Sites specifically aimed at older gaming PCs?

[javic]

My Win7 PC, which I use largely for gaming, is getting long in the tooth (as is my even older Win98 PC which runs games that won't even install under Win7). Does anyone know of web sites that offer discussions and help (like this site does) but specifically for older hardware and software and maybe (but not necessarily) for older games? I know I've stumbled across one or two such sites in the past, but my system wasn't yet "old" so I didn't make note of the URLs.

 

[wither 2]

Seems to me, you would be better off asking for help with a specific game in Win 7. A lot of problems are fixed by installing software in a compatibility mode suitable for them. However, I don't think there's a compatibility mode for Win 98 in Win 7, if that's an issue.

 

[file3456]

So, I'm not going to be one of those idiots of the Internet idiosyncrasy that say on all the tech forums out there, "Google it" when you may have already "Googled it" or used your go-to search engine of choice. On the other hand, and just in case, you may be interested in what the search terms "16 bit gaming support forums" have to offer. 16 bit gaming support forums - Google Search

In addition to that, and if you or someone else is interested, I discovered the following software recently that looks promising. The first is called CheatBook Database. For PC I imagine you'd select the DVD database option. If you use emulators then this could be quite valuable indeed.

The next is simply called Windows 95 which it is, but runs in a portable, non installation environment. In simple terms this is called a virtual machine. Apparently, you can even play games in it that were able to run in Windows 95 (16 bit). The use of the virtual floppy drive will have to be used for software installation and you will need to know how to create image (IMG) files from old games. The author's Github page will have more information and if you discover an issue can open an issue there. But please do your research before doing that. If you have something called a Raspberry Pi (a small computer using an ARM branded CPU), the ARM64 build of Windows 95 at Github will run on it. And speaking of the Raspberry Pi, you may also be interested in RetroPie.

The CheatBook Database website: Cheatbook - Cheat Codes, Cheats, Trainer, Database, Hints

Note, I have yet to try these two programs, so your mileage may vary.


= off topic =


I have very fond memories of gaming my actual rear end off to nowhere land with bottle of Jack Daniels in hand. LOL! Especially with Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City. I played the others as well and currently do play version V every once in a while (sans the Jack). But of all the games I played back then, none other came close to the fun and sheer nostalgia of being a government agent in Nintendo 64's Goldeneye and latter Perfect Dark. I still to this day play these two games from time to time and I often thought the storyline of Perfect Dark (a futuristic timeline of awesomeness) could be made into a movie (providing the director, producer and cast were chosen right and approved by a studio willing to flip the bill). I thought the N64 Perfect Dark character Jonathan Steinberg could have been played by the young William H. Macy. LOL!

 

[javic]

Thanks for the replies! Yes, I tried searching before coming here but so far found only sites that sell or otherwise serve up old games and PC hardware. For example, "retro gaming PC support" returns mostly stuff about building a retro rig, or sites selling old parts. So far I haven't come up with the "golden search term" that returns what I'm after.

It's pretty easy to find posts and articles about specific games (I usually start at PCGamingWiki) but that's not what I need. I'd like to find a place to discuss and ask questions about older OS, hardware, drivers, and stuff like that, the things I'm currently using on my "retro" gaming PCs, and sometimes Q's about specific games but w.r.t. older OS/hardware/drivers. (And Win7 is itself an "older" piece of software now. ) For example, I currently have an issue with my SoundBlaster card and ALchemy when running TES IV Oblivion. But Creative's forum is defunct (and the Wayback Machine didn't archive it), and posts to various Oblivion forums haven't yielded useful advice, partly I think because not many folks run Oblivion on Win7 with a SoundBlaster card any more. Similarly, with Win7 being EOL this forum (which I used with great success for many years) doesn't seem the right place for this sort of thing either.

I figure there's got to be a site out there for old fogey's like me playing old games on old software running on old hardware. I just gotta find 'em.

 

[YmodemYNot]

The next is simply called Windows 95 which it is, but runs in a portable, non installation environment. In simple terms this is called a virtual machine. Apparently, you can even play games in it that were able to run in Windows 95 (16 bit). The use of the virtual floppy drive will have to be used for software installation and you will need to know how to create image (IMG) files from old games. The author's Github page will have more information and if you discover an issue can open an issue there. But please do your research before doing that.

Looks interesting.

I don't think it would be suitable for gaming since it only emulates SVGA and no networking.

It comes with a few DOS games Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, A10 Tank Killer but I couldn't get any of them to run. The author cautions to temper your expectations and suggest virtualization if you want something more. It's probably more suited to 2D Windows 95 games and apps. Still, I like the concept of a portable Windows 95 environment that runs entirely in javascript according to the author's Github. Will keep an eye on this one.

 

[file3456]

Yeah, it runs in Electron. Electron (software framework) - Wikipedia

If you know HTML, JavaScript and CSS, you can build some interesting stuff.


Electron Apps | Electron


I should note here that I also mentioned the Raspberry Pi for classic gaming. You can also do this with an awesome device called an Nvidia Shield (may be massive overkill).



= off topic =

Tidbit # 302
The Nvidia Shield Pro allows a Plex server, but if you want IPTV M3U capability, Plex won't work with that anymore. The free and open source JellyFin will. Also, check out Kodi...

Anywho. LOL!

- - - Updated - - -

Live TV | Documentation - Jellyfin Project

GitHub - iptv-org/awesome-iptv: A curated list of resources related to IPTV

VOD: Video ON Demand.

IPTV: Internet Protocol Television.

 

[townsbg]

You might try steam forums. Steam Community :: Discussions I have gotten a few old games through there and they came packaged with dosbox. Perhaps they can help you do the same thing. The games I got play for the most part on my Vista 32 bit VM however 7 64 bit stopped supporting 16 bit applications. I am not sure if there is a direct work around other than running a virtual machine. Maybe they can help you.

Seems to me, you would be better off asking for help with a specific game in Win 7. A lot of problems are fixed by installing software in a compatibility mode suitable for them. However, I don't think there's a compatibility mode for Win 98 in Win 7, if that's an issue.

I am not running 7 now but on 8.1 compatibility mode goes back through 95, however i doubt that will work for a 16 bit app if that is indeed the issue.

 

[Bree]

Most 16-bit Dos games run well on a 64-bit Windows using DosBox, an x86 emulator.

DOSBox, an x86 emulator with DOS