How to start old games on 7. How to start an old game on a new computer. We use a virtual system

Sometimes old games do not work on modern computers, so you need to run them through dOSBox emulator, we will give a small instruction.

DOSBox: how to use it?

To run a game using DOSBox for Windows 7, 8, 10 or XP:

1. Download DOSBox for free for your operating system on the official website;
2. Install DOSBox. A shortcut will appear on the desktop;
3. Download the game if you haven't already;
4. Unpack the downloaded archive, you get a lot of files. Important: games under DOS are launched by files with the extension * .bat, * .exe, or * .com, in each game in different ways, run in turn, I advise you to start with a file whose name contains the name of the game, for example doom.exe;
5. Go to the game folder and drag the game launch file directly to the DOSBox shortcut on the Windows desktop. As shown in the picture.

All!!! The game started and runs without problems.

If suddenly the game does not start: check the setup.exe or install.com files - in DOS games the sound was configured manually, while sound cards were not compatible, you need to run one of these files, select a sound card, for example "sound blaster", and save the settings.

List of DOSBox system buttons:

ALT-ENTER - Switch dosbox to full screen

CTRL-F1 - Button remapping

CTRL-F5 - Take a screenshot

CTRL-F6 - Start / stop recording sound to wave file

CTRL-ALT-F5 - Start / Stop creating a video clip from the screen (capturing video and recording in avi)

CTRL-F9 - Close DosBox

CTRL-F10 - Grab / Release Mouse

CTRL-F11 - Slow Down Game Speed

CTRL-F12 - Increase Game Speed

Pressing ALT-F12 (Remove speed limit (turbo button)) accelerates the game to the limit. The acceleration goes on while the combination is pressed. It can be very useful for scrolling cutscenes, speeding up waiting, even if the game does not provide it. Unfortunately the combination is not very stable. The most common symptom with such acceleration is the disappearance of sound later on.

Old games on Windows 7. Moving to Windows 7 introduces many new features, but not a few problems. The first problem faced by a novice user is setting up the program.

Those who have previously worked with Windows XP find it much more difficult to adapt with the new interface and settings than those who immediately start working with the new system. But some time passes and those who used to work in the old system realize that everything is not as bad as it seemed at first. Even many old games run fine on Windows 7. For example, my favorite toy Lara Croft (Tomb Raider 1), which was installed in DOS, goes well. You just need to know how to do it. There is nothing complicated about it. Enough to enable compatibility mode.

How to run old games onWindows 7

I am sure that many have preserved old games that evoke nostalgia for the days when there was no such opportunity as playing online. But then, what were the times ...

I myself used to play all night long, despite the fact that in the morning I had to go to work.

My most favorite games were and are: Immortality, Tomb Raider (from the first to the fifth version), Alice Through the Looking Glass, The Seventh Guest, Gift, and many others no less interesting.

I still treasure over two hundred game discs with trepidation. And even now I sometimes do not deny myself the pleasure of playing. But if I sit down, then it's better not to touch me.

After such deviations from everyday life, I feel much better both mentally and physically.

In vain, many parents think that games are just games. Thanks to games, my daughter learned almost everything on a computer and became a programmer.

Previously, installing a toy alone sometimes required skills at the programmer's level. This was especially true for games written for DOS. Now I clicked on the installation file, or the button, and everything was installed and started in automatic mode.

I remember how we installed the game Seventh guest in Windows 98. That's where the puzzle was. Everything is in English, a bunch of files and nothing is clear what is going on. Then Windows XP came along, and some games just didn't install. Then we learned how to put two systems in parallel. One for old games - Millennium, and one for new Piggy.

For a long time we did not want to switch to new Vista and Windows 7 systems, but now you cannot install XP on a new computer, since it has been discontinued and there are no drivers for new hardware for it, but I want to play old games.

Now the seven has improved, and it is now possible to run old games and programs. We will now talk about how to do this.

