Installing old PC games on Win10 x64

[Anonymous No.7989812]

Until recently I was always lucky with installing old PC games from the 1998 - 2002 era on modern Operating systems. (Win10 x64)

Now I have issues with some games (loaded via iso) and the setup simply won't load/display. Tried every combability mode with the setup.exe when opening the disc folder and nothing. (got most of it from myabandonware... yes, yes I know.

I have this issue with Drakan, Midtown Madness and Shadow Company.
With some games you can extract the files manually with tools like Universal extractor.
Even though older games almost never write to the registry it still leads to other annoying issues. (if the game has a config launcher like Drakan - it only opens on first start and then afterwards never ever)

Other games like Heavy Metal FAKK2 work like a charm even though it has some very exotic installer and other stuff going on.

Is there a way to fix old installer - like does it need some ancient Framework patch or something?

[Anonymous No.7990738]

Honestly I've had better luck with Linux and wine.

Alternatives include a virtual machine (not a lot of luck with VirtualBox) or an old laptop from eBay. There's other ways, I'm sure others know better

[Anonymous No.7990752]

>>7989812
If you have Win10, you're fucked. Get yourself Win7 on that same machine and switch to it when playing older. Better yet, get XP
And no, not virtual emulator or some other shit, but actual system installed on your hard drive.

Also, unless you are a /v/tard, there was absolutely not a single reason to "upgrade" to Win10.

[Anonymous No.7990778]

>>7990752
>there was absolutely not a single reason to "upgrade" to Win10
If I wanted my computer to be air gapped maybe.

[Anonymous No.7990783]

If you're having issues it's probably because the progam was made for 16-bit computing

[Anonymous No.7990790]

>>7990752
Compatibility wise, Win10 works better with more games than Win7. Also, using WinXP on a modern machine is beyond retarded. Frankly, you should just shut it.
>>7989812
Install in a VM and then transfer the files. You can also extract the registry entries but it's rarely needed.
Normally, Midtown Madness should work without hassle.

[Anonymous No.7990795]

Absolutely retarded post: >>7990790

[Anonymous No.7990868]

>>7989812
heh, had the same thing recently, something is blocking access to old setup.exes, for me it was nvidiacontainer (the process), if you also have this proces use services.exe and stop it or kill the process in the taskmanager. setup dhould then pop up within a few seconde s. if you dont have an nvidia gpu, open resource monitor and look for the setup exe you opened. richt click on it and then on analyze, it should say what process is blocking setup.exe

[Anonymous No.7990909]

>>7990783
I assumed as much. The thing is - some 16bit installer like the mentioned FAKK2 or Nocturne work without any problems.

And VMs are my last resort because it has been yonks since I was toying around with one and mostly with Linux distros. Starting from the beginning and finding proper iso of operating systems can be a pain in the arse even though it's mostly very straight forward and rather simple

I did some very basic research (search engine 1st page) and found out about NTVDM (direct legacy was always activated) but it is only available on 32bit OSes. You would have to go with OTVDM but it can break stuff permanently so I'm rather cautious.

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/enable-16-bit-application-support-windows-10/

>>7990868
Will try later and report back - sounds plausible since with a fresher Win10 install I remember it working. I assumed as much that some random previous installed software broke something

Thanks and I thought this thread would die a postless virgin

[Anonymous No.7990954]

>>7989812
PCGamingWiki is your friend

[Anonymous No.7990983]

>>7990868
>>7990909

Holy shit, it actually worked!

Thanks a bunch mate. I really didn't think 4channel would help me out in the year 2010 + 11

It was actually two programs blocking it - the mentioned nvidia container and some software I rather not disclose...

[Anonymous No.7990992]

>>7990954
While I'm aware of it and its usefulness it didn't help me with my specific issue since it was OS level and not really game related.

[Anonymous No.7991029]

>>7990983
Now off to the next problem, getting Drakan to actually run, goodluck hehe

[Anonymous No.7991063]

>>7991029
I actually got it to run with no real problems so far while using this patch. (AiO Unofficial Patch 377/447)

http://www.arokhslair.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3765&sid=b40909c0004e1019881d85a2b514a786

The other two community patches i.e. Drakan: 10th Anniversary and Drakan Community Patch by Mechanist are outdated and aren't developed/supported any further. Both had also some render issues and still suffer from plenty of random crashes.

The only two issues with the AiO Patch are rather minor.

1. The game doesn't really close and softlocks/freezes when you quit and you have to End Task via TaskManager. (but you need a multi monitor setup to fix it since the main screen is frozen)

2. The other is more annoying. While the game runs at 60fps the animation framerate is definitely lower (30fps probably) and it looks a bit like micro stutter when there is movement but only with moving objects. You could fix it by limiting the framerate to 30fps but then the whole game looks stuttery for some reason. (probably synchronisation issues you could fix with editing some values somewhere in some .ini... I need to do some further research)

Let's hope there will be a GOG re-release someday for ease of use.

