How to play 32bit games on my 64bit Win 10?

First of all, a 64-bit system CAN run 32-bit apps.

Second, have you checked what versions of Windows the games are compatible with?

Third, you can't dual boot a 32-bit system as far as I know, because switching to 32-bit even requires a full clean-install which removes all OS and files.

Right-click the game's run file > choose Properties > Compatibility tab > make sure there's a check mark near Run this app in compatibility mode > click the drop-down box and choose the OS which is listed as compatible for the app. Do the same for all.

Then, try installing again.

Name some titles. Are the games on disc ?

• MS have created some issues for older disc based games with Win10, but most games released from 2002\2004 onward

will run on Win10. Some require fixes, or tweaks to user or game files ( .ini or .cfg ).

Pre - 2000 releases are more likely to need fixes for things like colour.

• Games released in the earlier '90's often won't install on any 64bit Windows because they use a 16bit installer.

These do not work with 64bit Windows.

You can download 32bit installers for some of these old classics. It is also often possible to copy the game from a machine

using 32bit Windows to the 64bit machine.

• So... a fair bit of stuffing around with the really old stuff, so it's often easier to just buy the game again from a site such as

http://www.gog.com/  . When on sale most of the really old stuff is only a few USD.

They remove pesky DRM and also do anything else necessary to get games working on modern windows.

• The biggest single gaming issue with Win10 is MS built a 'security feature' into Win10 that prevents games that use SafeDisc copy protection

from launching, or loading game play. SafeDisk was use a lot over a number of years from around 2000.

Win10 generally pops up an 'Run as administrator' error when SafeDisk blocks a game, but this error is misleading.

To run any SafeDisk game on WIn10 you need to use a noCD fix\hack. This is a file the replaces the games original .exe file with

one that tricks the game engine to 'think' the CD check has been done when you launch the game. CD\DVD no longer required.

SafeDisc is not the only problematic copy protection though. You will also need to use noCD fixes for some disc based games that

use other forms of DRM (eg- Tages, SecuROM), as, even though XP 64bit was around when many of these games were released, they

didn't make their copy protections compatible with 64bit Windows, so it got flagged as a potential hack.

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Hi Michael -

I just fired up the machine that has Diablo II, and it's still running well on the current version of Win10.

(Using Intel HD4600 on that machine atm. Looks like the 10yr old AMD HD7970 may have carked it).

I don't know if it will help your search, but the name of the creator of the Glide 3 to Open GL Wrapper is Sven Labusch.

• Back again... Too easy. Heaps of sites still have it (I was a bit lazy yesterday)... https://www.moddb.com/games/diablo-2-lod/downloads/glide-wrapper-v14e-final

Or the creators site... https://www.svenswrapper.de/english/

Cheers - BD

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Unfortunately, all of those games do fall in the problematic category due to their age. Particularly if on disc.

If you are using downloads from any of the 'abandonware' sites there may be other issues that the disc based version

does not have (and potential adware\spyware).

• One Compatibility setting all old games that are restricted to low 4:3 aspect ration resolutions needs is Change High DPI Setting.

This will center these games properly on a wide screen monitor.

• Diablo II will run on Win10 when using the same fixes that were required on Win7 (haven't actually run the game in

several years, and if still installed it's on my other machine, I'll verify tomorrow).

I don't have links for the various fixes, which all came from a DIABLO II fan site, but do still have them on file.

This game had a problem with colour, and there are a couple of different fixes for that, but the main tool you need,

other than the patches released by the developer when the game was still recent is the "Glide 3 to Open GL Wrapper".

This tools allows the game to run using Open GL vs the defunct Glide 3 graphics, and also has a number of other

options that help the game run on newer Windows versions.

I also have an LOD fix, and a registry fix for the colour, but I'm not sure if they are in use. The tool above may cover those issues.

• I forgot to mention a another other old issue (also true on Win7 and XP) - DOS. With old '90's DOS based games you need to use DOSBox.

DOSBox requires a bit of learning. I downloaded it years ago but ended up not using it, and by the look of it I must have deleted it a while back.

D-Fend Reloaded: Overview is a user interface for DOS (DOSBox included in the download), which helps ease the learning curve.

My DOS based games all came from GOG or Steam, and they install with DOSBox (Lucas Arts games install using ScummVM),

and these games usually only cost a few $$ when a sale is on, so if it's a good game and available, I reckon it's worth it not to have to stuff around.

Your Pinball games may be DOS based. I don't have these, but do have a couple of DOS pinball games

(Pro Pinball Big Race USA and Timeshock. Both from GOG). I just checked and they are both still working.

If the games are not DOS based, the failure to install is more likely due to them using 16bit installers.

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Hi Sandra. I'm Greg, 10 years awarded Windows MVP, specializing in Installation, Performance, Troubleshooting and Activation, here to help you.

Windows 10 should run 32bit apps and games, the problem is likely they're so old they can't run any longer.

You can try installing the game in Compatibility Mode:

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/run-old-softwa...

You can also install Windows 7 in a VM to run games that 7 will run:

https://www.howtogeek.com/59076/beginner-how-to...

Feel free to ask back any questions. Report back results for more steps if necessary.

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