help from someone who knows about windows 7 please

abitlost · 7 Dec 2010 at 12:34

Hi just a quick question, hopefully someone knows...

i want to get windows 7 64bit but when i checked on that microsoft compatibility page where we can check our software and hardware, theres a few old games i still play that apparently dont work, and some that wont even come up.. (elven legacy, Heroes of might and magic, sim city 4, loki etc etc)

but i heard that in the pro version theres something you can download like an xp er, virtual thingy (sorry for being vague) that will act like you're using xp...

so my question is, will i be able to play these games if i get windows 7 and download this xp thing then? or, does the compatibility page take the downloadable xp thing into account when it says something is not compatible?

many thanks if anyone can help me with this as i dont really want to upgrade if it means waving my old games goodbye

4T5 · 7 Dec 2010 at 12:36

Windows 7 has several built-in tools to help with program compatibility and Windows XP programs should be installed directly on Windows 7. Windows XP Mode runs many older Windows XP productivity programs and that are not natively compatible with Windows 7, thus helping realize cost savings and reduce possible operational downtime by extending the life of existing software. Visit the Windows 7 Compatibility Center to find software that works with Windows 7.

From http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

The Powerz of Search are Weak in you my Son.

SiriusB · 7 Dec 2010 at 12:38

They might work. Though they wont have access to the full power of your GPU.

Heroes of ***** and Tragic is worth never playing anyway!

Unless others have tried you wont really know until you give it a go. You could dual-boot your machine if you really want 7 but still want to play the odd older game.

Superficial · 8 Dec 2010 at 00:47

none of the games i have tried worked in XP mode

the reason being that it emulates a compatible video card and the games say things like "incompatible card present" etc so 3D gaming has not been an option on the games i have tried but i havent tried any of the above.

freddie64 · 8 Dec 2010 at 10:23

If you have the games installed, you could try right clicking the shortcut for the game and select properties, then Compatibility tab, tick Run in compatibility mode for windows xp sp3 and tick run as administrator.

This worked for me for Red Alert 2.

dazzerd · 8 Dec 2010 at 11:22

Sim City 4 works fine in windows 7 64 bit.

SiriusB · 8 Dec 2010 at 11:47

OP, just install the software and see if it works. If not, try dual booting. XP Mode wasn't really envisioned with 3D gaming in mind.

The compatibility checker is quite conservative. I have had software work fine despite Windows 7 telling me there would be issues. Losing out on a few old games, or putting up with some slight inconvenience to reboot into XP, is a small price to pay for a very good OS.

Plenty of new games out there!