How to run an old game on a new computer

User question

Hello.

Do not tell me with one question: the fact is that my old computer broke down, and instead I bought a new laptop with Windows 10. This is how it works, but here are some old games that do not start (apparently you need Windows XP).

Is it possible to run an old game on a new laptop, and if so, how to do it?

Good day!

Eh, nostalgia is still a strong feeling, although I rarely play, I sometimes like to launch the games that I played ten years ago (see, feel that atmosphere, remember old friends and that time).

As for the question: as a rule, you can run an old game on a new PC, and you can play quite comfortably (though there are rare exceptions). There are several working methods, which I will give below in the article, I recommend trying them all ...

👉 Interesting note!

Why are games slowing down (even on a powerful computer)? Eliminate lags and brakes - //ocomp.info/pochemu-tormozyat-igryi.html

Ways to run old games

Method 1: console emulators

This is probably the first thing to start with ... Many users remember the days of consoles, which were once popular. We are talking about such popular consoles as: Dendy, Game Boy, GBAdvance, GBColor, Nintendo 64, Sega, SNintendo, etc.

👉 Note!

Dandy games that you can play on your computer - old hits for weak PCs (nostalgia) - //ocomp.info/igryi-dendi-dlya-kompyutera.html

The following prefixes were especially popular in our country:

Dendy: with her tanks, Mario, duck hunting, etc .;
Sega MD II: Mortal Kombat, Sonic, worms, etc.
Sony PS.

Popular console games: Duck Hunt, Tanks, Scrooge McDuck (from left to right)

To play such hits, you need to download two things to your computer:

an emulator program for a specific set-top box (for example, a Dendy emulator for Windows). In fact, this program will recreate the environment of the desired set-top box right in your Windows;
file-rumto open in the emulator (this is a kind of electronic cartridge). In principle, nothing complicated - look at the screenshot below from 4 actions: download the emulator and start it (1), open the file-rum (2-3) in it, then the game should start (4) ...

How to open Mario game for Dandy in FCE Ultra emulator

👉 More you can learn more about setting up the Dandy emulator from this article: //ocomp.info/emulyatoryi-dendi.html#i

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Where to download emulators and roms?

On specialized sites, there are hundreds of them on the Internet now: they have all kinds of games and various emulators (for example, one of the oldest sites on the network dedicated to emulation - //www.emu-land.net/ ).

Method 2: DOS games (Windows 95-2000)

👉 Update (10/17/2019).

How to play old games directly in the browser: Pac-Man, Prince of Persia, SimCity, Mario, Aladin, Mortal Kombat, DOOM, etc. - //ocomp.info/kak-igrat-v-staryie-igryi-skachat-no .html

As a rule, very old DOS games (or even a little newer, released in the days of Windows 98) most often refuse to run on modern operating systems. At the same time, a variety of errors take off, for example, that the version of the file is incompatible with the current version of the OS (example below).

The version of this file is incompatible with the version of Windows you are using

In this case, you can try to run the game in a special DOS emulator (now there are also many of these emulators, along with the console ones). One of the best programs of this kind, in my humble opinion, is DOSBox .

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DOSBox

Website: //www.dosbox.com/download.php?main=

An excellent emulator of the DOS environment that works in all modern Windows operating systems. Allows you to run old computer games and programs that refuse to work in new OS. DOSBox easily emulates the operation of 286/386 processors in real and protected modes.

Also recreates the work of file systems: XMS / EMS, Tandy / Hercules / CGA / EGA / VGA / VESA graphics and SoundBlaster / Gravis Ultra Sound sound card for better compatibility with older games.

And by the way, the program is completely free!

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To run the game in DOSBox, you must:

check for a shortcut on the desktop to launch DOSBox - appears after installing the application;
open the folder with your downloaded game (if the game is in the archive - extract all the files into a separate directory), find the file to run (has the "Exe" extension);
just hold down the left mouse button on the game file to start, and transfer it to the DOSBox shortcut (which is on the desktop). See screenshot below.

Running an old game in DOSBox

Thus, the desired game will open in the DOSBox emulator and can be played like any other (an example of an open old game is shown below on the screenshot).

The game has been launched

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Another option is to use a file manager: Far Manager, Norton Commander, Volcov Commander. They do not look very good, of course, especially for those who started their acquaintance with the computer not so long ago ...

Far Manager

Website: //www.farmanager.com/download.php?l=ru

The famous file commander, which allows you to manage a large number of files: copy, delete, transfer, create archives, etc. In some cases, it helps to run outdated software (including games) on a modern PC.

