Running old games in Windows 7.

the_krasno

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I'm not talking about DOSbox (which is a pain to figure out), but about games that were made with windows 95/98 in mind.
I was thinking about installing Virtual PC, but the 2007 version does not seem to run those OS. Is the 2004 version compatible with Win 7?
For those of you that are curious, I'm trying to play Heavy Gear, the Magic Carpet series, the Popolous series, AOE I and II and their respective expansions and Space Clash.
AOE kinda runs in Win 7 using compatibility mode, but the colors are messed up.
So please don't suggest using that feature because I already tried, I'm determined in running a virtual machine or an emulator. Any suggestions or advice, please?
 

isamuelson

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Can you make AOE run in a window as opposed to full screen? I've found that some older games definitely don't run well in full screen mode, but if I can make them run in a window (usually ALT-ENTER can switch between them), that fixes it.

Otherwise, you're best bet is to dual-boot into Win 95/98 or as Arrgush stated, install Virtual PC 2004 and install Windows 95/98/me in a virtual machine and try running the game in there. That usually works well for older games. It's the only way I can get Diablo I to work because under Windows 7, the colors are screwed up and washed out, probably just like what you're experiencing.

 

isamuelson

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What are your system specs (CPU, motherboard, memory, etc)?

BTW, you don't run Virtual PC 2004 in compatibility mode. Just install it and then install your OS inside of Virtual PC.


 

isamuelson

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If that doesn't work, then get VMWare Player or VirtualBox. They are better than VirtualPC and they both do accelerated 3d graphics. I know both will run Win95/98/Me because I've done it before.

VMWare Player: http://www.vmware.com/products/player/

VirtualBox: http://www.virtualbox.org/

 

the_krasno

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I got VPC 2007 to work. I'm downloading windows 98 SE because my original disc is scratched to hell (well, it's been like 12 years and I'm legally allowed to do this since I possess original serials).
Let's see what happens.

(My specs are C2D E8400 OC'd to 3.4 with EPU engine, Asus P5Q-E, 4GB RAM and 4870 toxic.)
 

jax_56

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Virtual box and I downloaded win 98 as well (I have original CD's don't stress)

Thankyou I have spent 4 hours trying to get heavy gear 1 to work before finally finding the answer!
 

AnimeGod

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Run pretty much any game you want on a computer with Win 7. Ok, here is how it is done.
You are correct about Virtual Machine. That is the best way to run older games that were designed before XP.

You will need a couple things to set up a VM. First, you will need the original Win 98 installation disk. Win 98SE is the best version if you can get your hands on it. (Win 7 comes already with a free XP compatibility mode that you can download from Microsoftand run programs under it so you do not have to set up a VM for XP. Note: If youi have a simple version of Win 7, there may be a fee to download as you will be basically doing a Win 7 upgrade) Additionally, there are other options for XP software such as a Slave drive with an XP OS which you can access under Win 7 that will allow you to run out of the slave drive without any real issue that I have come across. Does not work for 2000 or earlier. For Win 2000, you just set up a VM for 2000. Note: this takes up lots of HD space. So you better think about a 2 TB or better HD if you are thinking about doing this.

The second thing you will need from Microsoft is a program called Application Compatibility Toolkit Select the proper version for the VM. This is a Free item that you can get from Microsoft. Make sure you get those two programs directly from Microsoft and not from anyone else.

Once you set up the VM for Win 98 which will run all your 95 or older to Windows 3.1 , you then use the Application compatibility Toolkit to tweak, modify or mitigate items to deal with issues like Direct X or other headache problems that is done pretty much without any effort nor does it effect the win 7 or VM code. It is highly Technical as to the information it gives but it is designed to be used in a way that you do not have to do much more than click fix. It will also allow you to try several types of fixes without having to go through all those pain in the butt items that are always a nightmare. If you find a fix that seems to work well, you can save it in the data base to apply to other similar games.