Windows XP Console

[LaplandDragon]

Hello, I'm new here.

Did you have a game growing up that you loved playing and it doesn't work with your current OS? It doesn't work with a virtual machine? (if you even know how to make a virtual machine)

If you said yes you're in the same boat I'm in.

The (fake) PC Master Race always says this to me "Ah just slap a Virtual Machine and you should be set" or "PCs are far more backwards compatible than consoles".

 

I'm not trying to start another war but there are two problems with the above statements.

 ---If a computer is "the ultimate backwards compatible machine" shouldn't it be able to run without VM? (I tried compatibility mode and the surface options)

 ---If I'm not Part of the PC Master race that can perform dark magic, is installing a VM a wise move?  (pain in the butt to fix if things go wrong for someone with little skill)

 

I was thinking is it possible that the PC Master race can learn something from the Console Clan?

Why not make a Windows XP "Console"?

Think about it; Updates won't be needed or a large graphics card. So it could be quite thin.

 

Some may be asking why not just buy an old PC? It will not be a small form factor not to mention the big power draw.

 

I started pondering why not take a laptop and convert it to a "Windows XP Machine"  I was wondering is it possible? I'd like to be able to put it under my TV.  What does Linus the Wizzard think? It would make for a cool and creative episode.

Most Importantly what do you guys think?

 

The games in question;

Lego Rock Raiders

Lego Island

Lionel Train Town

there are others but I can't get them off the top of my head. 

 

My system;

Ryzen 1600

Mini ITX Gigabyte AB350N- GAMING WIFI

EVGA GTX1050 Ti

Windows 10

[Enderman]

The really old game from my childhood worked perfectly fine on windows 10.

Obviously there are always going to be games that have problems running on newer OSes.

Just like there are console games that do not run on the latest console.

 

Point is, PC is far more backwards compatible than consoles. Nobody said it was perfect and backwards compatible with 100% of games.

[LaplandDragon]

3 minutes ago, vinyldash303 said:

Windows 7 laptops can be had for a few hundred bucks with an APU. Most stuff made for XP should work in 7. Totally do able if you plug it into the TV with HDMI. Wireless keyboard and mouse or Xbox 360 gamepad. Doable for sure. Could even get it on the internet for a media center.

 

Don't know why XP would be needed other than for the Lego Island games. I had Xtreme Stunts Lego Island and tried to get it running on 7 and it kept crashing.

I was thinking XP because my parents' PC runs Vista and it can't run it either.

[Guest]

40 minutes ago, LaplandDragon said:

It doesn't work with a virtual machine?

 

40 minutes ago, LaplandDragon said:

If I'm not Part of the PC Master race that can perform dark magic, is installing a VM a wise move? 

I just wanted to make sure, but are you sure your games are not work in a VM? There isn't much you could do that would make setting up a VM harmful.

[LaplandDragon]

2 minutes ago, Enderman said:

The really old game from my childhood worked perfectly fine on windows 10.

Obviously there are always going to be games that have problems running on newer OSes.

Just like there are console games that do not run on the latest console.

 

Point is, PC is far more backwards compatible than consoles. Nobody said it was perfect and backwards compatible with 100% of games.

Yes, it's true. Sorry, I'm just nocking the PCs around a bit   just the people I've met on other forums make it seem that way, unfortunately. 

[Cyracus]

There are a few games I've tried loading up that had some issues, most just needed little tweaks, one was diablo, graphics were all screwy, just needed a little techno voodoo to fix it... that was a while ago and the color issue was resolved, haven't tried playing anything that didn't work out of the box, or off the disc as it were, anytime recently... then there's places like gog who put work into getting old games patched to run on modern stuff... 

 

tl;dr you need more tech magics or you're doing it wrong 

[Enderman]

2 minutes ago, LaplandDragon said:

Yes, it's true. Sorry, I'm just nocking the PCs around a bit   just the people I've met on other forums make it seem that way, unfortunately. 

Well I just searched google for how to run those games you mentioned on windows 10 and found a bunch of people who had solutions and managed to get the games to run, so maybe you're just not spending enough time/effort into making them run?

 

Running super old games is obviously not going to be instant "click and play" easy.

