Windows 98 Emulation

[DjQuick2008]

This 1 might be a bit out there but id be interested to go back and play old PC games and download
encarta 98 to browse. I saw ISO files for encarta so it is possible. Id be running on windows 11.
Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

I use Retroarch Dosbox Pure. Basically just load the ISO of win 98 installation disc with the Dosbox pure core, install it on C (which will be a virtual drive contained in a zip file with the name of your ISO in the retroarch saves folder).

Encarta will be fine with the default settings, but in the core options you can emulate early 3D graphics card.

 

[prnzo x BOOZE-o ka-BEER-o]

I want to find this out too

after goin from DOS in the BBS days, to Win 3.11 sp 2, to Win95 briefly then '98 - Win98 was such a good, reliable, joy of an O/S. I also loved WinNT at work.

then WinME came out n aLL heLL broke loose xD

 

[DjQuick2008]

There are options on ebay of actual PCs with Win 98 pre installed specifically for gaming which i also wouldnt mind but ill see if my brain will let me have a go at what has been suggested above. Thank you.

 

[Gabrinius]

maybe installing the system in a virtual machine would work better

 

[Yugo_Prowers]

Well windows 98 games fell in to 3 categories
DOS Games: You can just use DOSBox to run.
32Bit: Windows 10/11 has built in compatibility for a lot of them.
For the stuff that Windows, and DOSBox does not cover there is usually a patch somewhere, you can check the "My Abandonware" site for games that are abandoned, and will tell you how to make them run on current computers.

But if you really want to emulate Windows 98: https://pcem-emulator.co.uk/

 

[Yugo_Prowers]

Also LTT did a video about it a while back:

 

[DjQuick2008]

maybe installing the system in a virtual machine would work better

Will look into it im pretty versed in installing console emulators now so a crack at windows would be good.

 

[mlastes1987]

86box is the upgrade of PCem, I have a 98 VM there and some games do work.

 

[Clippy]

I've been using 86Box for a while now. Virtual Machines are alright but they tend to have compatibility issues, especially with anything that requires hardware 3D acceleration. Dosbox forks are alright but they are primarily focused on DOS so Win9x is a bit of an afterthought. As such they tend to be slow, at least in my experience.

86Box and PCEm mentioned earlier are straight up emulators. They mimic the hardware of the day just like console emulators we know and love. Unfortunately they require a beefy PC if you want to get into, say, very late 90s/early 2000s gaming. As a point of reference, my 6th gen i5 clocked at 3.31GHz can emulate a 120MHz Pentium MMX. Anything more powerful than that and it starts choking. This should still be enough for most games released up to 1997 or so. Quite a few games and applications released later should still work, so long as they're not some cutting edge stuff.

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

Ackshually you reminded me to install it here on this laptop OP. Gonna play me some Phantasmagoria next. With savestates and a glorious CRT shader.

System is ArchLinux but it will be the same for any Retroarch out there, so I made some pretty pictures all along for youses.

Load Content > Load your ISO.

Use DOSBox Pure as opening core.

Use Retroarch "game focus" (default hotkey = SCROLL LOCK) so you can use the keyboard to input theproduct key)

Accept all by default and click OK and Yes and allow Microsoft to use your kidneys untill it reboot in Win98.

Early 3D games will require tweaking with core options like this one.

Nest time you use Retroarch : Load DOSBox Pure core and start it

 

[DanCalibur]

FreeGoG is another option for old pc games. So far I had no problems with compatibility.

 

[Johnathan Smikey]

I was able to do a virtual machine of Win98 to play some Win98 software and games. I would suggest that you do that. DOSBox is an okay option, but you won't get everything out of it. However, it does require more work, as you need to "legally acquire" a Windows 98 CD, and hunt down a "legally acquired" key.

 

[SlobodanElectro]

Will look into it im pretty versed in installing console emulators now so a crack at windows would be good.

I agree with the virtual machine route. I purposely keep an install of Windows 98 just for old games and software. VMware and originally Microsoft Virtual PC. PCem looks even more impressive.

 

[beowulf848]

Thanks for posting the process for getting that running in retroarch/dosbox!

I actually still have my old Win98 PC simply because some of my fav games do not run on newer OS's. I know some of them have been re-released on GOG, like Warlords 3, but that is the newer version than the original game that I have, which is what I really want.