Legacy Systems?
Does anyone here have any experience running a PC legacy system? Feel free to share your set-ups!
I have a bunch of old PC games from the 90s I've been itching to play. I tried setting up a VM to run Windows 95/98 and was able to get that to work, however, playing games on it has been quite a headache. I can install the games but run into all sorts of glitches and errors when I try to actually load them.
I still have my old Compaq Presario from around 96 and I've been thinking about setting that up to play some of those old games. Are there any tips that can help me get this up and running? How do you handle graphic/audio drivers, when they are so outdated and practically impossible to find? Finding the right hardware to replace broken/inferior ones? Or are virtual machines the way to go, and if so how do you get it to perfom smoothly and optimally?
I have a bunch of old PC games from the 90s I've been itching to play. I tried setting up a VM to run Windows 95/98 and was able to get that to work, however, playing games on it has been quite a headache. I can install the games but run into all sorts of glitches and errors when I try to actually load them.
I still have my old Compaq Presario from around 96 and I've been thinking about setting that up to play some of those old games. Are there any tips that can help me get this up and running? How do you handle graphic/audio drivers, when they are so outdated and practically impossible to find? Finding the right hardware to replace broken/inferior ones? Or are virtual machines the way to go, and if so how do you get it to perfom smoothly and optimally?
Comments
Emulation can get you so far, but IMO, nothing beats loading up some games via the floppy drive.
I've always wanted to set up some old PCs, but mainly the ones that are from the 80s like IBM PCs.
Emulation can get you so far, but IMO, nothing beats loading up some games via the floppy drive.
True that! Although I guess floppy disks don't stand the test of time too well. I don't think any of the floppy disk games I have would work today considering how poorly I handled them.
I've always wanted to set up some old PCs, but mainly the ones that are from the 80s like IBM PCs.
Emulation can get you so far, but IMO, nothing beats loading up some games via the floppy drive.
True that! Although I guess floppy disks don't stand the test of time too well. I don't think any of the floppy disk games I have would work today considering how poorly I handled them.
lol, well back in the day, we could throw things around and they'd still work for the most part. If your stuff's starting to wear, I'm sure you can find replacements on the cheap depending on your set up.
If you ever need a Commodore drive, I got one I could sell on the cheap, however, it has no cables.
It's 80s stuff that normally gives me fits, with the error 200 bug, games running too fast if you have turbo button, keyboard input methods being different from machine to machine, having xms when you need ems and other joys. And then there's CGA games, where everyone things they look like ass cause no one uses CGA composite mode. These games were meant to be played on TV-like displays.
Hey a 90s pc game post, and I didn't even mention goldbox games! Yay me!
...aww damnit
For 90s games? Most of them would be fine in dosbox, but actual hardware is pretty easy to get for it too. It's just a few things like glide you'd need to worry about. If you go the dosbox route, a new system can use HDMI out + gamepad via somehting like joy2key, giving you access to the console experience with PC games. Metal and Lace 2 on a big screen TV is awesome.
It's 80s stuff that normally gives me fits, with the error 200 bug, games running too fast if you have turbo button, keyboard input methods being different from machine to machine, having xms when you need ems and other joys. And then there's CGA games, where everyone things they look like ass cause no one uses CGA composite mode. These games were meant to be played on TV-like displays.
Hey a 90s pc game post, and I didn't even mention goldbox games! Yay me!
...aww damnit
+1 for the joy2key program. I think a lot of emulators that don't support 3rd party adapters for official controllers benefit that program the most since most emulators support keyboard layouts.
As for games running too fast on old PCs, I think that's what the turbo is for-- it's not meant to run games fast, just slow them down a bit. Pretty much the opposite of what the word "turbo" means. lol
Different games will require different things. For some, Dosbox will be perfect. For others, you will need to run a virtual machine. For others, sometimes even the compatibility mode in current OS actually works out great. There isn't really one perfect solution for everything, but I have a lot of old games and through various methods, I have been able to get most of them to work.
There are frontend programs that make dosbox even easier to use, and all sorts of other miscellaneous tools for this sort of thing.
It's funny you bring this up, because I've been cleaning up legacy files on my computer lately, and in the process I've come across a lot of old games and simply HAD to fire them up again!
Micro ATX Socket 7
AMD K6-2 400MHz
156MB SDRAM (three modules)
CD drive and FDD drive
ATi Rage II+ (DVD Graphics version)
3dfx Voodoo Graphics (Diamond Multimedia 3D version)
(one unused PCI slot)
Soundblaster-16 CT1740
Roland MT-32 (uses SB16 as an MPU-401)
Windows 98SE
I'm thinking of upgrading this PC with a K6-III+ 450MHz and a pair of Voodoo 2 cards in SLI.
I'm thinking of upgrading this PC with a K6-III+ 450MHz and a pair of Voodoo 2 cards in SLI.
Cutting edge.
Problem is you also need a pc for each era with common sound and graphic cards with sometimes the right version of dos or windows, and other things that were mainly used in each period so simple adjustments will get the games working. Not a must but can make things easier.
