If you are into newer games than just plain DOS and your computer is powerful enough, you may prefer to install Windows 9X instead. Releases of Windows until Windows 98SE provide some Windows compatibility (16 and 32 bit programs only) while still being able to run DOS applications.
The process is not that different from what we've seen so far... basically:
1) Choose a Pentium or better CPU and healthy RAM (64 Mb. or more) and harddrive (500 Mb. or more) sizes.
2) Pick a SVGA video card plus 3Dfx graphics.
3) When you first start the new machine, you need to mount three different units:
- A CD-ROM drive or a CD image of Windows 9X.
Windows 98SE is recommended, because it was the last of the 9X family, but even 95 will do.
- Your harddrive.
- An startup disk with CD-ROM support.
You can get one for almost every OS here.
4) Enter the BIOS and find the option to boot from A: , your startup disk.
Then re-start the machine and, when prompted, say you want CD-ROM support.
5) The install procedure for Windows 9X is fairly simple. Just follow the on-screen instructions and restart the computer when asked to. If anything, remove the startup disk before.
If you prefer a step by step guide,
check out wikiHow, who also provided for the above screenshot.
6) You'll end up with a mostly working Windows 9X desktop.
7) But you'll still need to tweak a few things, such as...
- Update you video graphics drivers to the latest Windows 9X version. Google is your friend if you don't know where to get them.
After you're done, put your desktop in 640x480 resolution with 256 colors. That's the most usual for games.
- If Windows 9X isn't playing any sound, also update the drivers for your sound card.
- Install DirectX. This shouldn't be a problem, because most CD-ROM games from the era include a copy.
- Install the 3Dfx drivers. You'll need the
vg-w9x-q3.exe file. Other versions may not work with all games.
To install the new drivers, go to the
Control Panel, then
Add New Hardware. Navigate the assistant and finally use the options to use your own drivers disk and then enter the correct path.
- Finally, you may find
WinZip useful.
WinZip is a compressed file manager for Windows 9X and supports most common formats.
With all this done, it's time to copy / install some games to your setup and start playing.
Motorhead running under 3Dfx mode.
PC Real Madrid 2000 on the other hand is a bit jerky.