Question about Windows 98

[adventurefan]

Will any of the games I get from Steam work on Windows 98 if I install that on my computer? Probably right? I hope this is the right place to ask this.

[FMP]

You cant run Steam on Win98 so unless the game can be run outside of Steam. Doubt it.

[Cathulhu]

Steam dropped support for Windows 98 12 years ago. It no longer runs on Windows 98 for over a decade.
Not sure why you'd want to do that though.

[🍋 Lemonfed 🍋]

You would have to download the games on a more modern Os then copy them on your windows 98 computer and hope they don't need steam to run.

[Iron Phoenix]

Well the current version of the Steam client itself, I think actually dropped support for XP and Vista a while back when it switched over to 64 bit.

Considering Windows 98 is an even earlier 32 bit operating system I would say your chances are quite slim, but not having been in that situation personally would also say there is no harm in trying if you want to go to the trouble.


Lemonfed mentions downloading the games via Steam on a modern Os as a first step then copy them ( the game folders ) over to your ( hopefully internet and Steam free ) windows 98 machine.
I think a benefit of that idea is that most Windows 98 games could have been around before Steam?


But anyway - once they are copied over, since Steam wont be present any way and you just have the game folders - you may just be able to launch these games by double clicking their appropriate .exe or launcher within the game directory and the game in question may just work.


But also bear in mind that USB was fairly new with Windows 98 by default - so if you wish to use USB game pads you "might" have to find some drivers depending on the version of Windows 98 you install.

[Iron Phoenix]

Out of curiosity OP, I would also ask why you wanted to install Windows 98 on your machine.
Is it your main PC, or just one for tinkering around with for example just to play old Windows 98 games?

It will likely be unsafe also if not inconvenient to connect an actual windows 98 rig to the internet to download the steam games in the first place to the machine?
There are 32 bit web browsers around but Chrome for example (being 64 bit and what Steam integrates with partly) wont have anything to do with XP, so there is that to consider.





Now if it interests you OP, its true that you could technically work around the security issue by using Windows 98 in a virtual machine environment on a modern machine with Windows 10, or possibly use modern system compatibility mode options to run the old games in a modern OS.

BUT!!

Something I did a long time ago (because reasons) was to make use all the spare parts I had to frankenstein together the guts of a spare PC, balance the mobo on a pile of books and install Windows 98 via an optical drive hanging off the edge.

With no internet connectivity by design since 98 was old even back then, this carefully arranged yet pig ugly pile of parts was mainly used to play an old second hand retail disc copy of System Shock 2 and that was in fact its sole purpose - that and old retail disc for windows 98 / Dos box games since my "modern" gaming rig at the time was incompatible with System Shock 2.
I was lucky to still have an old AGP graphics card lying around in a box thanks to my hoarding complusions lol



It was safer security wise, used parts just gathering dust, made a side project for a while and also let me play System Shock 2 on a dedicated Windows 98 machine powered by a humble Nvidia TnT2.
Steam was not installed on that machine, nor even attempted, purely old 2nd hand retail discs.

Anyway, Steam has a vast library of games so while there "might" be actual older games available here listing windows 98 as a minimum, and while they "might" even be made to run on a windows 98 environment - there may also be compatibility problems with the client itself if the game itself is launched via steam because Steam prefers to eat at 64 bit hotels these days instead of the 32 bit diners of its early days such as Windows 98.


*Correction its only 32 bit Apple systems Steam doesn't like much for now.
32 bit Steam client for Windows is still a thing.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Originally posted by Iron Phoenix:

Well the current version of the Steam client itself, I think actually dropped support for XP and Vista a while back when it switched over to 64 bit.

The Windows version of the client is still 32-bit. Don't know where your info is coming from.

[Iron Phoenix]

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

Originally posted by Iron Phoenix:

Well the current version of the Steam client itself, I think actually dropped support for XP and Vista a while back when it switched over to 64 bit.

The Windows version of the client is still 32-bit. Don't know where your info is coming from.

:qr:

Hmm, I didnt know that, well I stand corrected :)
But Op still might have trouble with 98 and Steam.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Originally posted by Iron Phoenix:

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

The Windows version of the client is still 32-bit. Don't know where your info is coming from.

Hmm, I didnt know that, well I stand corrected :)
But Op still might have trouble with 98 and Steam.

So far, only the MAC version is 64-bit because of Apple.

[Masque]

I think some people like to run their old games in the operating system they were made for originally.

In that case, can't you run your files for '98 in Compatibility mode? Isn't that essentially a Win98 emulator akin to DOSBox?

[adventurefan]

I want to install Windows 98 so I can play older games that are not on Steam.

[Masque]

Originally posted by adventurefan:

I want to install Windows 98 so I can play older games that are not on Steam.

Read this, please.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/15078/windows-10-make-older-apps-or-programs-compatible

You can run any program in Compatibility Mode, which emulates earlier versions of Windows.

[adventurefan]

Thanks, but I guess it's just that I've tried doing something like that but it doesn't always work out.

[Magma Dragoon]

Originally posted by adventurefan:

I want to install Windows 98 so I can play older games that are not on Steam.

Do it inside a VM

[adventurefan]

What's that?

[🍋 Lemonfed 🍋]

Virtual machines are softwares that allow you to install a windows inside your windows.