Old Games On XP

[DaveTheRave55]

How Can You Play Win 95/98 Games On Win XP

[noodles]

I don't get what you're asking. Please be more specific.

[DaveTheRave55]

Ok I Saw Your Sticky Note About Playing Old Dos Games! And Thought That Might Work To Play 95/98 Games On WinXP?

[Iconoclast]

Should work. Should be able to play games designed for earlier versions of Windows on Windows XP. You tried it, right? I mean, all the Win98 games I run work just fine as if they were designed for WinXP, which I have.

[chaos master]

No. Some games, like Sonic R and Alpha Centauri (designed for earlier Windows versions) do not run on XP. I don't know why, though.

[Iconoclast]

Then you don't know that it's the operating system causing it to not function instead of something else about the PC you're using.

[pizzaman]

The most common problem, is that the game requires 256 colors to play, so you have to go to properties and change it. Other then that, it should work fine, not counting some odd exeptions.

[Iconoclast]

The most common problem, is that the game requires 256 colors to play, so you have to go to properties and change it. Other then that, it should work fine, not counting some odd exeptions.From my experience, software automatically adjusts your monitor display settings. Leaving it to you to manually have to set your monitor's color depth to 8 bit (256 colors) is just plain stupid. The program you run automatically should adjust your monitor resolution and bit color depth to the appropriate setting, so with 99 percent of the old software you run, it should do that automatically. Any exceptional 1 percent would be unoffical software published by people who don't know enough common sense on programming.

[pizzaman]

From my experience, software automatically adjusts your monitor display settings. Leaving it to you to manually have to set your monitor's color depth to 8 bit (256 colors) is just plain stupid. The program you run automatically should adjust your monitor resolution and bit color depth to the appropriate setting, so with 99 percent of the old software you run, it should do that automatically. Any exceptional 1 percent would be unoffical software published by people who don't know enough common sense on programming.
You don't have to edit your moniter's display. Did I say that? I think not! What you have to edit is how the program opens. Those games are old, and they were meant to play under 256 colors, so you have to tell the game to tell the computer to change the display temporaraly. :nono:

[Iconoclast]

Yes, you did.:nono: The most common problem, is that the game requires 256 colors to play, so you have to go to properties and change it. Other then that, it should work fine, not counting some odd exeptions.256 colors is a setting for your monitor display, and you just said, right there in red, that you have to change the shortcut properties of the associated executable to get Windows to change your monitor display so long as the program is running. That is, without doubt, changing your monitor display settings, whether temporarily or not. Why must you start arguments like this? It's just so simple: When I explain a problem with something you say, don't argue back about it, and we'll have no more problems about it!

[FERGUS_MANERGUS]

Duke Nukem 3D run PERFECT on XP

[pizzaman]

Yes, you did.:nono: 256 colors is a setting for your monitor display, and you just said, right there in red, that you have to change the shortcut properties of the associated executable to get Windows to change your monitor display so long as the program is running. That is, without doubt, changing your monitor display settings, whether temporarily or not. Why must you start arguments like this? It's just so simple: When I explain a problem with something you say, don't argue back about it, and we'll have no more problems about it!
Exactally. The EXE file of the game's properties. I never said anything about a moniter. Don't try to outsmart me at what I say, I know better, because I said it. ;)

IDK why you think that you're smarter then everybody. Fire Bird. Read this, I'll tell you, Iconoclast has changed in the past couple of months. He's become... a monster!

[DarthBrady]

How Can You Play Win 95/98 Games On Win XP

MY email gets flooded this this question.

I have tested around 300 Win 3.1/95/98 games. and done more reseach on this than you would ever believe, as old games are my passion.


there is only one TRUE solution:

run them on an old WInd 95/98 PC.

and if you are waiting for Vista, then tough sh*t, because it will be EVEN LESS backwards compatible than XP. Microsoft has already announed this.


