Web User - UK (2019-11-13)

Weekend Project

Subscribeto WebUseratsubscribe.webuser.co.uk 13 - 26 November 2019^59

and Beneath a Steel Sky (bit.ly/
beneath488).

Run games in Admin mode
If you manage to install an old Windows
game but can’t get it to start, try running
it in Administrator mode. Some titles
require permissions, which the less
security-minded XP was happy to grant,
but Windows 10 isn’t as relaxed and its
standard mode has more restrictions in
place. To get around this, try right-
clicking the program’s executable and
selecting ‘Run as administrator’.
If that doesn’t work, try compatibility
mode (follow our Mini Workshop, below).
YoucanalsoplayDOSgamesin a special
emulatorcalledDOSBox– weshowyou
howtosetthisuponpage61.
If youwantsomegamestoplayin it,

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If a gamewon’trunin Windows 10

andAdminmodedoesn’tfixthis,

try foolingthesoftwareintothinking

it’s runningonanolderoperating

system.Right-clicktheprogram’sEXE

fileandselectProperties.Inthenext

window,clicktheCompatibilitytab.^1

Ticktheboxnextto‘Runthisprogram

in compatibilitymodefor’.^2

2

Clickthedrop-downmenu

underneathandyou’represented

witha listofpastWindowsversions,

fromWindows 95 toWindows8.^1

Youcantryanyversionbutit’sbestto

choosetheoperatingsystemthatyour

gamewouldhaveoriginallyrunon.

Thereareothersettingsavailable,too,^2

includingAdminmode.^3

3

ApplyandOKthechange,thenrun

yourgameagain.If it stilldoesn’t

work,tryanotheroperatingsystemor

usethecompatibilitytroubleshooter.

Right-clickthegame’sEXEfileand

select‘Troubleshootcompatibility’.

Youcantrytherecommendedsettings

(^1) or troubleshoot the game by
answering various questions.
PlayDOSgamesontheweb
Backin 2015,theInternetArchiveadded
2,400playableDOSgamestoitssiteat
bit.ly/iados488. A fewmoretitles
followedandthen,aswereportedin last
issue’sWhat’sNewOnline,thesitehas
nowintroducedanother2,500gamesto
itslibrary,bringingthetotaltojustshyof
7,000.Allofthemcanbeplayedforfree
in yourwebbrowser.
Thelistoftitlesonofferis impressive
andincludes90sclassicssuchasDuke
Nukem3D,PrinceofPersia,SimCity,
ChampionshipManager,Eyeofthe
Beholder,TheIncredibleMachine,
Wolfenstein3D,TheCurseofMonkey
IslandandMicrosoftFlightSimulator.
Mostofthegamesplaywithoutany
MINI WORKSHOP | Run old games in compatibility mode
try the huge collection available
for free from Major Geeks at
bit.ly/dosgam488.
Community patches
If you manage to get an old
game running in Windows 10,
you may be shocked by how
poor the graphics and
gameplay seem in comparison
to modern titles. Don’t worry,
other people have spotted this
too and, if a game was or still is
popular enough, someone may
have produced a patch for it
that unlocks modern graphics
capabilities,increasingthe
resolutionandmore.Youcan
checktoseeif yourgamehasbeen
improvedbysearchingGooglefor
gamename unofficial
patch(replacing
gamenamewiththeactual
nameofthegame)or
gamename community
patch. GOG(www.gog
.com) andSteam
(steamcommunity.com)
bothhaveactive
communityforumsthat
areworthexploring.
Fansofgamessuchas
Doom,Doom2,Heretic,
HexenandStrifecan
upgradeanoldversionto
thelatestreleaseat
DoomWorld(bit.ly/
doom488).
Running a game in administrator mode might fix some
problems you’re having with it
You can play loads of old PC games in your
browser at the Internet Archive
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