[LaplandDragon]

2 minutes ago, tjcater said:

 

I just wanted to make sure, but are you sure your games are not work in a VM? There isn't much you could that would make setting up a VM harmful.

Well, the problem is I don't have the skill set to even install a VM. I've tried another time but can't remember if I hit a wall (it was a few years ago). Last time I tried to follow a video but I still messed up.

[mortino]

LEGO Island fix.

[TetraSky]

Setting up a VM is harmless to the computer, I recommend VMware Workstation Player for the ease of use, just set up an appropriate amount of RAM (2GB), enable VT-X/AMD-V(might need to enable this in the BIOS as well, unless it's enabled by default, it wasn't in my case) and a few other things and you're good to go, to install XP on it.

 

As far as some games goes, I have also run into games that just didn't run on OSes other than XP, from missing DLL files to updated system files that are simply no longer compatible with old games that required them.

100% of the time, a WinXP VM fixed this for me.

 

That said though, I haven't run into an issue like that for years(since the release of Win7), since I don't generally play around with old games nowadays. 

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, LaplandDragon said:

Well, the problem is I don't have the skill set to even install a VM. I've tried another time but can't remember if I hit a wall (it was a few years ago). Last time I tried to follow a video but I still messed up.

What hypervisor did you try and with what CPU?

[LaplandDragon]

3 minutes ago, Cyracus said:

There are a few games I've tried loading up that had some issues, most just needed little tweaks, one was diablo, graphics were all screwy, just needed a little techno voodoo to fix it... that was a while ago and the color issue was resolved, haven't tried playing anything that didn't work out of the box, or off the disc as it were, anytime recently... then there's places like gog who put work into getting old games patched to run on modern stuff... 

 

tl;dr you need more tech magics or you're doing it wrong 

Love the Profile Pic don't worry I won't be a Jerry.   I saw Gog everyone is waiting eagerly for Lego Rock Raiders to have it done.  Yes, I need more tech magics, I've had a ton of bad luck building my PC... 

[LaplandDragon]

9 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Well I just searched google for how to run those games you mentioned on windows 10 and found a bunch of people who had solutions and managed to get the games to run, so maybe you're just not spending enough time/effort into making them run?

 

Running super old games is obviously not going to be instant "click and play" easy.

yea you're prob right I need to try abit harder.  I think I get distracted on which method because there are many ways it can be done it seems. I also worry about making modifications to files because I don't want to break my PC or disk. I don't have the best of luck when it comes to PCs. So if I hit a grey area I stop just to be safe. 

[Donut417]

31 minutes ago, LaplandDragon said:

shouldn't it be able to run without VM

Its the limitation of 64 bit OS's. They cant run 16 bit software. So you need an older version of Windows to run a lot of older titles as a result. Or hope they are remastered. 

[Mira Yurizaki]

I have an XP VM on VirtualBox that emulates a GeForce 6800, and I confirmed it actually does by installing and playing a DirectX 9.0c game. So I don’t see a need to make an XP machine.

 

i should see what VirtualBox emulates on Windows 98. Probably a dinky S3 card.

[Donut417]

48 minutes ago, LaplandDragon said:

Lego Rock Raiders

Your taking me back to the time I call my youth. I used to love this game. My buddy had it and we had loads of fun. 

[LaplandDragon]

7 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Your taking me back to the time I call my youth. I used to love this game. My buddy had it and we had loads of fun. 

That was the most pivotal moment in my life when I realized I needed to use the priority menu. I was stuck for so long

 

[LaplandDragon]

39 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

Setting up a VM is harmless to the computer, I recommend VMware Workstation Player for the ease of use, just set up an appropriate amount of RAM (2GB), enable VT-X/AMD-V(might need to enable this in the BIOS as well, unless it's enabled by default, it wasn't in my case) and a few other things and you're good to go, to install XP on it.

 

As far as some games goes, I have also run into games that just didn't run on OSes other than XP, from missing DLL files to updated system files that are simply no longer compatible with old games that required them.

100% of the time, a WinXP VM fixed this for me.

 

That said though, I haven't run into an issue like that for years(since the release of Win7), since I don't generally play around with old games nowadays. 

That works? I don't get why they don't advertise this to gamers. I'll look into it thanks