[Anonymous No.7991074]

>>7991063
If GOG would ever re-release it, they would probably use the same existing community fixes. People still seem to think they themselves fix games, but this isn't true.

[Anonymous No.7991075]

>>7990983
no probs, but win 7 has better compability with games though, and those games doent use 16 bit installers, if they'd do Windows would point out you cant start it because of the sysyem being 64 bits, however, the few games that do use a 16 bit installer can easliy be installed by copying everything from the disc of the game/program your installing into a folder, and then looking for a generic 32 bits installer (pcgamingwiki has one, search for lego chess), put that in the folder and remove the other setup.exe you copied from the disc (if any) and then start the 32 bits installer or autorun

[Anonymous No.7991143]

Had drakan up and running a few months ago in win10, installed fine and I used that dgvodoo wrapper. It mostly looks but 3D sound of any kind is not working on win10 regurdless of what anyone else says. And some effects don't work right, like a lens flare effect on some of the dragons magic attacks.

I know this because I'm running it side by side with a winxp native machine with a sound blaster.

[Anonymous No.7991161]

>>7991143
Did you try the Anniversary patch >>7991063?

[Anonymous No.7991171]

>>7991161
Yes, I should say I tried every version available since so much bad info is out on these old games. DGvoodoo helps most of the issues but the few missing visual effects and no 3d audio are unfixable on win10.

I got into so many fights about EAX and other 3d audio formats working under win10. They flat out don't work, even if you can enable them in settings, it either doesn't change the sound or doesn't sound right when compared to running natively on WinXP

[Anonymous No.7991174]

>>7989812
>>7989812
>>7989812

Not shillareedooing, but for any and ALL questions related to 16 bit or even some 32 bit installers no longer working on modern operating systems go to PCGamingwiki.

They have guides, information, as well as workarounds for games that are virtually impossible to install vanilla. Also virtual machines, but I wouldn't use them unless its a last resort.

[Anonymous No.7991178]

>>7991171
https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Drakan:_Order_of_the_Flame

[Anonymous No.7991181]

>>7991171

Don't worry about dgvoodoo2 for a wrapper- the fan patch or community patch essentially adds directx9. EAX only works through Alchemy with a compatible Creative soundcard on windows 7 and above.

[Anonymous No.7991184]

>>7991181
Wrapper works better then the dx9 patch. Also, I'll fight you about alchemy on win10. Even with an creative sound card. It does not work, yes it let's you enable it but if you play the games side by side with on being on XP and the other Win10 with alchemy, the EAX features don't work.

[Anonymous No.7991285]

>>7991171
>>7991184
see this is the exact reason why stick around with Win 7

[Anonymous No.7991293]

>>7991285
I'm not sure how 7 fits into this at all, just run a dedicated winxp machine. I don't see the point of 7

[Anonymous No.7991490]

>>7991293
balance, most compability with older games + games that couldn't work on Win XP (anything 2007/8+)

[Anonymous No.7991491]

>>7991293
Everything works on it and it works on everything. Can't say that I wouldn't see any point in a dedicated xp machine but win 7 just fucking works and you don't have to deal with retro hardware with it.

[Anonymous No.7991506]

>>7990752
i needed windows 10 for a driver for my GPU

[Anonymous No.7991513]

>>7991184

I don't know what he's talking about. He's either trolling or an idiot. The directx wrapper is better and allows higher resolutions, creative alchemy works just fine.

[Anonymous No.7991521]

>>7990790
>Compatibility wise, Win10 works better with more games than Win7

[Anonymous No.7991524]

>>7991184

I used dgvoodoo 2 for games that ACTUALLY need a wrapper, like directdraw titles or anything pre directx8, typically their are a lot of conversion wrappers for dx8 to dx9. If a fan fix adds widescreen, high resolution and more compatibility and looks IDENTICAL or better than the original renderer than why would I use a wrapper?

[Anonymous No.7991526]

>>7991506
So you actually didn't need it, you retard zoomer. The GPU you bought is useful only for that handful of games fully depending on using DX12 and unable to run on 11 alone. And not a SINGLE one of those is worth playing.
It's kind of scary how any sort of user competence is degrading over the years, rather than improving or at least staying on half-decent level.

[Anonymous No.7991535]

>>7991184

I own a copy of Drakan and its 100% compatibly with alchemy, it just needs to be added manually. It works man. I've tested it on everything from XP with an X-fi card and Windows 7/10 with alchemy and the AE-5 plus.

[Anonymous No.7991542]

>>7991490

>balance
>words, words words

You have no idea what you're talking about. The only FEW reasons to hold onto an XP machine is for A. the real hardware audio and B. some games don't play well on more modern GPU's and even then you can usually use a directx or voodoo wrapper for them. Other things that are kind of advantageous would be full compatibility with 16-bit installers, which even some of those like in the case of the older Need For speed games, all have patches that allow them to bypass those installers for say any 64 bit based OS.

The handful of absolute nightmares of games that require specific hardware and windows 98 are probably not worth the time sink trying to get running (I should know- that's all I used to do with older machines till I got tired of constant compatibility issues).

