Windows File Manager from the 1990s for Win 10

[crstagg]

For all you who had rather be using Windows 95, but M$ made you update to Win 10.

Windows 10: Now you can get 1990s Windows File Manager from Microsoft Store

Microsoft publishes the Windows File Manager from the 1990s in its app store.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/window...crosoft-store/

[lateagain]

I'm missing something Charles

Why would you want to go back to File Manager when Explore has been in OS's since NT4?

Only Win 10 machine we have is SWMBO's laptop and I'd be customising the idiotic touch screen initial interface off of that straight away if the machine were mine, but as far as I can see it still has file explorer anyway?

[crstagg]

I'm missing something Charles

Why would you want to go back to File Manager when Explore has been in OS's since NT4?

Only Win 10 machine we have is SWMBO's laptop and I'd be customising the idiotic touch screen initial interface off of that straight away if the machine were mine, but as far as I can see it still has file explorer anyway?

Me too.

:-J But don't ask me I am just the message bearer. Ask those that swear that they will never upgrade from XP or never use OR.

[lateagain]

Me too.

:-j but don't ask me i am just the message bearer. Ask those that swear that they will never upgrade from xp or never use or.

lol!

[mikeebb]

To overstate the obvious, this is geeks having fun. It's a Windows 3 (before 95!) face on Explorer, really, not offered as a for-real thing but as a fun thing to have around for other geeks to laugh at as they try to figure it out. And actually, it has some things going for it.

If you want to try out the Real Thing, dig out your old Windows 3 or 3.1 (the latter was the stable version) floppy disks (those floppies won't last forever, and you never throw anything out, right?), assemble them into one directory (USB floppy drives are still available if you look hard), and run it in DOSBox. Works fine, has access to the modern operating system's disk space. I actually use that for running Train Dispatcher 2, which was originally released for Windows 3.1 and is a 16-bit program so it doesn't work on its own in 64-bit Windows.

Remember, Alt-F4 closes windows. Win3.1 was actually very consistent about that, all the way down to accepting it as a shutdown command for Windows itself (which was running on top of DOS). More recent Windows still accepts that in many cases (such as closing the Open Rails menu).

[ragtimer]

Pity they do not release something to allow us to run Win 95 and XP software on 7 and 10.I have very good Bridge,Chess,Scrabble and other (intellectual)games which are now just junk unless I keep the old XP machine going.And they call it progress.

[mikeebb]

Well, there are some ways.

[edit: many people keep an old machine just for XP. That's probably the best way, but eventually it's gonna break.]

First, if they're 32-bit software, there's an excellent chance that they will run fine in 7 and 10 (64-bit). Main issues may be making sure any necessary support libraries (if any) exist - like old (2) version of .Net, DirectX9 (both of which are available in W10 but normally turned off - check the link for Windows Features in the Apps settings; in 7, you simply have to install the latest versions of them from the MS library). Some, unfortunately, like MSTS, have problems due to being actually written for Win98 so they assumed no effective security on Program Files - consider the MSTS trick of installing in their own directory at the C: root. I have a C:\oldegamez directory where several of them live.

If they're 16-bit software, note that ANY Windows 32-bit version includes the NTDVM (DOS Virtual Machine - which isn't really a VM but works sort of like one). Yes, that includes Windows 10. 32-bit Windows 10 is limited to 2GB RAM (can push to 3GB with some startup tweaks), is a bit hard to find, and usually comes only with things like tablets that are limited to 2GB of RAM and a small amount of storage, but if you find it or convince MS to sell you a copy you can use essentially any DOS, Win3, Win95/98, or XP software with it directly. Again, support package(s) might be needed. I've verified that by installing Train Dispatcher 2 in a little pink junk tablet with Win10 Home 32-bit; works fine.

Other options:

• Windows 7 only: XP Mode. This is a full copy of XP Pro 32 bit that runs in Virtual PC. Has full access to the host filesystem, so you don't actually have to install everything on a virtual hard disk. With some hacking (i.e. it's technically not legal) it's possible to get XP Mode to run in other VM managers, such as VMWare Player and VirtualBox. Free for use with Win7, but the license prohibits its use under any other circumstances.
• VirtualBox: if you have original (retail or unused OEM) media for XP, you can install and activate it in VirtualBox. Caveat though: graphics. VB and other VM managers don't have good graphics support, so something like MSTS or a flight simulator won't work - they demand "hardware acceleration" which the VM system doesn't provide a decent emulation of. You can install almost anything in a VM: I have Win98SE working well, with all the official and unofficial patches and the SciTech video driver (provides a sort of hardware accel emulation that lets some games - but not MSTS - work). Free for personal use (base VB is open source, but Extensions package is not and is needed for XP and up).
• DOSBox: this is a software-only virtual machine (VirtualBox and others use Intel hardware support) that emulates a variety of older CPUs including wait states and other things that prevent, for instance, the "divide by zero" error that's common when running very old software on modern CPUs. It includes a DOS clone. I have Railroad Tycoon (original) running like a champ in a DOSBox instance, as well as a full copy of Windows 3.1 (runs Train Dispatcher 2). Probably, you could install Win95 or 98, but I haven't tried. DOSBox can mount any directory in the host as a DOS disk - go for it. Open Source/free.
• Archive.org or Steam: some old DOS and Windows games are available in Archive.org or Steam, usually running in a customized DOSBox instance, sometimes the javascript version that runs in you browser. Free at archive.org, usually not free at Steam.

