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old pc games on windows 10: what actually works?? ugh

compatibilityretrowindows16 replies 路 461 views 路 started
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  1. Ava
    @avaa371

    ugh. nostalgia trip gone wrong. Installing a classic strategy game from the original CD on Windows 10:

    the disc reads fine and i can see the files, but teh setup program wont run. is it the disc, the installer, or Windows?

    I'm comfortable with a bit of tinkering, but I'd rather not install sketchy software. if there's a clean way to do this, I'd love to know.

    id also love to know if anyone has played this game on a modern PC and how it went... did you need any patches?

    2
  2. Tomas
    @tomas_copper

    many very old installers are 16-bit programs, and 64-bit Windows can't run 16-bit code at all... the game itself is often 32-bit and runs fine; it's just the installer that's the problem. hope that helps :)

    0 0 helpful
  3. Milan
    @stackforge

    oh ive been there lol check if the game has been re-released on a digital store. Re-releaess are usually patched for modern Windows and are often the easiest route. good luck man!

    4 0 helpful
  4. Nadia K.
    @silicon_loop501

    ahh classic +1 same here worked for me anyway 馃し

    1 0 helpful
  5. Nadia K.
    @silicon_loop501

    oh ive been there lol u can sometimes open the installer or the discs data files with 7-Zip and copy the game files manually, skipping the old setup program. hope that helps :)

    3 2 helpful
  7. Freya Walsh
    @freyaw369
    in reply to @stackforge

    Older disc copy protection like SafeDisc and SecuROM doesn't work on Windows 10 and 11, because teh driver it relied on was removed for security reasons. If the game uses it, the original disc won't work even after install.

    0 0 helpful
  8. Oskar V.
    @shader_probe48

    is original even worth bothering with or should i just leave it ?

    1 2 helpful
  11. Priya
    @priya_binary
    in reply to @solid_sage

    btw how is this thread still going lmao. told my boss it would take 10 minutes. its been my entire lunch break

    10 2 helpful
  12. Freya Walsh
    @freyaw369

    @avaa371 thank u this worked!! cant believe it was that simple lol

    thumbsup

    2 0 helpful
  13. Tomas
    @tomas_copper

    ok weird one told my boss it would take 10 minutes. its been half teh night thx in advance!!

    cry

    1 0 helpful
  14. Freya Walsh
    @freyaw369

    oof a virtual machine with an older Windows version, or a project like winevdm (otvdm) that runs 16-bit programs on 64-bit Windows, can help with stubborn installers. hope that helps :)

    0 1 helpful
  15. Tomas
    @tomas_copper
    in reply to @freyaw369

    community fan patches and wrappers for old DirectX and resolution issues exist for many classics... search for the games name plus widescreen fix or compatibility. fingers crossed 馃

    12 0 helpful
  16. Priya
    @priya_binary

    btw how is this thread still going lmao :)

    0 2 helpful
  17. Ava
    @avaa371
    in reply to @tomas_copper

    @tomas_copper omg finally extracting teh files with 7-Zip worked, and a classic strategy game runs on Windows 10. Im sooo happy! u guys are the best!!!

    0 0 helpful

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