[Anonymous No.7991546]

>>7991526
>doesn't even see the irony in his reply.

[Anonymous No.7991550]

>>7991546
>I-I was just pretending
No, you were still retarded. And now you are making yourself look even dumber

[Anonymous No.7991553]

>>7989812
Ah, Rynn, the alternative hottie to Lara Croft back in the day

[Anonymous No.7991720]

>>7991542
uuuh did you read my post correctly? I didn't say I use a XP machine, I was saying that imo 7 is the best is because a lot of games from XP era and 95/98 still work with it AND anything from Vista and later

>>7991524
I really don't understand what the fuck microsoft has done with DirectDraw, if you install the DirectX Web installer or have the Nvidia drivers installed for whatever reasons all DirectDraw games become black and white, and not every DirectDraw game can be fixed by things like Dgvoodoo or DXGL

[Anonymous No.7991995]

I know Windows Aero hardly does anything performance wise, but what about game compability? How many games are affected in working correctly or not starting up?

[Anonymous No.7992175]

>>7991524
Draken, the game I was talking about is pre dx9, hence the wrapper. The other anon was talking about a fan patch that added dx9 mode but it's buggy as hell.

[Anonymous No.7992181]

>>7991535
I'm so tired of having this argument with people like you. I agree you can get the menu to say it's on in win10 but when played it doesn't change any audio or what it does is not right. Please compare to native WinXP with hardware EAX and see for yourself.

[Anonymous No.7992414]

[Anonymous No.7992428]

>>7989812
Woah I remember her she was one of the cover models for PCAccelerator right? Man that was a great magazine!

[Anonymous No.7993312]

>>7990738
>Linux and wine.
Fpbp. If you have a linux box, 32-bit wine is the easiest way to run win9x games.

[Anonymous No.7993329]

>>7991075
Yea, I assumed as much. I remember trying to install Grim Fandango with Win7 x64 and it gave me an error message saying 16bit installer not supported or something like that. Like mentioned with FAKK2 - it didn't make sense and I assumed it must be something different.

Still, I can't get the Shadow Company: Left for dead setup running. There is no wiki or anything and the ones who got it to work say it's unstable as fuck so it's probably not worth it.

>>7991074
I'm aware that they use community patches where available or language packs are often donated (they thank the people in the patch notes). Of course they also use other things like DOSBOX etc. but to be fair, they also do some work of their own. It's game depended and basically all over the place. Sometimes even the former developer get back to work e.g. Bloodrayne series got a Terminal Cut update from the original Terminal Reality devs.

>>7992428
Yea, also on the German PC Action cover of 07/1999

https://www.kultmags.com/mags.php?folder=UEMtQWN0aW9uLzE5OTk=

Her name is Myrna Blankenstein (oy vey) and she was a small time model from San Fran

When there were no official models available they often used czech models from different model agencies. Some fine pieces... miss those days.

Here a huge archive of old German gaming magazines which are now defunct with former publisher giving permission to re-release them as free .pdf

https://www.kultmags.com/mags.php

[Anonymous No.7993331]

>>7993329
Still my fav. Cover. I remember the cashier looking at me strangely thinking it was some kind of porn mag.

[Anonymous No.7993495]

>>7993329
>>7989812
hey OP, do DirectDraw games work on your computer? Like Age of Empires 1 or 2 (not the HD edition)

[Anonymous No.7993497]

>>7989812
Bit late to the party because it looks like you already got it running OP, so you won't need this anymore: but perhaps for other people who might run into the same issue:

https://mega.nz/folder/CldGAahb#yn_8LkRHraywPgKJMp5pqA/folder/zgsXQIKA

Prepatched and preinstalled old games, you will not have the problem of 16bit incompatible setup programs (and other issues that may prevent you from playing on Win10/64bit).

Drakan in this case has the AiO patch installed and uses dgvoodoo2 instead of the d3dimm.dll that comes with the AiO patch (which doesn't work on every system). Dgvoodoo works better, but you'll see a watermark (that you can remove if you want).

[Anonymous No.7994385]

>>7993495
Almost flawlessly i.e. occasional flicker (you see your desktop in low res for a second) when you scroll. Changing res may fix it. Didn't bother to troubleshoot since it was so rare.

But I did only a test run for like half an hour. So I don't know if that's enough to say it works.

Important is that you have DirectPlay legacy support activated (need reboot)

See method 3

https://appuals.com/directdraw-error-when-playing-legacy-games-on-windows-10/

[Anonymous No.7994434]

>>7994385
weird, I've reinstalled Win 7 2 times now and for whatever reason the games still keep being in black and white (some wont even launch) while it did work a long time up until recently

[Anonymous No.7994746]

>>7989812
I wouldn't bother. Just get an ISO image of Windows 98SE and run it in virtualbox. You'll need drivers for maybe video or sound but the internet will show you the way.

[Anonymous No.7995825]

>>7994746
dumbo

[Anonymous No.7995887]

>>7994746
Don't give advice on something you have no experience with.