does anyone still run Windows 95?

Diosoth · 22 Jul 2013

This is a curiosity of mine- is it still worth owning a PC that runs Windows 95/DOS? Are modern OSes like XP and 7, coupled with DOSbox and source ports of old games enough to totally render an older OS like 95 or 98 obsolete?

I tooled with the idea- I dont' have room for another PC, I already have 2 of them, one with 7 and one with XP, but a laptop with 95 loaded on it... but beyond just whether or not it's even worth it, there's also the issue of hardware. Neat as it'd be to install on a modern SATA drive, I'd bet finding 95 drivers for newer hardware would be next to impossible. Running on SATA especially? Would an older IDE computer be needed for that? I know 95 isn't going to detect full capacity on even an 80 GB HDD, which is the lowest you can even buy now. I dread to think how it'd play with modern DVD drives or newer processors especially. Buying older hardware from the 90s is probably a sea of issues- finding working hard drives, making sure those old components aren't going bad, etc.

Neat as it'd be to have an old OS like that on hand, I have my doubts that it'd be functional for software or viable for hardware to own such a PC.

LMiller7 · 22 Jul 2013

Installing even XP on modern hardware is a challenge which may prove futile. The problem with Windows 9x is much more serious. The lack of drivers is a serious problem and there are others as well. The only practical way to run Windows 9x on modern hardware is on a virtual machine.

Application developers gave up on Windows 9x years ago so you will find very little modern software that will run on it. Other than compatibility with old software that will not run on a modern OS there are no practical uses for Windows 9x. Some people keep it as a novelty.

strollin · 22 Jul 2013

Yeah, I have a VM of Win 95 that I keep mostly as a novelty. I also have VMs of DOS 6.2, Win 98, Win Me, etc...

Diosoth · 23 Jul 2013

I figured as much. It can be run under DOSbox but it's so lacking in features that way it's pointless. Even with an old PC on hand you're still limited to using it online- use a dial-up modem or get lucky and find an Ethernet card that supports the OS. Despite doign that you're still stuck with an ancient web browser that won't handle most modern websites. I dread to think of the lack of antivirus support too.

Then again, are there any Windows 95 games that won't run in XP? I can run Simcity and Simcity 2000, both made for 95, just fine in XP. DOSbox should handle most DOS games. I don't know how many games were really made for 95- a lot of the major games, Duke 3D, Quake, etc were really DOS titles.