# Old Software?



## MawKettle (Sep 13, 2006)

I've been cleaning out closets....and I've got a ton of older software (i.e. Wordperfect 6.1 for Windows, a few games, some programming languages) that I haven't used in years, and that I can't see myself using now.

I doubt any of these things can run on Windows XP / Vista / 7 and they're collecting dust in my house.

Does anyone know if any way to dispose of / donate old software?

(Of course, if anyone here is interested, I'll post a list of what I have)


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

Trash can comes to mind.... Dump it on free cycle


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Trash is where mine went.


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## Capt Quirk (Sep 24, 2011)

I still keep an old Athlon 1800 with Win2k on it, just for some of my favorite old software.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

A lot of old software will continue to work fine, in fact, maybe better than fine in some cases. It seems as though half the programs around today want to be able to do automatic updates over the internet (because their developers were too stupid to get the job done right the first time, or are fearful of hacks and cracks, or are playing the "bright shiney object" game.

By tossing your software away, you are doing exactly what the market wants you to think you have to do. Ask yourself about functionality and stability, and you might find yourself rediscovering some of those old programs.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

We are talking about things that ran many years ago on Windows 95 and 98. Those will not run on the newer operating systems especially when you have moved up to Windows 7. And soon to be Widows 8.
And in my case not at all on my Mac. 
Those that were made for Windows machines. LOL
And NO I do not want to install Windows on this iMac.

Heck even my printer that ran on Windows 98 98se would NOT run on XP. Nor would my Scanner, because you can not get the drivers for them.
And in some cases that is true also for those old games of yesteryear.


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## Capt Quirk (Sep 24, 2011)

My problem with some old games, like Duke Nukem, is that they were meant to run audo on the old Sound Blaster cards. Can't get it to work right without them. I was fortunate enough to pick up a couple of AWE audio cards a few years back. My old box needs another rebuild, and I'll slip one in this time. It will be good to hear Duke spouting off his little gems of and taunts again 

Speaking of which, anybody got an old Abit KN7 Delta board in good shape?


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

I think XP can run most of w95/ w98 software in compatibility mode??? And XP had dos emulator built in for actual dos only software.

Anyway heard people quip that its easier to get the old windows software to run under WINE in linux than it is on the newer windows systems.

The dos software usually easy to use in dosbox emulator whether under linux or modern windows os.

If its commercially produced software whoever uses it would need the code numbers to install it. Software without the install code would be crippled trialware at best and probably wouldnt install at all.

And yes old software can be useful if you can make it run. Like an old tractor, it can still do what it did when it was produced and sold. Whether that function is still useful to you is the only question.

Oh and if you still have copy of the old operating system that ran the software, you can first install and run that operating system in virtual environment then use the old virtual system to run the old software. Has to be done that way on modern computer cause there arent hardware drivers to say install win95 directly on a partition on current model computer.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

That is a lot of "geek" talk when most on here just want to turn the machine on and have fun with it. Opening e mail. playing a few games, doing a few cards etc. Not many are included to go through ll those motions just to see if some older stuff will work.


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## Capt Quirk (Sep 24, 2011)

arabian knight said:


> That is a lot of "geek" talk when most on here just want to turn the machine on and have fun with it. Opening e mail. playing a few games, doing a few cards etc. Not many are included to go through ll those motions just to see if some older stuff will work.


It was in the early 90's, and I was a complete technophobe. I had a job doing phone sales, and sorta watched the office manager work on the computer. The company split, and the manager left. I ended up inching into his position, learning as I went. Taught myself basic page layout for flyers. After that, I started to teach myself basic web design, and how to repair my computer. Come a long way since then, most of it is learning on my own, as I went.

If you want to survive, you may need to learn how to use a new tool, or a different way of doing things


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

arabian knight said:


> That is a lot of "geek" talk when most on here just want to turn the machine on and have fun with it. Opening e mail. playing a few games, doing a few cards etc. Not many are included to go through ll those motions just to see if some older stuff will work.


Being cheap and saving a buck while learning something in process is FUN for me, but if others have fun slaving away to buy new and improved on the easy payment plan... Well somebody has to do it or there will be no old bargain priced stuff to fix up for us cheapskates. Not to mention the greed economy would collapse. Somebody has to take the financial hit! Better you than me.


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## Capt Quirk (Sep 24, 2011)

HermitJohn said:


> Being cheap and saving a buck while learning something in process is FUN for me, but if others have fun slaving away to buy new and improved on the easy payment plan... Well somebody has to do it or there will be no old bargain priced stuff to fix up for us cheapskates. Not to mention the greed economy would collapse. Somebody has to take the financial hit! Better you than me.


Now THAT is the spirit! What is the mantra of the Homesteader? Recycle, reuse, repurpose  You would be amazed how many PCs my family has gone through over the years, and the only one we've bought, was a laptop last year. People get new computers all the time, because they want the newest one, or something died on their old one. Take two or three "dead" PCs off the curb, and you can piece together a new one for the family. The hardest part of that, is the operating system. Windows doesn't like you to put their OS on more than one system, without buying a license for each machine. Good old Win2K isn't picky like Windows 7 or XP or Vista.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Capt Quirk said:


> The hardest part of that, is the operating system. Windows doesn't like you to put their OS on more than one system, without buying a license for each machine. Good old Win2K isn't picky like Windows 7 or XP or Vista.