Working with the commander does not represent anything complicated: after launching, the screen will be divided into two parts: each will open a specific directory. Just open the drive you want, and then find the game folder and run the executable file.

Far Manager - the game directory is open

Note: by the way, if Windows does not show file extensions by default, then Far Manager will display not only extensions, but also all hidden files and directories. Therefore, be careful when working with this software ...

Method 3: Windows Compatibility Mode feature

Most older applications (and games with them) used to run as administrator by default. In modern Windows operating systems, this is not the case: applications are not launched from the administrator until you give permission to do it yourself.

For this:

open the directory with the desired game;
find the executable file (which has the extension "exe");
click on it with the right mouse button: in the context menu, select "Run as administrator".

Run as administrator

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In addition, Windows developers have also added some options that help improve the compatibility of older applications with newer operating systems.

To run the program in compatibility mode with another Windows OS, you must:

open the properties of the executable file (with the "exe" extension). If anyone does not know - just right-click on the file, select "Properties" from the menu ;
then open the "Compatibility" tab;
check the "Run the program in compatibility mode with such and such OS" - OS, by the way, select (see the screenshot below);
you can also set additional parameters: use 256 colors, set the screen resolution to 640x480, disable visual design, disable desktop composition, disable image scaling;
so that each time you do not run the program manually as an administrator, you can check the corresponding box (see the screen below - number 3).

Compatibility - properties of the executable

In many cases, these "check marks" help solve the problem - you can start playing old games by setting a couple of settings in this menu! In general, be sure to try ...

Method 4: using DxWnd (for Windows games)

To run old games (which came out to work under Windows), there is one wonderful program DxWnd .

DxWnd

Website: //sourceforge.net/projects/dxwnd/

A utility designed to facilitate the launch and operation of old games in new Windows operating systems. Allows:

run games in those resolutions that they do not currently support;
limit the number of FPS and reduce the game speed (to do this, enable the "Limit" option in the "FPS" settings and set the maximum FPS value);
remove ripples, stripes, etc. defects (arising from a long DirectDraw line);
solve the problem with flowers;
allows you to run the game with the desired version of DirectX (moreover, you can enable / disable certain modules in detail);
tie the game to one CPU core (very important on multi-core processors), and much more ...

I will consider below the simplest way of working with the utility. And so, first download, extract it from the archive (it does not need to be installed) and run it. After on the menu "Edit" select an option "Add" .

DXWnd - add a game

On the menu "Main" set the name of the game (can be anything) and specify the path to it (line "Path" ). Then click OK ( approx. : before the first launch, in most cases, it is not necessary to pre-configure something).

Settings

Next, in the DXWnd window, click on the icon of the added game to launch it.

Launch the game

Many relatively old games run in a Windows window without any problems and you can start enjoying your time right away.

In some cases, fine tuning is required: limit FPS, adjust the screen resolution, etc. But within the framework of this article it is impossible to give any comments (because for each game they will be individual) ...

The game starts in a small window

Method 5: virtual machines

Have you ever thought about running Windows 98 (say) right in the newfangled Windows 10 ?! And already in running Windows 98 - run games, software, etc.?

There are such programs (a kind of computer emulators) called virtual machines ... This is exactly what they allow you to do! There are actually a lot of virtual machines. For a beginner, I recommend paying attention toWindows Virtual PC, VMware, VirtualBox.

Because the topic of installing and configuring a virtual machine is quite extensive, I suggest you familiarize yourself with it in one of my articles (link below).

How to start old Windows on a new operating system: setting up a VirtualBox virtual machine - //ocomp.info/kak-zap-staruyu-windows-virtualbox.html

Examples are shown in the following screenshots.

Minesweeper // Launched by Windows XP in Windows 10

Doom 2 on Windows 10

There are a couple more ways:

1) Buy an inexpensive old laptop (the purchase will not take a lot of money, besides, the laptop is compact and will not take up much space (one shelf in the closet is enough)). You can put Windows 98 on it (say), and play all the old games in peace ...

👉 Help!

I want to buy a used laptop: how to check it and what to look for - //ocomp.info/pokupka-bu-noutbuka.html

2) Also, as an option, you can install a second, older, Windows OS on a new computer. True, in this case, you will have to tinker with the BIOS settings, with the installation of the system. Plus, you can overwrite the bootloader of a running OS (therefore, I did not include such an option in the main body of the article - but I gave a tip here ✌ ...).

That's all, thank you all for your attention.

Good luck!

👋

To be continued ...

Article edited on 01/30/2020

First publication: 02.10.2017