And if you really are into hacking, Wine in Linux can be set up to run 16- and 32-bit Windows software. You're on your own with that...

[edit: practically everything released for XP is a 32-bit executable; most stuff released for Windows 98 and later is 32-bit as well, but rarely with a 16-bit installer; Windows 95 stuff is a mixed bag; and practically all Win3.1 and DOS software is 16-bit.]

Happy hacking!

[ragtimer]

Well, there are some ways.

[edit: many people keep an old machine just for XP. That's probably the best way, but eventually it's gonna break.]

First, if they're 32-bit software, there's an excellent chance that they will run fine in 7 and 10 (64-bit). Main issues may be making sure any necessary support libraries (if any) exist - like old (2) version of .Net, DirectX9 (both of which are available in W10 but normally turned off - check the link for Windows Features in the Apps settings; in 7, you simply have to install the latest versions of them from the MS library). Some, unfortunately, like MSTS, have problems due to being actually written for Win98 so they assumed no effective security on Program Files - consider the MSTS trick of installing in their own directory at the C: root. I have a C:\oldegamez directory where several of them live.

If they're 16-bit software, note that ANY Windows 32-bit version includes the NTDVM (DOS Virtual Machine - which isn't really a VM but works sort of like one). Yes, that includes Windows 10. 32-bit Windows 10 is limited to 2GB RAM (can push to 3GB with some startup tweaks), is a bit hard to find, and usually comes only with things like tablets that are limited to 2GB of RAM and a small amount of storage, but if you find it or convince MS to sell you a copy you can use essentially any DOS, Win3, Win95/98, or XP software with it directly. Again, support package(s) might be needed. I've verified that by installing Train Dispatcher 2 in a little pink junk tablet with Win10 Home 32-bit; works fine.

Other options:

• Windows 7 only: XP Mode. This is a full copy of XP Pro 32 bit that runs in Virtual PC. Has full access to the host filesystem, so you don't actually have to install everything on a virtual hard disk. With some hacking (i.e. it's technically not legal) it's possible to get XP Mode to run in other VM managers, such as VMWare Player and VirtualBox. Free for use with Win7, but the license prohibits its use under any other circumstances.
• VirtualBox: if you have original (retail or unused OEM) media for XP, you can install and activate it in VirtualBox. Caveat though: graphics. VB and other VM managers don't have good graphics support, so something like MSTS or a flight simulator won't work - they demand "hardware acceleration" which the VM system doesn't provide a decent emulation of. You can install almost anything in a VM: I have Win98SE working well, with all the official and unofficial patches and the SciTech video driver (provides a sort of hardware accel emulation that lets some games - but not MSTS - work). Free for personal use (base VB is open source, but Extensions package is not and is needed for XP and up).
• DOSBox: this is a software-only virtual machine (VirtualBox and others use Intel hardware support) that emulates a variety of older CPUs including wait states and other things that prevent, for instance, the "divide by zero" error that's common when running very old software on modern CPUs. It includes a DOS clone. I have Railroad Tycoon (original) running like a champ in a DOSBox instance, as well as a full copy of Windows 3.1 (runs Train Dispatcher 2). Probably, you could install Win95 or 98, but I haven't tried. DOSBox can mount any directory in the host as a DOS disk - go for it. Open Source/free.
• Archive.org or Steam: some old DOS and Windows games are available in Archive.org or Steam, usually running in a customized DOSBox instance, sometimes the javascript version that runs in you browser. Free at archive.org, usually not free at Steam.

And if you really are into hacking, Wine in Linux can be set up to run 16- and 32-bit Windows software. You're on your own with that...

[edit: practically everything released for XP is a 32-bit executable; most stuff released for Windows 98 and later is 32-bit as well, but rarely with a 16-bit installer; Windows 95 stuff is a mixed bag; and practically all Win3.1 and DOS software is 16-bit.]

Happy hacking!

So how do I get a WIN 7 machine to run in XP mode ? I am not computer savvy,so need it explained very simply !

[slipperman]

Hi,

So how do I get a WIN 7 machine to run in XP mode ?

It depends on which version of Win 7 you're running and which processor your PC uses. See here : https://lifehacker.com/set-up-and-us...dows-7-5245396

Cheers,
Ged

[mikeebb]

Apologies for an error: XP Mode in Windows 7 does not, in fact, have full access to the host filesystem.

Just looked back at some of my old stuff (used XP Mode for, among other things, a HP scanner that had drivers only for 98 and 2000/XP - didn't work in Vista/7). XP Mode is a full operating system running in a full virtual machine, with only limited sharing, much like with VirtualBox, so you had to install the software in XP Mode's virtual hard disk. However, MS did make it easy to set shortcuts to XP Mode software on the main Windows 7 screen that would start (and shut down, when the software was closed) Virtual PC, XP, and the application silently, and of course cut/paste worked between the Virtual PC window(s) and normal Windows 7 windows.

XP Mode was never intended to be suitable for games, especially games that require quick reactions. Yes, many games worked with it, but usually not very well even if they could handle the minimal graphics system emulation (S3, barely better than basic VGA). Really, it was very slow unless you had a very fast computer for the time (wasn't bad for my limited purposes on a Pentium D 3GHz). It was intended as a transition tool for business applications and hardware that weren't supported under Windows 7 while arranging for newer replacements, so relatively slow performance was acceptable.