How to Play Old PC Games on Windows 10 or Later Windows Versions?

You have to admit that there are always some old games that affect your childhood or teenage years no matter you’re a gamer or not. Do you remember the first game you installed on your family computer? When did it disappear from your life? We all get nostalgic from time to time. Can you say you haven't remembered even one old game in the last few years?

Now Windows has developed to Windows 11, and many users are running Windows 10 on their computers. Both modern systems are not compatible with the old games designed years ago. There is a huge time gap that’s full of various technological revolutions. So, how to play old PC games on Windows 10 computer or later OS version is a problem for users who want to revive their good old game time.

Why can’t run old games or apps on Windows 10/11 computers?

There are some main reasons that your Windows 10 computer can't run old games.

Dependencies on outdated program versions: Some software relies on old libraries that are no longer provided by default in the Windows 10 installation.

16-bit programs: 64-bit Windows versions lack the built-in compatibility layer for earlier 16-bit apps. More information on why 64-bit Windows no longer supports 16-bit apps may be found here.

DOS programs: Windows 10, like all Windows versions since Windows XP, does not run on top of DOS. Some DOS applications still operate, but the great majority, particularly games, just do not.

DRM: Another difficulty with outdated Windows programs is the lack of or deprecation of DRM technologies, which prevent programs from booting. For example, SecuROM DRM presents significant problems when playing old games on new platforms.

How to play old games on Windows 10 PC?

Now, in this part, we’ll show you some methods to help you play old PC games on Windows 10 PC.

Method 1. Play old computer games in compatibility mode

You can also enable the following settings from the Compatibility menu: reduced color mode, running in 640 x 480 resolution, and registering the program for restart.

Step 1. Navigate to the desktop shortcut of your game or its .exe file in the installation folder.

Step 2. Right-click on the .exe file to bring up a menu.

Step 3. In the menu, click on “Properties”.

Step 4. Navigate to the Compatibility tab on the upper side of the window.

Step 5. Here you can find the “Compatibility Mode” section.

Step 6. Check the box below this section and select from the drop-down menu which OS you want to run the game to run in compatibility mode for.

Step 7. Click on Apply and OK to save the changes.

If you need to change compatibility settings for color mode, resolutions, etc. You can click “Settings” under “Compatibility mode”.

Method 2. Play old games with DOSBox

Some users may have old game discs in the game collection box, or you get some old game discs. In this case, you’ll need a tool called DOSBox.

DOSBox is a DOS emulator that is so important for running DOS-era games on current PCs that DRM-free game reseller GOG.com incorporates it with all of its games. So, if you have a DOS game installed, just drag and drop its executable icon, which is normally a '.exe' or '.bat' file, over the DOSBox icon. And if you don't want to go through the drag-and-drop method every time, you may build a shortcut for your game that launches it in DOSBox automatically.

Step 1. Download DOSBox, Locate the latest Windows installer download, and select it.

Step 2. After the download completes, run the installer. 

Step 3. Follow the on-screen directions. It's fairly simple, and the default options should suffice in most situations.

Step 4. Create a folder for the old games you want to play. Label it something like C:\dos.

Step 5. Run dosbox.exe in your DOSBox folder. You need to set the folder you created as a new directory just for DOSBox.

Essentially, it's going to become the C:\> drive of DOSBox. So, type the commands and press “Enter”:

Z:\>MOUNT C C:\dos
Z:\>c:

Then type the name of the .exe file and press “Enter”. DOSBox will launch the game.

If you want to mount a CD-ROM instead of a folder, type this:

Z:\>MOUNT D D:\ -t cdrom
Z:\>C:
C:\>CD TESTDRIV (Change the “TESTDRIV” to the name of your game)
C:\TESTDRIV>TDCGA.EXE (Change the “TESTDRIV”  and "TDCGA" to the name of your game and the name of the exe. file)

In this example, D:\ -T cdrom tells DOSBox that the D:\ drive is a CD-ROM drive, and the first D, tells DOSBox what the new drive name should be called. If you are running your game off a CD-ROM then make sure to use D: in place of C: in the following examples. You can find instructions on how to mount other devices, such as floppy drives, in the mount section

Method 3. Create an old Windows environment disk to run old games

Will PC games for Vista work on Windows 10? Well, for Windows XP and Windows Vista games, there is another way to help you store your old games and make an old game disk: Creating a Windows XP/Vista disk for old games.

You can make a Windows to Go disk with the Windows XP/Vista system, then once you plug that disk into your Windows 10 computer and boot from it, you can enter Windows XP/Vista system. You can download and install old programs, games, or others on this disk and use it just like a normal Windows PC. At the same time, your Windows 10 system won’t be affected, two systems are independent.

If you’re interested in creating an old Windows OS to keep your memories for you and your friends, this way is a great option. To create a Windows XP/Vista system disk, you can download AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard, a free disk and partition management tool for Windows 11/10/8/8.1/7/XP/Vista systems.

Its “Windows To Go Creator” feature can use ISO files to make a portable Windows disk for you. Once you boot into this disk, you can download games and enjoy them just like in good old time.

Step 1. Please connect your external disk to your PC and free download AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard, then install and open its main interface. You can find Windows XP/Vista ISO files on the Internet.

Step 2. Click “Tools” in the top toolbar, and choose “Windows To Go Creator”. The program will detect the disk automatically. If it’s not showing up, please click Refresh.

Step 3. Choose the first option "Create Windows To Go with system disc/ISO". Click the folder icon to select ISO manually. After that, click "Next" to continue.

Step 3. Please select the location of the Windows XP/Vista ISO file and click “Next”.

Step 4. Choose a prepared external disk and click "Proceed".

Step 5. Finally, click “Proceed” to start the creation.

Now, you can reboot your PC and enter BIOS to change the boot order to the Windows to go to disk and boot from it. When you enter Windows, you can download games from the Internet, install them and enjoy them.

Conclusion

This is how to play old PC games on Windows 10 computer. These 3 ways can help you play old pc games on your modern computer. And with AOMEI Partition Assistant, you can run old Windows on your modern PC, even Mac PC.

Besides Windows To Go, this tool also can clone disk, migrate OS, convert a disk to MBR/GPT without deleting partitions, move installed apps to another drive/disk without reinstalling… And there is the Server Edition for Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012(R2)/2008(R2)/2003 users.