Does Windows XP work on new hardware?

[notsu]

I want something to play XP games on but I can't find any old hardware near me. Is it possible to install on newer PCs, or am I SOL?

 

[Kwyjor]

Perhaps you can be more precise by what you mean by "XP games"? While Win9x games can be exceptionally picky, most games that run under XP can probably be run under modern systems, though a little patching may be necessary.

If all else fails you can absolutely use a virtual machine like VMware or VirtualBox. XP in a virtual machine can even use your 3D hardware directly.

Both those options are probably better than trying to install XP on a PC directly, which will probably require even more fancy workarounds.

 

[notsu]

Perhaps you can be more precise by what you mean by "XP games"? While Win9x games can be exceptionally picky, most games that run under XP can probably be run under modern systems, though a little patching may be necessary.

If all else fails you can absolutely use a virtual machine like VMware or VirtualBox. XP in a virtual machine can even use your 3D hardware directly.

Both those options are probably better than trying to install XP on a PC directly, which will probably require even more fancy workarounds.

My primary goal here is to play visual novel discs. I am not looking to emulate anything.

 

[Lostbhoy]

Worst case scenario, install an xp partition on your hdd and choose between the two when you power your pc on.

Your games should work fine on new hardware as long as you can launch it tho if disc based they may require the disc to be present for drm, possibly.... Possibly not but the games executable can be launched from your desktop no probs.

 

[Sicklyboy]

XP didn't even work with period-relevant hardware half the time.

Short answer: no

Long answer: Honestly I think there's a pretty low likelihood of the SATA chipset or nvme storage being supported in XP without having drivers for it, and I doubt there's going to be XP drivers for anything you have, either.

As @Kwyjor mentioned, don't immediately discard the idea of running a Windows XP VM. You can pass a physical disk drive through to the VM and use physical disks with it, just as well as you could also make an image of the disk and mount the image to the VM.

 

[notsu]

Worst case scenario, install an xp partition on your hdd and choose between the two when you power your pc on.

I don't actually own the PC yet. I'm just trying to find out it's possible before I go out and spend $1000.

Your games should work fine on new hardware as long as you can launch it tho if disc based they may require the disc to be present for drm, possibly.... Possibly not but the games executable can be launched from your desktop no probs.

I am going to use the actual discs, is that a problem for drivers or something?

As @Kwyjor mentioned, don't immediately discard the idea of running a Windows XP VM. You can pass a physical disk drive through to the VM and use physical disks with it, just as well as you could also make an image of the disk and mount the image to the VM.

I'm not sure about buying a PC just for VMs, can they be run on ARM Macs too? I ideally want to use real discs, but using a VM is a compromise I'm willing to make if it isn't a pain in the as.

And it's not like there's absolutely zero old PCs near me. They're just hundreds of miles away and I don't feel like lugging the damn thing back home.

 

[SylverReZ]

I'm not sure about buying a PC just for VMs, can they be run on ARM Macs too?

Yes. Mac systems can run either VMware Fusion or Parallels Desktop. VMware is typically my go-to choice for running older operating systems.

 

[notsu]

Yes. Mac systems can run either VMware Fusion or Parallels Desktop. VMware is typically my go-to choice for running older operating systems.

Not a fan of Parallels' shitware. Will try out VMWare and see if it fits. Thanks.

 

[Gon Freecss]

There's a modified Windows XP around called "Windows XP Integral Edition" made by somebody named "Ramsey" it has SATA, USB 3.0 & other modern drivers integrated. Should run on modern hardware without issues.

 

[notsu]

There's a modified Windows XP around called "Windows XP Integral Edition" made by somebody named "Ramsey" it has SATA, USB 3.0 & other modern drivers integrated. Should run on modern hardware without issues.

Will look into this too. Thanks.

 

[SylverReZ]

Will look into this too. Thanks.

Totally. Windows XP Integral Edition has practically everything you need in one package; with the latest updates and programs, it's also activated, so you don't need to go through the whole process of activation by phone. I recommend that if you find any outdated program (which I doubt) best to update them if you can.

Also, be very careful when Windows XP to the internet as this can lead to many security risks if you don't take the necessary precautions.

 

[Kwyjor]

My primary goal here is to play visual novel discs.

And do you have some reason to believe they wouldn't work under Windows 7/8/10/11..?

I am not looking to emulate anything.

Who said anything about emulation..? A virtual machine isn't emulation, it's "virtualization". An OS running in a VM is running directly on the same hardware it would be using if you installed it normally. It can even access your discs directly. (So can a lot of emulators, for that matter, so I don't know why that's a concern?)

Worst case scenario, install an xp partition on your hdd and choose between the two when you power your pc on.

Thing is, the XP bootloader is definitely written for MBR, but I think newer versions of Windows use GPT. I can't say I have familiarity with the intricacies, but worst case scenario is that a separate hard drive would be needed.

I don't actually own the PC yet. I'm just trying to find out it's possible before I go out and spend $1000.

A 20-year-old PC running Windows XP should not cost you $1000, if you want to go that route.