How to run old games onWindows 7?

To do this, we need to enable Windows 7 compatibility mode.

Right-click on the shortcut of the program or game and select the entry from the drop-down list - Properties .

• In the window that opens, go to the tab Compatibility .

• Check the box next to the entry Run the program in compatibility mode with:
• Below in the drop-down list, select the version of Windows with which your program or game used to work normally;
• Below in Parameters you can customize:

1. Use 256 colors ... This mode is suitable for very old programs or games that were run under DOS or Windows 98.
2. Use a 640 x 480 screen resolution ... Also used for very early versions of operating systems.
3. Disable visual design ... Use this mode if you experience problems with menus or icons in windows.
4. Disable desktop composition ... This is a mode for turning off transparency and a number of visual effects. Enable it only if you have problems displaying the interface of games or programs.
5. Disable high resolution image scaling ... This mode is used in case of problems with disproportionate window sizes or incorrect display of fonts in the program.

Rights level used only if it is necessary for the program to run only under administrator rights. In order for the settings to take effect for all users of this computer, click Change settings for all users .

Progress does not stand still. But what if you want to run old versions of programs on a brand new computer with the latest version of the operating system. Let's say you love a game that you remember from the days of Windows 98.

In fact, you cannot use the same program endlessly. Technology is changing. Operating system designers have to choose between backward compatibility and the latest features. Competitive pressure makes them choose the latter in most cases.

Nevertheless, if the old version of the program was created for Windows 98, there is a great chance that it will work more or less tolerably under or even 8. But if the program was old back in 1998, or was created later, but the programmers took good care of its backward compatibility with earlier versions of Windows, then most modern computers will have problems.

If your attempt to install or run an older version of the program ends up with an error message, then it is very likely that you are trying to make a 16-bit application work in a 64-bit environment. This is impossible.

The first versions of Windows were 16-bit and only run 16-bit programs. With the advent of Windows 95, the transition to a 32-bit environment has been made. But both 16- and 32-bit programs could work in it. There are 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista, 7 and 8 (which one is installed on your computer depends on the type of processor). The 64-bit version of the operating system can run 32-bit and 64-bit programs, but not 16-bit ones.

Are you unsure if your computer is running 32-bit or 64-bit Windows? To find out, before starting old versions of programs in Windows 7, click on the Start button in the lower left corner of the desktop, and right-click on Computer. In the context menu, click on Properties. In Windows 8, click on Search, type "system", select Settings, then select System. In the window that opens, information about the installed system will appear, including its bit capacity.

On 32-bit Windows, you can safely run older versions of programs

For those working in the 64-bit world, the choice is limited

• If you have Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate, you can download free Windows XP Mode or Windows Virtual PC virtual machines. They will create a 32-bit "system on system".
• But if you have 64-bit Windows Vista, Windows 8, or Windows 7 Home installed on your computer, then this option is not for you. In this case, you can use the free VMWare Player virtual machine, but you will have to find the distribution kit of the old operating system and install it.
• To run a virtual machine under Windows 8 Pro or Ultimate, I recommend using the Hyper-V available here, but this does not negate the need to search for a distribution kit with an old version of the operating system.

On modern versions of operating systems, it is not always possible to run old programs and games. This is a big problem - there is a lot of quality software that is already outdated.

At the same time, a large number of users simply do not want to switch to updated versions, explaining this by their habit of the old interface, functions and design. What should be done in this case?

You need to learn how to run old programs and games on Windows 8. This guide will help you with this.

Firstly, old programs and games were created for the versions of operating systems that were popular at that time, and were not designed for use at a later time. The code was written using technologies that were relevant at the time. Now it is outdated, or has undergone major changes.

Another reason is that Windows 8 does not include many of the elements that were used to make older programs work. For example, early versions of the Framework libraries.

But there are several ways how to run the old application on the latest versions of Windows.

Using virtual machines

Virtualization solves this problem. Let's take an example.

