nightcraw1er.488: So what actually stops working? As far as I can tell, and this is many years using all versions of windows, I have not had an issue running things that can’t be fixed with a bit of leg work. If you mean does specific updates like removal of DX9 impact then yes. Things change, if they kept everything they had ever done in every release/update it would take over 100gb. For those who need directx9 just get a hold of it, for instance:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/microsoft_has_removed_the_directx_9_installers_from_their_download_site/?search=Directx I mean,if your that into retro gaming, why do not have an offline backup of these kind of things?
True the 32 to 64 bit switch over was a real pain, but even then you might need to unpack rather than use installers, or grab a different exe.
This whole, M$ make an update and everything stops working myth really should be over by now. If you have all the proper tools ready, then it’s nothing more than an inconvenience.
It’s far more likely that a new game won’t work for you, or some client crap will trash your system.
Tools you should have backed up offline are like:
Dosbox, scummvm, dx9, c++ extensions, various versions, cracked exes for all older games with drm.
Also, keep a link to pcgamingwiki.com, lots of good information.
craig_s_russell: I also keep my own copy of important items like DX9 installer, dgVoodoo, etc. I'm used to doing some work to get older games to work on Windows (including Windows 7). But there have been cases where Microsoft totally broke games beyond repair for me. For example, "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" will not run on Windows 10 because there's some sort of license check DLL that was removed from Windows 10 that this game depends on. Also occurred on my copy of LOTR Battle for Middle Earth. Aggravating, but not the end of the world. After all they're just games.
Yes, so what you are talking about there is windows 10 removes securom and safedisc support per:
[url=https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Return_of_the_King]https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Return_of_the_King[/url]
This is a good thing, they are awful bits of software, which like denuvo now, should not be allowed. You can install them yourself, however I strongly advise against it.
Some 10 years back or so I went through all my old physical and disc imaged all of them. Then I got a cracked exe for each, you can pick them up from various places but gamecopyworld is a good resource, make sure to virus scan with different virus scanners to be sure.
So the examples given are not windows compatability, but drm compatability issues, shows why drm is such a pain. To note, the future is streaming, so you won’t even have anything to crack regardless of what you run on.
Also, keep an eye on moddb and such like. Some great people write engine reimplements which both get rid of disc/drm needs and add features. Dhwem3 for doom3, gzdoom (a cracking product), scummvm, etc.
TBH since switching to win 10 I have only had M$ break one update which I had to rollback, otherwise I have found it to be the most compatible windows yet (close win7). With classic shell, windows shut up, geek uninstall and some other bits it’s pretty good.