Member Avatar for dragon091471

i have been trying to play my magic the gathering game for win 95 on my win xp computer and i cant even get it to load in the computer it keeps telling me that the program is to old it is for win 95 and is not compatable with win xp and i cannot get any updates to try and fix this problem help !!!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by vita szlaur

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Thread summary and practical next steps: originally asked about a Win95-era Magic: The Gathering title and several members (, , ) suggested compatibility options; when those did not help (as reported by ) you can use approaches that avoid relying on XP's UI quirks.

If you want a near-native Windows 95/98 environment, run the game inside a virtual machine (keeps the old OS isolated and lets the installer and CD behave exactly as expected). Install a free hypervisor such as VirtualBox then create a small VM (choose an older Windows guest, give it modest RAM and a few GB disk), attach the original CD or an ISO to the VM and install there — this resolves most installer and driver issues that modern hosts block. (virtualbox.org)

If the game is actually a DOS title (not Win95), use [DOSBox] (https://www.dosbox.com) instead of a VM; it emulates the DOS environment and is much simpler for single old games. Typical workflow in DOSBox is to mount the game folder as a drive and run the setup/exe from inside the emulator:

mount c c:\games\mtg
c:
setup.exe   (or mtg.exe after install)

DOSBox also has config options for sound and CPU speed to tune gameplay. (dosbox.com)

Installer errors like "Unable to locate necessary files. Run Setup.exe from the CD-ROM disc" often mean the installer expects a real CD-ROM device. Use a proper ISO mounter on the host (for XP, tools like WinCDEmu or Virtual CloneDrive work) or burn a real CD, or run the installer inside the VM so the virtual CD appears correctly. Also note that 64‑bit hosts cannot run 16‑bit installers natively — in that case install the game inside a 32‑bit guest VM. (wincdemu.sysprogs.org)

If none of the above works, look for a modern re-release or community patches (official re-releases on services like GOG are safest). Avoid untrusted "cracks" and keep backups of original discs/ISOs.

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All 6 Replies

Member Avatar for 1o0oBhP

can you not right click and tell it to run as win95? ive had that option on programs under XP before..... Try running the game in DOS mode if it has one....

Member Avatar for big_k105

like what was just stated if you right click on the exe file and go into properties there should be a tab called compatibility or something like that and you can tell it to run to program in 95 compatiable mode. and it should work just fine i have done this before with a program that refused to run on an XP machine and it worked great :) good luck

Member Avatar for rasputinj

Compatibility mode has worked well for me on most 95 stuff I have tried to run on XP.

Member Avatar for mcfly guy

I have tried to do what you have suggested but nothing seems to work. Please help!

Member Avatar for dragon091471

can you not right click and tell it to run as win95? ive had that option on programs under XP before..... Try running the game in DOS mode if it has one....

it does not have dos and i have tried to right click and it does not have the option available when i do

Member Avatar for vita szlaur

Prosím vás jak spustím command and conquer Tiberian Dawn na XP ptz je to hra na win95 a jak zapnu instalačku tak mi to napíše unable to locate necessary files . run to Setup.exe from the CD ROM disc

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