Win/ 9x programs and XP compatibility

Programs ~~> 9x ~~>> what to do, capatibility ?!!?!?

Hello Hello =),

I was wondering what would be the best solution towards running 9x programs that do not run in XP. All the software are stopped being develped and have no further patches. I tried using the XP compatibility mode . . . it failed this time.

now my problem is . . . i want some programs to run, easy ways ? . . . i heard i can:

use VMWARE ?
use Virtual PC?
setup a dual boot?

i don't mind sacrificing anything . . . and keep windows xp . . . but i want some how to install win98 to run the 9x based programs

which method does everyone suggest ?

and again . . . i am willing to spend the money to buy the software . . . =)

Thanks,
TRUFFLES :grinthumb

If you're planning to run pure apps and don't mind the speed, I would recommend VMWare. But if you're planning to run games, dual booting would be the best way to go.

BTW, what kinda programs are you planning to run?

Dual Boot guarantees compatibility and speed, but at the expense of hard drive space.

Oh yeah and a reinstall AFAIK Win9x had to be installed first - I could not find any way of grafting a Win9x install onto XP after I had installed it. Even modifying Boot.ini, I could not get it to see Win9x and ended up messing it up biggy style

Well, installing VMWare would still require some amount of space

Not really. When installing Win9x AFTER WinNT/2k, just type:

setup /ntldr

and that'll let the setup proggie to leave the NT Loader alone. If I remember correctly, it'll also create an entry in the boot.ini file.

If only I knew that before I reinstalled everything

Yip, I've found that dual booting is the only real, true way to retain win9x compatibility....

It's not too late now I'm sure there'll be a time when you'll have to reinstall Win9x

It is like the earlier posts say, it depends on whether you will be using the second OS for gaming or simply to run applications on. 98SE is definitely still the best for gaming, but if you want to run programs then simply get an emulator to make the programs compatible with XP like the ones you suggested.