Unless you are a diehard pc retro gamer, I wouldn't put too much into the whole pc thing.
I compiled Win9x drivers for those two laptops here:
http://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=47591
http://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=47505&start=60#p492687
Unless you are a diehard pc retro gamer, I wouldn't put too much into the whole pc thing.
I'm sure they come in all flavors, but I'm probably more into retro PC gaming that your typical person, and the VAST majority of stuff that you'd really be interested in investing the time to play will play just fine via DOSBOX or some other form of emulation for older systems.
GOG has a pretty good line on having stuff preconfigured well in DOSBOX to save that hassle, as well, for the games that bitch about specific memory or processor requirements.
That type of setup won't do much for retro PC game collectors (rather than gamers), since they still need older systems to be able to use the discs, if they so choose. (and assuming they still work)
But unless you were into some pretty esoteric stuff as a kid, there are ways to play it on a modern PC where the only complaint might be monitor aspect ratio, which is probably the single easiest problem to fix, since 4:3 monitors are a dime-a-dozen.
For 90s games? Most of them would be fine in dosbox, but actual hardware is pretty easy to get for it too. It's just a few things like glide you'd need to worry about. If you go the dosbox route, a new system can use HDMI out + gamepad via somehting like joy2key, giving you access to the console experience with PC games. Metal and Lace 2 on a big screen TV is awesome.
Do you have some examples of some of the games you are wanting to play?
Different games will require different things. For some, Dosbox will be perfect. For others, you will need to run a virtual machine. For others, sometimes even the compatibility mode in current OS actually works out great. There isn't really one perfect solution for everything, but I have a lot of old games and through various methods, I have been able to get most of them to work.
There are frontend programs that make dosbox even easier to use, and all sorts of other miscellaneous tools for this sort of thing.
It's funny you bring this up, because I've been cleaning up legacy files on my computer lately, and in the process I've come across a lot of old games and simply HAD to fire them up again!
I've used DOSBox for a couple things like TIE-Fighter, Dark Forces, Full Throttle and the like (I love LucasArts games). The issues seem to be more with the mid/late 90s games.
Some examples of games:
POD (Tested in W98 VM, ran way too fast)
LEGO Island (Tested in W98 VM, crashes when the game launches)
Triple Play Baseball 2001 (Tested in W98 VM, crashes when the game launches)
Outlaws (Untested)
Star Wars: Jedi Knight (Untested)
Star Wars Episode I: Phantom Menace (Untested)
I'll have to look in to Joy2Key for some of the games I have!
Unless you are a diehard pc retro gamer, I wouldn't put too much into the whole pc thing.
I'm sure they come in all flavors, but I'm probably more into retro PC gaming that your typical person, and the VAST majority of stuff that you'd really be interested in investing the time to play will play just fine via DOSBOX or some other form of emulation for older systems.
GOG has a pretty good line on having stuff preconfigured well in DOSBOX to save that hassle, as well, for the games that bitch about specific memory or processor requirements.
That type of setup won't do much for retro PC game collectors (rather than gamers), since they still need older systems to be able to use the discs, if they so choose. (and assuming they still work)
But unless you were into some pretty esoteric stuff as a kid, there are ways to play it on a modern PC where the only complaint might be monitor aspect ratio, which is probably the single easiest problem to fix, since 4:3 monitors are a dime-a-dozen.
Thankfully GOG (and Steam) have been releasing a lot of the 90s LucasArts games I'm interested in, so I grabbed a couple of them like Shadows of the Empire and Star Wars Rebellion.
Personally, while I try to collect boxed copies of all the PC games I had as a kid (again, mostly LucasArts games), I don't have an issue with not playing directly from the original cd/floppy disk. I've been trying to rip the image so I can use those instead of having to put the discs through more wear and tear. Playing on an old PC certainly seems to enhance the experience though, just lke it does with the NES. My old Compaq is at my parents' house (along with my custom built pc from around 2000), but space is a bit of an issue at my new house.
Still, the lure is too strong. Even aside from games, I love the nostalgic feel of Windows 95... the sounds, the wallpaper, the tiny resolution and screensavers. I think I'm gonna have to try and set it up my old rig.
Star Wars: Jedi Knight (Untested)
The version of Jedi Knight that GOG is selling works just fine on modern hardware, so it's do-able somehow with the original discs.
I never owned it originally, since I was between system upgrades at the time, but picking it up on sale with GOG for $1-$2 seemed like a no-brainer.
(I mean, even if I still owned the discs for some of the classic games I used to have, I'd consider the on-sale prices at GOG just for the simplcity of having pre-configured, non-CD-reliant, versions of the games going forward)
Getting Dark Forces to run without a CD was enough of a hassle that paying $0.99 for it on sale made sense, since I'd never have to hassle with it again
Still, the lure is too strong. Even aside from games, I love the nostalgic feel of Windows 95... the sounds, the wallpaper, the tiny resolution and screensavers. I think I'm gonna have to try and set it up my old rig.
To each his own.
