How compatible is old OS with modern software and hardware?

[NoPuhi]

Im interested if i could potentially use win95/98 as my main operating system. How well would it support modern programs and games like Chrome or Steam? And could it even run on/with modern hardware like say a GTX 1080?
Would it be possible to function normally with an outdated OS in 2018?

 

[ikaz]

Short no, at least for steam requirements, and I believe they maybe removing the XP/Vista soon as well.

System Requirements
Windows XP, Vista, or 7
512 MB RAM
1 Ghz or faster processor

And good luck finding drivers for windows 95/98 even if you have an old PC that was build around the 95/98 era you will would have issues finding drivers unless you really know where to look. And Chrome I beleive requires at least Windows 2000 or newer to run (not 100%) but I'm sure it doesn't run on Win9X.

 

[Eximo]

I don't believe Steam would be supported. Trying to recall, but I'm pretty sure it supported Windows XP at launch, possibly Windows 2000. (2002 was the release date for Steam, and they had begun development 2+ years earlier, likely with Windows 2000 (NT 5))

Win98 was fairly common back then, but not so much with gamers as to keep up with Direct X you really needed to be on the latest Windows platform, just like today.

Also a very turbulent time for GPUs. It was around then that a lot of vendors started merging or disappearing. And driver support slowly started slipping away.

Your modern hardware would not have drivers for such old OS. You wouldn't be able to use many of the contemporary browsers. A lot of applications will rely on certain windows modules and .NET frameworks which don't exist in Win98.

Then you have 64bit. No such thing as Win98 64bit, so many modern titles would be impossible to run.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Not going to happen. A lot of the old OS code relied on software timed loops and is written in such a way it will flat out malfunction on modern CPUs. Some of the issues were solved with patches or updates, but in the end, you will have zero support for your hardware as there are zero drivers for modern equipment that target the old, consumer versions of Windows.

Even if you do get an old version of Windows running, it will not take advantage of the feature sets in your modern equipment.

Program support will be non-existent and nothing should even be installable if written to check requirements before installation takes place because modern software relies on modern features, which simply don't exist in old versions of Windows.

 

[ikaz]

Is there any reason why you want to use such an old OS ? I mean if its cost you can pick up a win 7/10 refurbish on ebay (at least in the us) for around $100. That you can plug in a modern card like 1050/460 though any newer probably would require a more costly setup.

 

[NoPuhi]

Is there any reason why you want to use such an old OS ? I mean if its cost you can pick up a win 7/10 refurbish on ebay (at least in the us) for around $100. That you can plug in a modern card like 1050/460 though any newer probably would require a more costly setup.

no real reason, i just like the old os more. feels more solid.

 

[ikaz]

well I can tell you windows 95/98 are not solid OS, windows 98SE was not bad, but XP was much better and now windows 7. You maybe able to go back as far as windows XP as far as general usability but not recommended.

 

[USAFRet]

no real reason, i just like the old os more. feels more solid.

Win 95/98 is absolutely not "more solid" than current OS's, incl Win 10.

In addition, current software won't run. Especially games. And browsers. And hardware.

Finally...they are completely lacking any security updates for years. Anything previous to Win 7 is not recommended to be connected directly to the internet.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Yeah, it's all fun and games until you want to do something useful with on old OS other than play an old game specifically written to run on that generation of OS.

Trying to get a modern web browser to work correctly is going to be a challenge.

Stability is just a fond memory. We take for granted how stable things are now and forget how many users had to reboot Windows several times a day because it was either malfunctioning or bog slow because they used poorly written or buggy software which tied up GDI resources and never released them.

If you want to play with some of those old versions of Windows, I highly recommend using vintage hardware from the correct time period. If that's not an option, try working with them in a virtual machine. If you can sort out how to get them to run issue free in a modern VM, I would think you may be able to make them work on a modern build.