Revive Your Favorite 90s PC Games on Any Device

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Looking to relive some classic PC gaming moments? With a little bit of setup, you can install Windows 98 on your modern computer and play all your favorite games from the late 90s. Not only that, but with the help of DOSBox-X, you can even get support for DirectX and 3dfx Voodoo graphics - no need to spend hours setting up drivers. Here's everything you need to know to get started.

How to Play Old PC Games on Modern Platforms

To begin, you'll need to install DOSBox-X and create a virtual disk on which to install Windows 98. From there, you'll need to configure DOSBox-X to mimic the hardware of a late 90s PC and install Windows 98, following the setup procedure and finalizing the installation of drivers. Once everything is set up, you can start installing your favorite games and apps and use your modern computer like an old school beige box.

When you're ready to play, simply launch DOSBox-X and boot right into Windows 98. You'll have access to your installed games and software, and with support for DirectX 9.0c using an emulated S3 Trio64 and an emulated 3dfx Voodoo card, you can experience early hardware-accelerated graphics just like you did back in the day. And if you're feeling ambitious, you can even configure networking to make the experience even more authentic.

Overall, setting up Windows 98 on your modern computer is a fun and nostalgic way to relive some classic gaming moments. And with the help of DOSBox-X, you can get up and running in no time, without any of the hassle of setting up drivers or dealing with compatibility issues.

Step 1: Prepare DOSBox-X

To get started, head over to the official website and download and install DOSBox-X. This emulator is compatible with all major operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.

After installing the emulator, the next step is to create a configuration file for DOSBox-X. This file will specify which CPU to use, as well as other settings like RAM allocation and sound card. Later on, we will edit this file to automatically mount and boot Windows 98. To create the configuration file, simply open a new text document and copy the following code:

[sdl]

autolock=true

[dosbox]

Remember to keep this file safe as it will be used later on in the installation process.

title=Windows 98

memsize=128

vmemsize=8

vesa modelist width limit=0

vesa modelist height limit=0

[dos]

ver=7.1

hard drive data rate limit=0

floppy drive data rate limit=0

[cpu]

cputype=pentium_mmx

core=normal

[sblaster]

sbtype=sb16vibra

[fdc, primary]

int13fakev86io=true

[ide, primary]

int13fakeio=true

int13fakev86io=true

[ide, secondary]

int13fakeio=true

int13fakev86io=true

cd-rom insertion delay=4000

[render]

To prepare for installing Windows 98 and playing games, you'll need to create a virtual hard disk image. Start by saving a configuration file named win98.conf in a logical location, such as a "DOS" sub-folder in your Documents. When you launch DOSBox-X for the first time, you'll be prompted to choose a working directory, so select the same location as your configuration file to keep everything organized.

Next, boot up DOSBox-X and select "Restart DOSBox-X with config file..." from the Main menu. Choose the win98.conf file that you created earlier, and DOSBox will restart. Now it's time to create the disk image. Use the IMGMAKE command to create a 20GB FAT32 drive named hdd.img with the following command:

IMGMAKE hdd.img -t hd -size 20480

Remember that Windows 98 cannot handle partitions larger than 128GB, so keep this in mind when selecting the size for your disk image.

To properly configure the drive, you must multiply its size in gigabytes by 1024. For instance, a 20GB drive equates to 20480 megabytes. Once the drive is configured, the file will occupy its full size on your local drive and be placed in the DOSBox-X working directory you previously selected.

Step 2: Install Windows 98

In order to install Windows 98, you will need a disk image version, preferably in ISO format. It is important to note that although Microsoft no longer offers the software for sale, Windows 98 is still under Microsoft copyright and cannot legally be downloaded from the web. However, if you have access to an old Windows 98 CD, you can create an ISO from it.

You must have a full retail or OEM release of either Windows 98 or Windows 98 Second Edition. Name the disk image "win98.iso" and place it in your DOSBox-X working directory.

Next, open DOSBox-X and load your Windows 98 configuration file. Then, mount the disk image you previously created as drive C using the IMGMOUNT command:

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Mount the image file "hdd.img" to drive C using the command:

IMGMOUNT C hdd.img

Next, mount the Windows 98 ISO file to drive D by using the command:

IMGMOUNT D win98.iso

You also need to mount a boot disk to drive A by using the command:

IMGMOUNT A -bootcd D

Once the above steps are done, you can start the installation process by running:

Once you have successfully selected “Boot from CD-ROM” and “Start Windows 98 Setup from CD-ROM” from the Windows 98 Startup Menu, the blue setup launcher will appear. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to install Windows 98. After completing the installation process, DOSBox-X will restart and you will be taken back to the Z:\> prompt. To complete the process, open the win98.conf file in a text editor and add the following code to the bottom of the file: {{iframe_placeholder_1}}.

[autoexec]

To streamline the setup process, you can use the following commands in DOSBox. The "IMGMOUNT C hdd.img" command mounts your hard drive, while "IMGMOUNT D win98.iso" mounts the Windows 98 ISO file. Finally, "BOOT C:" allows you to boot from your main C drive.

Once you've made these changes, restart DOSBox-X with your updated win98.conf file. To do this, select the Main > Restart DOSBox-X With Config File option and choose the modified file.

While setting up Windows 98, you will need to enter your name, accept the license agreement, and provide a valid product key. After completing the setup process, which involves setting the time, selecting basic drivers, and booting to the desktop interface, you can start using the operating system.

Step 3: Installing Software and Games

Unfortunately, it is not possible to mount disk images, hard drive images, or folders as drives while Windows 98 is running. In order to do this, you will have to edit your win98.conf file by adding the necessary entries or creating a new configuration file altogether.

If you have a disk image for a game you want to play, you will need to modify the [autoexec] section of the configuration file to include the necessary commands. You can easily change the disk image file name to that of any other game or software you want to install, as long as the ISO file is located in your DOSBox-X working directory.

To mount a disk image, use the IMGMOUNT command in the [autoexec] section of the configuration file, for example:

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To mount a folder as a drive in DOSBox, you can use the standard MOUNT command. For example, if you want to mount a folder named "Software" in your DOSBox working folder as drive D, you can use the command:

MOUNT D Software/

To ensure optimal performance, we recommend installing DirectX 9.0c, which is the last good version for Windows 98. You can download this from the web, and it's available in the FalconFly 3dfx Archive. Additionally, there are many demos available for Windows 98 that you can install to enhance your experience.

For those who want to take their Windows 98 installation to the next level, the DOSBox-X extended Windows 98 installation guide offers further recommendations. This includes installing the .NET framework (1.0, 1.1, and 2.0) as well as the Visual C++ 2005 runtime. It's even possible to get networking up and running in Windows 98, though it may require some additional work. Check out the official DOSBox-X guide to networking for more information.

You can enhance your 3dfx emulation by utilizing Glide pass-through to pass API calls through to your modern GPU. Although it requires some setup, the improved performance may be worth the effort. For a complete guide on setting up 3dfx Voodoo in DOSBox-X, refer to the full guide.

You have the option to install games by mounting their installation media ISO or by mounting a folder and running their installation executables. The Internet Archive houses a plethora of Windows 98-era demos, most of which are under 100MB.

While some titles have been lost to time (and require a DOSBox-X Windows 98 installation to recover), others have found a second life as source ports or re-releases on platforms such as GOG.

Need more nostalgia? Install Windows 3.1 and play games from even earlier eras or experience some of the best Flash games from the internet's early days.