Let's say we need to run a program that only worked on Windows XP.

First, let's prepare a virtual machine.

Https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

You must have a Windows XP image - find and download a suitable ISO file on the net.

Install VurtualBox and create a virtual machine for Windows XP using the prepared system image.

Now all you have to do is install an old game or application on a virtual machine running Windows XP, and you can use it.

Windows 8 update

Problems with the launch of some programs and games can be solved by updating the Windows operating system. A prime example is installing old versions of the Framework libraries.

Activating Framework Libraries

Go to " Control Panel"Windows 8, find and go to the menu" Programs and Features". A window with a list of installed programs will open. In the left navigation menu, click on the" Turn Windows features on or off". In the window that appears, put a tick in front of the item" .NET Framework 3.5 ", then" OK ".

Windows Update

Software manufacturers that update their products release patches for Windows 8 that make older versions of their programs run. You only need to find the appropriate update and install it on your computer.

A striking example is the update, without which Market Place games will not start.

Using DOSBox

If you need to launch an application or game that was intended for use on the DOS operating system, you should use the DOSBox program. This is a full-fledged emulator, which is similar in principle to VirtualBox virtual machines, but is used only for DOS emulation.

In earlier versions of Windows, the security function and file access levels were not so well thought out. Most often, any user had all the necessary set of privileges and rights. In Windows 8, this issue was well worked out, and now most important system and user files require an extended set of rights to work correctly.

This also applies to old programs that you try to run on Windows 8. Without this privilege level, you will fail.

The run as administrator function will help to fix the problem - it allows you to launch the desired program or file with all the necessary level of rights in one click.

Find a file or shortcut to launch the desired program. Right-click on it and click "" in the context menu.

The operating system may ask an additional question, do you really want to run the file in this mode - agree.

This method often works, and allows you to run problematic old applications.

Compatibility Mode

This is the last method that we will look at in this article.

The Windows 8 operating system has a special mode for launching programs and games, which activates the basic settings and parameters necessary for the correct operation of outdated software versions. Using this mode fixes startup problems.

How do I activate it? Find a shortcut or file to launch the program. Call the context menu, then Properties, and the Compatibility tab.

In the "Compatibility" box, check the " Run the program in compatibility mode", and select the required operating system version from the list.

Then "Apply" and "OK". Then try to run the program.

Conclusion

The above methods allow you to fix most of the problems that arise when you try to run old programs and games on Windows 8. If none of the methods helped you, try contacting the developer. You can also ask your questions in our Vkontakte group.

Why look for information on other sites if everything is collected from us?

In this blog, I described in detail how with the help of additional software on a modern computer, you can run an old game / application using a 16-bit architecture. With the launch of such applications written under DOS, there are no problems, since there is DOSBox, and several other, less well-known emulators. But with 16-bit programs for Windows, you have to tinker ...

First there was DOS, and all its applications were 16-bit. In the 1990s, 32-operating systems were added to them, but 16-bit ones continued to be produced until the beginning of 2000. For users of systems of the Windows family, they did not cause problems, since up to XP, Windows worked fine with both 16 and and with 32-bit applications (except for programs written under DOS). In 2006, Windows Vista was released, which became the first OS in the family to be released in both 32-bit and a new, 64-bit version. All would be fine, but 16-bit applications on it were no longer launched. And if you can use the DOSBox emulator to run DOS programs, you can use the DOSBox emulator, but for later programs released already under Windows, there is simply no full-fledged emulator ... Well, of course, not at all, there are still several worthy samples that emulate the old versions of Windows from 95 to XP, but they run on Android OS.There is also an online service in which you can fully enjoy any old OS, of any family in your browser, but you cannot run the applications on your computer from it. ..

So what should you do if you have a modern 64-bit operating system on your computer, and suddenly you want to replay an old toy from the late 1990s?