EXPLANATION:

ALL WINDOWS VERSIONS SINCE 3.1 HAVE BEEN BUILT OFF OF A FATHER OR "PARENT" VERSION, MEANING THEY ARE REALLY NOTHING MORE THAN AN IMPROIVED VERSION OF AN OLD VERSION OF WINDOWS.

Windows (first version) - Parent of win3.1, win3.11, win 95.
Win95 - parent of Win98, and NT.
Win NT - parent of win2000
Win2000 - parent of Win XP

Window vista - has NO PARENT OPERATING SYSTEM.

This, without getting more complicated and typing for two days, is what causes old games not to function on versions of windows different than what it was designed for.

PC games should always be installed ONLY on the operating system it was originally designed for. Just beacuse it says "windows" in the name, doesnt mean its gonna work. get it?

[Iconoclast]

Exactally. The EXE file of the game's properties. I never said anything about a moniter. Don't try to outsmart me at what I say, I know better, because I said it. ;)

IDK why you think that you're smarter then everybody. Fire Bird. Read this, I'll tell you, Iconoclast has changed in the past couple of months. He's become... a monster!I think you're talking about yourself, there.

I don't think anybody understands you when you say that. However, you are right when you say I have changed.

Don't play dumb, pizzaman. Or for God's sake, I should hope you are merely pretending. When you open the program after setting the EXE to change your monitor to 256 colors, guess what it does? It changes your monitor to 256 colors! I don't even want to think about what kind of escaping argument you're going to have in your next reply: Changing your monitor to 256 colors, is changing your monitor display settings! 2 + 2 = 4? 4 = 4? Changing monitor display settings = Changing monitor display settings? Need I clarify any further?

[chaos master]

MY email gets flooded this this question.

I have tested around 300 Win 3.1/95/98 games. and done more reseach on this than you would ever believe, as old games are my passion.


there is only one TRUE solution:

run them on an old WInd 95/98 PC.

and if you are waiting for Vista, then tough sh*t, because it will be EVEN LESS backwards compatible than XP. Microsoft has already announed this.


EXPLANATION:

ALL WINDOWS VERSIONS SINCE 3.1 HAVE BEEN BUILT OFF OF A FATHER OR "PARENT" VERSION, MEANING THEY ARE REALLY NOTHING MORE THAN AN IMPROIVED VERSION OF AN OLD VERSION OF WINDOWS.

Windows (first version) - Parent of win3.1, win3.11, win 95.
Win95 - parent of Win98, and NT.
Win NT - parent of win2000
Win2000 - parent of Win XP

Window vista - has NO PARENT OPERATING SYSTEM.

This, without getting more complicated and typing for two days, is what causes old games not to function on versions of windows different than what it was designed for.

PC games should always be installed ONLY on the operating system it was originally designed for. Just beacuse it says "windows" in the name, doesnt mean its gonna work. get it?

Sooo...I was right!!
Go me!
Well, I lost access to some of my 98 games when I got XP....it stinks.

[pizzaman]

I've never encountered this problem with any of my games. Maybe I'm just lucky.
I have experience with this type of thing while running old games like some old "The Learning Company" games for my brother and sister.

[pizzaman]

It's probably just a big misunderstanding. We're better off letting it go.

Anyway, to stay on topic, why exactly is it that some of them run properly and some of them do not? Is it all in the design of them?
Well specifically, IDK. Like DarthBrady said, though.

Windows (first version) - Parent of win3.1, win3.11, win 95.
Win95 - parent of Win98, and NT.
Win NT - parent of win2000
Win2000 - parent of Win XP

Window vista - has NO PARENT OPERATING SYSTEM.

Because the operating systems change, so does the software that supports the games.

[DarthBrady]

I have experience with this type of thing while running old games like some old "The Learning Company" games for my brother and sister.

Oh, yeah, tested plenty of those, not gonna work correctly in XP, itf at all. ;)

[DarthBrady]

This thread has been cleaned up, 22 posts this time. To be fair, my posts concerning the matter were also deleted.;)