How to...?

[Extreme112]

Is it possible to run old games that were supposed to be on say.. Win 2000 and run it on Vista?

 

[overlord20]

Short answer, yes BUT it depends on the game. Most I believe will, but there are some that won't.

 

[Extreme112]

I did sOme searching and saw that you can right click the setup file and set it to run a compatability mode. Will that allow every program to run on current OS?

 

[Lexluethar]

yes, you can. You have to run in compatibility mode like extreme said. Not all games will work in compatibility mode though.

Another option if it is a really old game is to run a virtual machine and install the game on that. Downside to that is lag associated with it, but if we are talking about a game like Organ Trail it really wouldn't matter.

 

[overlord20]

So Extreme112, Like I said, It depends on the game. Most should run in compatibility mode but there are some that won't. And if you really really want to play the game, then you have the option Lexluethar mentioned, which is to install the game on a virtual machine running the OS needed (in the case of your question, Windows 2000).

We might be able to give you more help if you mention the game or games you want to play.

 

[Extreme112]

What's a Virtual Machine? Most games I want to play are XP OS and up

 

[Lexluethar]

Well most games that run in XP will run in Vista.

Virtual machine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[overlord20]

Well, what about the ones that are run on windows 2000?

 

[Kasey]

Yeah if the games don't work get Windows 2000 somewhere and download and use Virtual-Box.
VirtualBox

 

[synergy]

I wouldn't recommend running games in a VM. First of all, any free VM program will install a virtual video adapter and it won't handle even the low end games. Secondly, you are partitioning part of your system to the VM and, as Lexluther said, there will be lag associated with the communication of the host and guest OS.

I would recommend running it in compatibility mode and if that doesn't work then install XP/2000...whatever to a separate hard drive.