I'm not sure about buying a PC just for VMs, can they be run on ARM Macs too?

Windows XP was not written for ARM, so no, you could not use virtualization there. You could use PCem or 86Box, I think – those are definitely emulators, but like I said, they should definitely be able to access your physical discs if you have a physical drive. Why exactly would you expect otherwise..?

 

[ViTaLC0D3R]

Not really it is possible "I think" but you have to hack a patches and drivers to get it to boot.

 

[RyanTheArchivist]

My primary goal here is to play visual novel discs. I am not looking to emulate anything.

As someone into the genre 99% of games from the 2000s at least run perfectly fine on modernOS with some compatibility settings. Though I will say most VNs especially older ones require you to be playing with a Japanese system locale and back on XP that is not something you can just change you need an actual JP copy of Windows XP for that.

 

[notsu]

And do you have some reason to believe they wouldn't work under Windows 7/8/10/11..?

Yes, they were made with Windows 95/98/XP in mind. I have heard about those not working on modern systems.

Who said anything about emulation..? A virtual machine isn't emulation, it's "virtualization". An OS running in a VM is running directly on the same hardware it would be using if you installed it normally. It can even access your discs directly. (So can a lot of emulators, for that matter, so I don't know why that's a concern?)

I'm not sure about that. Doesn't Windows XP need x86? I'm going to buy an ARM PC if I get a new one.

A 20-year-old PC running Windows XP should not cost you $1000, if you want to go that route.

A decent-ish new PC would. That's what I was referring to.

Windows XP was not written for ARM, so no, you could not use virtualization there. You could use PCem or 86Box, I think – those are definitely emulators, but like I said, they should definitely be able to access your physical discs if you have a physical drive. Why exactly would you expect otherwise..?

I have had issues passing through external media to VMs before. Mostly Ubuntu and Windows 10 VMs, but it can be a hassle.

As someone into the genre 99% of games from the 2000s at least run perfectly fine on modernOS with some compatibility settings. Though I will say most VNs especially older ones require you to be playing with a Japanese system locale and back on XP that is not something you can just change you need an actual JP copy of Windows XP for that.

JP copies shouldn't be that hard to come by. I'm wondering if it needs some kind of activation, though.

 

[Latiodile]

you could look for an old laptop from like 2008-2012 and put xp integral edition on it, that's what i did and it works pretty good, for visual novels you could go as basic as an old netbook considering how basic visual novels tend to be

 

[Kwyjor]

Yes, they were made with Windows 95/98/XP in mind. I have heard about those not working on modern systems.

There are some Win9x games that won't even run properly in XP. But the most problematic ones tend to use things like 3D hardware acceleration, which I guess is unlikely in a visual novel.

Doesn't Windows XP need x86? I'm going to buy an ARM PC if I get a new one.

To be honest, this is the first I've heard of ARM PCs.

 

[Deleted member 655123]

Is it possible to install on newer PCs

It's possible, but the quality and method of setting it up varies. Do you have a UEFI Class 3 or UEFI Class 2 BIOS?
If you have the latter, enable CSM, and you should be fine. If you've got Class 3, refer to Eclipse or MDL. People there would be more knowledgeable on this topic than I am!

 

[RyanTheArchivist]

Yes, they were made with Windows 95/98/XP in mind. I have heard about those not working on modern systems.

I'm not sure about that. Doesn't Windows XP need x86? I'm going to buy an ARM PC if I get a new one.

A decent-ish new PC would. That's what I was referring to.

I have had issues passing through external media to VMs before. Mostly Ubuntu and Windows 10 VMs, but it can be a hassle.

JP copies shouldn't be that hard to come by. I'm wondering if it needs some kind of activation, though.

Yes Windows XP requires activation and unlike newer windows will actually just lock you out after 30 days if you don't.

 

[kaputnik]

While you technically can install XP on a modern PC as longs as it has CSM, there are generally no compatible drivers. Gaming with the MS VGA driver and no sound won't be a very pleasant experience, if the games will even run.

If you want to run XP, I'd say the only realistic option is to use old hardware. 3rd generation Core i processors (Ivy Bridge) and corresponding chipsets (H77, Z77, etc) are the last Intel offerings with official XP driver support. The AMD offerings at the time couldn't really compete. There are some modded drivers for newer chipsets, modded XP releases, etc, but I'd really recommend saving yourself a lot of trouble by just getting officially compatible hardware.

As for the graphics, while Kepler is the last Nvidia architecture with official XP support (7xx series), it also does away with some features that can be useful for XP gaming. In my opinion, GTX680 is the ultimate XP gaming GPU if you have no concerns about power consumption. I'm not very knowledgeable about AMD:s offerings from that era, but there are great alternatives from them too.

That being said, an Ivy Bridge rig with a GTX680 is complete overkill for XP gaming. You'll be fine with something far less powerful. There are of course local differences, but in my area late Core2Duo computers are considered E-waste, and can be had for (almost) free. One of those with a compatible GPU would make an excellent XP gaming rig aswell

Otherwise, there's almost always a way to run just about any XP game on modern Windows iterations.