You can basically create the same thing with VirtualBox, but you'll need a Windows XP license. Unlike Windows 7, Windows 10 does not have a 'Windows XP mode,' which was a virtual machine with an XP license. You can also try something like VirtualBox, a program that lets you build a virtual machine on your computer to run 16-bit applications in a window on your desktop-another emulator, in essence. There's no legal gray area around emulation.

You can find instructions on how to play a game via DOSBox here. DOSBox is a stand-alone DOS emulator that supports hundreds of older games. If you still have your old game discs lying around-and an optical drive-and want to install your games the old-fashioned way, take a look at something called DOSBox.

Source (Image credit: Howtogeek) But what if I want to install from a CD? (In the USA, copyright usually expires after 70 years from the date of publication.) It is up to the developer/publisher whether or not they want to pursue a copyright violation. However (and this is a big however), you do use these sites at your own risk while abandonware games are no longer supported by either the developer or publisher, many are still technically under copyright, since copyrighted works that have been abandoned by their creators do not automatically become public property.

There are also abandonware sites where you can search for and download older games for free that have already been modified to be compatible with Windows 10. A few games they have made compatible with newer operating systems are Eye of the Beholder and Beneath a Steel Sky. GOG has also made it its mission to track down older games and make them available for purchase again, too. Sure, you're technically purchasing a second copy of the game if you previously owned (or still own) it on CD, but you're paying for the convenience of not downloading extra software or messing with Windows settings at that point. Duke Nukem 3D and Vampire: The Masquerade-Bloodlines are two such games that have been re-released on the digital store front over the last several years. Some developers will release remastered versions of older games to be compatible with modern operations systems. There are several third-party software solutions that are great workarounds, and a few Windows settings that you can turn off (although I would not necessarily recommend).įirst, check Steam to see if it happens to have the game you want to play. (Image credit: Future) But what if compatibility mode doesn't work?

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