I am considering upgrading my Windows 98ME to Windows XP & would appreciate input from GBrs. The only thing I use my PC for is to play computer games!!!!! However, I have found that I can't load up the newer games like BS 3 MJ 2, etc., probably due to video card/audio or whatever?? I basically have no problem with the older games (I buy like crazy from the Trading Post) but would like the newer games. I looked into purchasing a brand new PC & could get one for probably very little by shopping around but there is basically nothing wrong with the PC I have & can't really see getting a new computer & keeping this one.

I would really appreciate any suggestions or help.

Thanks

Mome

BS3 and MJ2 both work on Win 98SE.
It's quite possible that it's the video card preventing you from playing them. But it isn't the OS.

Is it more important to you to play newer games or to play your older games? Right now you have a computer that works well with the older ones (from what you've said). If it's important to you to be able to play your old games, you should keep what you have and get a new computer for the newer games. Some people have trouble getting games to work on XP, even with the tweaks described on Inferno's site. Have a look at Inferno's site and see what games she's gotten working and what tweaks she's used.
http://home.earthlink.net/~angeldancer27/XpGameList.htm

Also be aware that not all games will work in XP, even on the most game-friendly computer. Amber is one of them. Check Inferno's "Sorry Charlie but Forget It" list and "Works in Progress" list.

Newer games won't have a problem with XP, though they might have a problem with an underpowered computer. What are your current computer's specs?
How many MHz (or GHz) is the processor?
How many MB of system RAM do you have?
What is the video card and how much video RAM does it have?

Many GBers have two or more computers - one for newer games and one for old ones. Some people have good luck playing Win 95/98 games on their XP computers. Others have rotten luck, even with Inferno's site to help them out. It seems to be unpredictable. Right now you have a computer that seems good at playing old games. That's why I wouldn't change things with it.

If you do buy a new computer, make sure it is equipped to play the games you want to play. Don't expect to be able to play something like Thief 3 on a computer designed for office work. You'll need one that has a separate video card in it which is a gaming card. At the very least get a computer that can be upgraded. You should get at least 512 MB of system RAM. 1024 MB would be better.

Thank you Jenny for your input & also Inferno's website!!

Mome

OOOOKKKK Broke down & got a new PC. Still don't know too much about how to use it, but I am having a problem installing BS3. 1st time I installed & put in the ID code it gave me back:OXC001005 B,D,F,1a,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0. so I Uninstalled,Installed again & got: A hardware device was unable to be created not having DX 8.1 installed or not having TnL capable video card.


This is a HP Windows XP, 300+AMD Athlon; 512 MB, 120GB

DID I GO OUT & SPEND MY MONEY FOR A COMPUTER THAT WILL NOT INSTALL BS 3? I got MJ 11 in OK. And these were the 2 games I wanted most to play.

Unless I'm misreading it, it sounds like your CPU is a bit underpowered for game playing these days. Also, do you know what your version of DirectX is?

Try going to Start; Run and type in Dxdiag and see what info you get.

I think that should read Athlon 3000+, rather than 300+, and should run games coming out for at least the next two years.

But the most important thing is, what is your Video card? All new games require a video card that handles Hardware Transform & Lighting (T&L). That means at least a NVidia GeForce4 or better, or an ATI Radeon 9600 or better.

If MJ2 works, BS3 should also. Both of them requre DirectX 8.1 and a video card capable of hardware T&L. You say you "got MJ2 in OK." Did you try running it? How well does it run? Nice and smooth?

You should try to find out what type of video card you have in there too. But if your computer is running MJ2 OK then it should be able to run BS3.