To begin with, you should try to run it through the good old DOSBox, many programs of the late 1990s were still written under DOS, since Windows 95 \\ 98 calmly coped with running DOS programs, and some had 2 executable files each, under DOS and under Windows. But this is not the case with all programs, and, in this case, Windows will show us a message that it cannot start the application, since it is 16-bit, and DOSBox will display a message that it cannot start programs for Windows ...

Since there is no direct way to run such programs in modern OS, just as there is no way to run them through any emulator (at least, there is not a single known emulator, maybe a Chinese programmer is sitting now and writing to us an emulator of the 95th Windows) , you have to take the long way. To do this, you will need as many as 4 programs: a virtual machine (for us it will be VirtualBox), a program for working with disk images (we will use Daemon Tools), a build of some old OS (will be Windows 98) and, in fact, the program itself that we want to run (For example, the game book "Dungeons of the Black Castle" will be used). Of course, you can use any other similar toolkit. All links to the programs used will be written in the comments.

To begin with, download the listed programs (links in the comments). Then we install VirtualBox and Daemon Tools (of course, if you already have any of this or similar on your computer, you don't need to install them again). When the installation is complete, open VirtualBox, and we see this window:

The next step is to create a virtual machine. To do this, press the "Create" button. In the window that opens, enter the name of the machine and select the OS version (we will have it Windows 98). Click further. A window for selecting RAM opens, by default it is 64 MB, but it is better to increase it, I chose 1 GB (you can install more, but the main thing is not to install more than half of what is installed in your computer and not to install more than 4GB, since 32-bit systems cannot use anymore). Then we are offered to create a virtual disk or select an existing one, choose to create a new one, in the disk type select VHD (Virtual Hard Disc), set the disk size to any, but not less than the recommended one, it is better to choose a dynamic type, since in this case it will be more rational to use a real disk space. Click "Create", and go to the next step.

Click the "Configure" button. VirtualBox can give you some thought. Go to the "System" tab, look for the "Boot order" there, select the "Optical disk" and use the arrow buttons located to the right, move it to the very top. You can uncheck the box "Floppy disk", as we do not need it. Everything should look like this:

"Empty" is written next to the CD icon. To fix this, press not the button circled on the screen with a red circle and press "Select an optical disk image". Select the previously downloaded image of the old OS distributor. Click OK. We pass to the next stage of our quest.

Press the big green "Run" button and be patient. If everything is done correctly, the installation will begin. Following the instructions of the installer, you need to finish the job. Installation speed depends on how much RAM you have allocated. With a dedicated gigabyte, it took 15-20 minutes, but with 128 MB, an hour and a half. If the window closes with an error during OS installation, start the machine over. If the error persists at the same installation location and with the same message, find another image and try with it.

When everything is installed, close the virtual machine (you need to do this through the "Start" button), and proceed to the next step. Again, go to the "Settings" tab and in System-\u003e Boot order, move the hard drive to the very top. Click OK.

In the main window of the program you can see the item "Media"

Click on the name of the disk you created (highlighted in blue on the screen) and click "Select disk image". "Explorer" will open with a folder containing the image with the installed OS. Click on the image twice, the image will be mounted (if you have not installed Daemon Tools or another disk emulator before, do it). Open the mounted disk (Windows will take it for a "flash drive") and copy the installer of the program you need to run. Close the disc. Now launch Daemon Tools, hover over the drive you mounted (I have this drive H) and click on the red cross. This action will unmount the drive.

Then restart the Virtual Machine and install the program that you just added to the disk image in it. Start and that's it! You can play \\ use the program!

If the screen of the emulated system seems too small for you, you can increase it in the settings of VirtualBox "a (and this can be done without interrupting the emulation). Go to settings-\u003e screen and set the scaling parameter to a value suitable for you."

This method of running old programs is suitable not only for Windows, but also for MacOS and Linux, you just need to download the version of VirtualBOX for your OS and a suitable disk emulator, or a program for working with images.