    Dune 2000
    Half-Life
    Jagged Alliance 2
    Journeyman Project Turbo
    Might and Magic VI
    Might and Magic VII
    Myst
    Outpost
    Outpost II
    Riven
    Shivers 2
    Sonic & Knuckles Collection
    Starcraft
    System Shock 2
    Titanic: Adventure Out of Time
    Warcraft II (both original and Battle.net Editions)
    Wizardry Gold
    You Don't Know Jack (volumes 1, 2, the Question Pack, and Movies)

    And here's some I might wind up buying soon:

    Ultima IX: Ascension

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    Running XP in virtual box sounds like a good game plan. My only question is why is half life on that list? It works just fine on steam under windows 7. That is of course assuming you have steam.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond Dantes View Post
    So currently, my attack plan is:

    1) See what games will work in Windows 7 with no hassle.
    2) Those that don't, see if they work in virtualized Windows 98 (running through Virtual PC 2007)
    3) If I find any that have/do graphical acceleration, run them through XP using Virtualbox.

    Or I could just sell them and save myself the headache.
    Sounds like a plan.

    Offhand, System Shock 2 is the only one of those I think has graphical acceleration, and if it doesn't already run under 7 with existing fixes, someone's probably working on it. Most of Sierra's games have installers for XP, but I have no idea if they work in 7.

    The experience offered by Sonic & Knuckles Collection is likely inferior to what you could get from any current Sega Genesis emulator plus an actual ROM.
    "There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." --Bertrand Russel (attributed)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond Dantes View Post
    Allied General
    Amber: Journeys Beyond
    Command & Conquer 95
    Command & Conquer: Red Alert
    Dune 2000
    Half-Life
    Jagged Alliance 2
    Journeyman Project Turbo
    Might and Magic VI
    Might and Magic VII
    Myst
    Outpost
    Outpost II
    Riven
    Shivers 2
    Sonic & Knuckles Collection
    Starcraft
    System Shock 2
    Titanic: Adventure Out of Time
    Warcraft II (both original and Battle.net Editions)
    Wizardry Gold
    You Don't Know Jack (volumes 1, 2, the Question Pack, and Movies)

    And here's some I might wind up buying soon:

    Ultima IX: Ascension
    Starcraft and Warcraft II Battle.net will work with patches from Blizzard. Half-Life 1 will work - hell, you can even download the latest version if you sign up for a Steam account and register your CD key there (and depending on the version, you can get free copies of Blue Shift and Opposing Force, or even Counter-Strike.)

    Many of those other games will run on DOSbox since they include native DOS binaries. Warcraft II, for instance. For others, you're better off downloading a pre-configured DOSBox running Windows 3.1 than just using a virtualized Windows XP. It's not legal by any means, but it's what I do for those late Windows 3.1 games.

    Some of those games you have are also available at GOG.com for cheap and most will work on Windows 7.
    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond Dantes View Post
    I can't tell if we're discussing My Little Pony or Neon Genesis Evangelion anymore.
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