I don't recall any particular nostalgia for Win95 on my part. Getting stuff set up in Win 3.x as a kid was an amusement (sorting folders of icons/shortcuts on the desktop was sort of fetishized, for instance).
And collecting icon packs and individal images in the very early days of the internet (when you were downloading stuff at 24k AT BEST, so you shared files with friends on floppies).
But by the time Win95 was out, that was all out of fashion.
I remember my buddy and I spending days getting all kinds of wild stuff set up in DosShell, as a secondary "OS" so that we could more easily navigate our DOS games and load them faster without having to make boot disks to avoid the WIn 3.x overhead.
Still, the lure is too strong. Even aside from games, I love the nostalgic feel of Windows 95... the sounds, the wallpaper, the tiny resolution and screensavers. I think I'm gonna have to try and set it up my old rig.
To each his own.
I don't recall any particular nostalgia for Win95 on my part. Getting stuff set up in Win 3.x as a kid was an amusement (sorting folders of icons/shortcuts on the desktop was sort of fetishized, for instance).
And collecting icon packs and individal images in the very early days of the internet (when you were downloading stuff at 24k AT BEST, so you shared files with friends on floppies).
But by the time Win95 was out, that was all out of fashion.
I remember my buddy and I spending days getting all kinds of wild stuff set up in DosShell, as a secondary "OS" so that we could more easily navigate our DOS games and load them faster without having to make boot disks to avoid the WIn 3.x overhead.
There are tons of games that won't run on dosbox or modern pc systems. I remember having this struggle, can't recall specifics but quantum gate, inca come to mind.
Still, the lure is too strong. Even aside from games, I love the nostalgic feel of Windows 95... the sounds, the wallpaper, the tiny resolution and screensavers. I think I'm gonna have to try and set it up my old rig.
To each his own.
I don't recall any particular nostalgia for Win95 on my part. Getting stuff set up in Win 3.x as a kid was an amusement (sorting folders of icons/shortcuts on the desktop was sort of fetishized, for instance).
And collecting icon packs and individal images in the very early days of the internet (when you were downloading stuff at 24k AT BEST, so you shared files with friends on floppies).
But by the time Win95 was out, that was all out of fashion.
I remember my buddy and I spending days getting all kinds of wild stuff set up in DosShell, as a secondary "OS" so that we could more easily navigate our DOS games and load them faster without having to make boot disks to avoid the WIn 3.x overhead.
There are tons of games that won't run on dosbox or modern pc systems. I remember having this struggle, can't recall specifics but quantum gate, inca come to mind.
Quantum Gate I thought was a win 3x game, so dosbox wouldn't be the best option.
Also years ago dosbox didn't have good 32bit extension support, and I would bet inca uses it, so you might have been trying it back when support was bad. I know my dos VESA demos wouldn't run in dosbox when I tried them, been meaning to get a new version to see if they load again.
Still, the lure is too strong. Even aside from games, I love the nostalgic feel of Windows 95... the sounds, the wallpaper, the tiny resolution and screensavers. I think I'm gonna have to try and set it up my old rig.
To each his own.
I don't recall any particular nostalgia for Win95 on my part. Getting stuff set up in Win 3.x as a kid was an amusement (sorting folders of icons/shortcuts on the desktop was sort of fetishized, for instance).
And collecting icon packs and individal images in the very early days of the internet (when you were downloading stuff at 24k AT BEST, so you shared files with friends on floppies).
But by the time Win95 was out, that was all out of fashion.
I remember my buddy and I spending days getting all kinds of wild stuff set up in DosShell, as a secondary "OS" so that we could more easily navigate our DOS games and load them faster without having to make boot disks to avoid the WIn 3.x overhead.
There are tons of games that won't run on dosbox or modern pc systems. I remember having this struggle, can't recall specifics but quantum gate, inca come to mind.
While I'm sure there are lots of things that won't work, I have a hard time coming up with examples of stuff I'd want to play where I'd run into that issue.
Still, the lure is too strong. Even aside from games, I love the nostalgic feel of Windows 95... the sounds, the wallpaper, the tiny resolution and screensavers. I think I'm gonna have to try and set it up my old rig.
To each his own.
I don't recall any particular nostalgia for Win95 on my part. Getting stuff set up in Win 3.x as a kid was an amusement (sorting folders of icons/shortcuts on the desktop was sort of fetishized, for instance).
And collecting icon packs and individal images in the very early days of the internet (when you were downloading stuff at 24k AT BEST, so you shared files with friends on floppies).
But by the time Win95 was out, that was all out of fashion.
I remember my buddy and I spending days getting all kinds of wild stuff set up in DosShell, as a secondary "OS" so that we could more easily navigate our DOS games and load them faster without having to make boot disks to avoid the WIn 3.x overhead.
For me 95 was the system that really got me into computer games and computers in general. We had a computer prior to Windows 95, but it was an old text/command based computer from the 80s (can't remember what kind, probably an IBM). Going from that to FMV, vibrant colors and internet access was a huge turning point.
I've never actually used a Windows 3.x system before. I do miss all the old customization options you could do on Windows though.