Puppy isnt picky, install it on million machines if you want and nobody cares or charges a dime. I switched to linux many years ago out of frustration with win98 and the frequent blue screen of death and feeling like I was a beta tester for M$ and paying for the privilege. 

You get used to linux and thats that. I do have a severely nlite'd version of XP on one small partition to run couple windows programs offline one program used maybe once every few months, the other once a year. Dont have to update or anything since it doesnt go online. Having the small xp partition is easier than dealing with WINE since its only those two programs and they are used very infrequently.

I've had zero experience using VISTA or win7. Cant see any reason to use them. Dont need to run any windoze software other than those two programs I mentioned. Can do everything else with free linux sofware.


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## Capt Quirk (Sep 24, 2011)

Can't bring myself to do Linux... not even a huge mob of geeks with flaming torches and pitchforks can make me


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

arabian knight said:


> We are talking about things that ran many years ago on Windows 95 and 98. Those will not run on the newer operating systems especially when you have moved up to Windows 7. And soon to be Widows 8.
> And in my case not at all on my Mac.
> Those that were made for Windows machines. LOL
> And NO I do not want to install Windows on this iMac.
> ...


Man... You sure know how to make a guy appreciate Linux! :-o


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

backwoodsman7 said:


> Man... You sure know how to make a guy appreciate Linux! :-o


I don't know what that is suppose to mean. 
But I learned back in the 90's on Apple's and then Macs.
We had a blank data Base called Double Helix made just for Macs.
After a time I would go in and program that data base myself, and also MicrosoftWorks for Macs.
Then had 2 (PC's) H-P and a Dell. 
Before I switched back to this iMac to which I will never go back to MS OR ANY other OS out there. Period.


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## cmcon=7 (Mar 7, 2010)

this is great http://www.dosbox.com/ I don't recommend or not recommend this site, it just came up with a quick search.
anyway this program will let you run dos programs on your win 7 machine, you will need to brush up on dos like commands, but it is worth learning.

eta i don't have any 1.44 disks that are readable anymore, I doubt you do, so don't waste money on a new 3.5 drive.
cd's are probably still ok.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

"We are talking about things that ran many years ago on Windows 95 and 98. Those will not run on the newer operating systems especially when you have moved up to Windows 7. And soon to be Widows 8."

LOL. The programs I wrote for sale that pay the bills here run under DOS, Windows 3.1, Win 95, Win 98, Win XP, and Vista without any problems (Win ME was a disaster, as most people will tell you). I've been too acquainted with Windows quirks to like the O.S., but PROPERLY written programs do seem to have no major compatibility issues. What does tick me off is the undocumented bugs in the various networking schemes that everyone glosses over, and the way that every time Windows "upgrades" the control over it is more and more obfuscated, and the more Windows is turning into a tv set remote control, AND the way later versions delay control over hardware in attempts to "protect" the O.S..


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## Capt Quirk (Sep 24, 2011)

"Windows Quirks"... is that a crack at me???


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Capt Quirk said:


> Can't bring myself to do Linux... not even a huge mob of geeks with flaming torches and pitchforks can make me


Wasnt the geeks that got me to use linux, was Big Bill with his hand out rubbing his thumb and forefinger together. I actually preferred an operating system called BeOS. It was around the time of win95 when linux was very user unfriendly and win95 was sold to us fools alpha testing for Big Bill. It worked and was slick. Unfortunately nobody wrote very many drivers for it so you had to own certain hardware in order to run it. Big Bill threatened to not sell windows to certain computer manufacturers that saw how slick Be was and were offering it as an option. Be sued and eventually Be won but not before they went bankrupt. So in essence M$ won.


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## Capt Quirk (Sep 24, 2011)

I remember seeing BeOS about that time, maybe a little earlier? It didn't go very far though.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

""Windows Quirks"... is that a crack at me??? "

LOL, no. Was thinking more along the lines of the de-activation of the [ALT]255 acceptance by the file systems, support for some of the legacy screens, etc..

Wasn't Laporte big on BeOS? I still miss tech-tv.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Harry Chickpea said:


> Wasn't Laporte big on BeOS? I still miss tech-tv.


 Yes I do to. Now he REALLY likes Apple Products. LOL

He still has a radio show on every Saturday And Sunday. Called The Tech Guy.

http://techguylabs.com/radio/Profiles/LeoLaporte


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## Capt Quirk (Sep 24, 2011)

Speaking of TechTV, Patrick from the Screen Savers has a web series at http://revision3.com/


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

When M$ blocked Be selling to computer makers, they rested their hope on Apple using BeOS on their computers. A deal was close, then Apple changed course at last minute and Be was done, slowly drifted into bankruptcy and that was that.

BeOS the operating system itself has limped along with handful volunteers patching last version of BeOS under some special use license, plus working to produce a freeBeOS based on its own kernel that would run old BeOS software plus linux software/drivers could be compiled for it too. Too little too late.

I liked Puppy Linux cause it is small and efficient like BeOS, but has access to the vast amount software and drivers that linux offers.


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