Playing on Windows XP

[TheTank20]

What's the best way to get Quake running on Windows XP from the Steam release?

[jimgbr]

WHO THE HECK IS PLAYING THIS GAEM ON XP

[Seamus]

Erasing the hard drive and installing linux in its place.

[TheTank20]

i don't think an Intel Celeron 900MHz from an eMachines T1090 can handle a modern linux distro

[Jellopie]

Have you tried using FitzQuake? That would probably be my best bet for something that would still be compatible with XP. It's old, but so is XP. And you'll probably have to type +mlook in the console the first time you run it to enable mouse aiming. Just put Fitzquake085.exe from https://www.celephais.net/fitzquake/ into your base Quake directory and run it.

That or Winquake or GLQuake, but FitzQuake is a more advanced version of those, and I'm pretty sure that's what I was using back when I still had XP... almost twenty years ago. Regardless you won't be able to play the remastered version on the kex engine obviously, but the original game "should" work just by putting the .exe in the base Quake directory.

[Crix]

Seamus gave an *excellent* solution: install yourself a Linux distro that can be just as light on system resources.

[Seamus]

Originally posted by TheTank20:

i don't think an Intel Celeron 900MHz from an eMachines T1090 can handle a modern linux distro

There are quite a few light weight linux distros out there. All of which would work substantially better than the garbage that is windows xp in 2024.

Hell, there's forks of linux you can still get running on a 486. Not one I'd suggest using, but, it exists.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanolinux

[Jellopie]

And yet installing a Linux distro on the PC wasn't the actual question. The question was the best way to run the game on a PC with XP. And I still think that FitzQuake would probably be the best way to do that.

Who knows why they're trying to get Quake to run on an XP machine. It might just be a curious experiment for them, maybe they're building a legacy machine to run older software. But replacing the OS with Linux does not in any way answer the original question, which was "How do I run the Steam release of Quake on XP?"

[Mopey bloke]

Mark V and QuakeSpasm should probably get a go.

[Jellopie]

Originally posted by Mopey bloke:

Mark V and QuakeSpasm should probably get a go.

Quakespasm x86 might work, but I think it might be a little too advanced. Even though it's a great low-end port, if we're actually talking about a Celeron 900MHz, it's probably going to lag. Worth a shot, but I think FitzQuake would probably be better, since it was designed when XP was a big thing.

[lvan]

Ironwail, don’t listen to anyone else this is the fastest source port out there and it supports 32 bits windows no need to fiddle around too just install the remaster and it will recognize it instantly and run off its files.

Muh linux, muh this muh that - people can’t answer a damn question anymore without telling you how to live your life.

[Mopey bloke]

This is for Windows XP, which I doubt new source ports support. Does XP even have OpenGL 4.3 support that Ironwail requires?

[AguilaDeAcero]

Windows XP... What a legend.
Also, yes, QuakeSpasm should do the trick.

[Seamus]

Originally posted by lvan:

Muh linux, muh this muh that - people can’t answer a damn question anymore without telling you how to live your life.

Or, people could stop using dead platforms.

There is nothing xp will run that later versions won't so there isn't even the retro pc needing dos support excuse.

[Jellopie]

Originally posted by Seamus:

Originally posted by lvan:

Muh linux, muh this muh that - people can’t answer a damn question anymore without telling you how to live your life.

Or, people could stop using dead platforms.

There is nothing xp will run that later versions won't so there isn't even the retro pc needing dos support excuse.

Do you really think an "Intel Celeron 900MHz from an eMachines T1090" is going to be able to run a Windows OS later than XP? It "might" be able to run Vista, but that would be a downgrade from XP anyway.

The OP wanted advice on running Quake on XP, not installing a Linux distro, switching to a newer version of Windows, or getting a new PC. They asked a clear question, and they were given answers.

And yeah, while IronWail is fast, I would be amazed if it actually works on a PC that old.

[Seamus]

Originally posted by Jellopie:

Do you really think an "Intel Celeron 900MHz from an eMachines T1090" is going to be able to run a Windows OS later than XP? It "might" be able to run Vista, but that would be a downgrade from XP anyway.

There's a reason I pointed out that you can get linux running on a 486.