[HOW-To] Running old games on the new hardware

If standard ways of launching the game do not work, here is some advice:

• DOS games should be unpacked into the root directory of your C: drive. Multiple sub-folders are not advisable. The folder name should consist of latin letters only, it should be no more than 8 letters long, and contain no spaces. E.g.: 'C:\Mario';
• After unpacking the game check and clear if necessary the 'read-only' attribute from the game files and folders;
• Windows games might have a file with the "reg" extension in the main folder. Right-click the file, click "Edit" and find all path-like lines in the file (e.g. "C:\\GAMES"). Edit the paths to match the real location of the game. Note that each slash symbol must be typed twice. After all the neccessary edits close, save and then launch the file.
• DOS games should be lauched with a PIF-file, if one is present. Open the file's settings and check the Memory tab - all attributes there should be maximised. Do the same for every executable file.
• If you are unable to save the game's progress, check the game's folder and try creating the SAVE or SAVES folder, if they are missing.

Useful programs:

• VDMSound
• DOSBox (you can also use D-Fend, the front-end for DOSBox)
• VMWare
• VirtualPC
• Virtual Box
• Parallels Workstation
• ScummVM
• Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit

If nothing of the above works:

• Try setting compatibility with all Windows versions
• Disable Hyper Threading (if you have dual core processor). To do it, press Ctrl+Alt+Del after running the game, find its process in Task Manager ('Processes' tab), right-click it and choose 'Set affinity'. Uncheck CPU1
• Some problems can be solved by disabling hardware acceleration in DirectX
• Install Service Pack 2 for Windows XP and this update.
• Install DirectX 5/6/7/8
• Use GlideWrappers
• Use boot diskette to run the game from clean DOS
• Install latest patches (www.dlh.net, www.patches-scrolls.de)
• If you need *.dll files - download them from www.dll-files.com
• If the game is running very slow or overloads CPU - this program can help
• You can download PC Game Compatibility List from here (attached to the first post)

If the game is running too fast:

• Download CPUKiller or MOSLO from our 'Files' section
• If you have dual core processor and above programs don't work - disable Hyper Threading (press Ctrl+Alt+Del after running the game, find its process in Task Manager ('Processes' tab), right-click it and choose 'Set affinity'. Uncheck CPU1)
• The following trick helps sometimes: press Ctrl+Alt+Del after running the game, find it's process in Task Manager ('Processes' tab), right-click it and choose 'Priority'. Choose 'Below average'

by Каинхару, translation by Timur

 

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