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Recommend me a Windows 7 Mini PC
Synthesis
Honda Today!Registered User regular
Honda Today!Registered User regular
So, one of my greatest regrets of upgrading to Windows 10 (though technically, this also applies to Windows 8.1, which I used until Windows 10 reached maturity) is the loss of compatibility with some classic MechWarrior franchise titles, specially all three MechWarrior 2 games and, to a lesser (but still difficult to remedy extent), MechWarrior 3.
This is an oddity: if something runs in Windows 7, as a general rule, it almost certainly runs in 8.1 and 10--that's Microsoft's absurd legacy support on demonstration. Not so the case with the (semi-ironically named) Windows version, which besides including some extra textures and visuals, has the added benefit of being playable at higher resolutions without turning even the most powerful machine into a phone emulator, unlike the MS-DOS versions when running in DosBox (which are Windows 10 compatible).
There are a few solutions, including just accepting graphically limited versions of the DOS versions, the bottomless pit that is virtual machine emulation, or even various dual-booting solutions (my own horror stories with boot errors, going back to Windows 7, still haunt me though). But for some time I've wanted a small form factor PC that I could stick in the corner of my desk, run to the same monitor, and use some of the same USB accessories with, for legacy software purposes, sporadic requests from family members still using Windows 7, and that sort of thing.
Is this even feasible? eBay is littered with what could be described as "stolen or rejected 10-year-old school hardware", which might fit the bill, but those seem extremely variable in quality (and also kind of big), especially since I'm not one to buy much used PC hardware (though I've sold more than my share). I know I'm not going to find a system-on-a-stick capable of running Windows 7, but something more Mini-ATX, in theory, would be convenient (and a competent on board graphics chip should be more than enough to handle MechWarrior 2...anything more demanding should be doable in Windows 10). I might even be able to get out of Windows 7 as a requirement, if someone could recommend a Windows XP mini PC that might be viable if it could handle MW3.
So, gambling on a former library media PC, look for specialty hardware, or just a pipe dream?
This is an oddity: if something runs in Windows 7, as a general rule, it almost certainly runs in 8.1 and 10--that's Microsoft's absurd legacy support on demonstration. Not so the case with the (semi-ironically named) Windows version, which besides including some extra textures and visuals, has the added benefit of being playable at higher resolutions without turning even the most powerful machine into a phone emulator, unlike the MS-DOS versions when running in DosBox (which are Windows 10 compatible).
There are a few solutions, including just accepting graphically limited versions of the DOS versions, the bottomless pit that is virtual machine emulation, or even various dual-booting solutions (my own horror stories with boot errors, going back to Windows 7, still haunt me though). But for some time I've wanted a small form factor PC that I could stick in the corner of my desk, run to the same monitor, and use some of the same USB accessories with, for legacy software purposes, sporadic requests from family members still using Windows 7, and that sort of thing.
Is this even feasible? eBay is littered with what could be described as "stolen or rejected 10-year-old school hardware", which might fit the bill, but those seem extremely variable in quality (and also kind of big), especially since I'm not one to buy much used PC hardware (though I've sold more than my share). I know I'm not going to find a system-on-a-stick capable of running Windows 7, but something more Mini-ATX, in theory, would be convenient (and a competent on board graphics chip should be more than enough to handle MechWarrior 2...anything more demanding should be doable in Windows 10). I might even be able to get out of Windows 7 as a requirement, if someone could recommend a Windows XP mini PC that might be viable if it could handle MW3.
So, gambling on a former library media PC, look for specialty hardware, or just a pipe dream?
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You were able to get the windows version of MW2 running in win7? I was never able to get that working and resorted to dosbox.
Unless I'm misunderstanding your question, this is where it gets complicated (and technically off-topic, but to be fair, the guys in the BattleTech thread have better things to talk about than a 20-year-old game trilogy).
MW2 (that is, 31st Century Combat, Ghost Bear's Legacy, and Mercenaries) have something like two different versions (this isn't an exaggeration). Towards the end of that is the Windows 95 versions that were released jointly in the Titanium Trilogy (I'm almost completely certain). These work as "retro" Windows games across versions all the way through to Windows 7, with minimal effort (they were also glitchy and crash in their own right, but so were the DOS versions). More importantly, they had DirectX support, unifying hardware rendering (because DirectX had become a thing), and were much more technically capable than the DOS versions (to start, I'm not certain an MS-DOS PC actually existed that could run the games at 1024 x 768 on high with anything resembling good performance--the Windows versions could do this on middling hardware easily). DosBox kind of recreates this problem in modern times: the DOS versions run okay in DosBox, but go beyond 320 x 200, and everything slows down to a painful crawl (I also had mouse emulation problems that were completely absent from the Windows versions).
MW3 is an entirely separate can of worms. So, if you wanted to play the trilogy, you were fine until Windows 8 hit (and 8.1, and 10). The reason given still isn't known beyond "Something changed in Windows." Compatibility mode is, as far as I know, irrelevant. The game runs fine until actually loading the 3D engine, then crashes. MechVM doesn't change that.
But if you have even a basic Windows 7 laptop, you can run the Titanium Trilogy at a nice, high framerate and resolution. Hence my idea. Unfortunately, I didn't have the foresight to keep a Windows 7 PC around for just this reason--we people talk about "retro PC gaming", they correctly think about the 486-era, Pentiums, and Windows XP. It's seldom a case of "This runs pretty good right up to Windows 7...and then nothing."
In an ideal world, I'd have a ultra-Mini PC with Intel onboard graphics (and probably a fan, rather than passive cooling) that if the itch for MW2 came up, I could plug a keyboard and mouse into, plug into my monitor, and I'd be good to go. Maybe even a stick PC (though that would necessitate a hub). But the fact is Windows 7 apparently wasn't that suited for MIni PC (and probably why ultrabook tablets didn't take off until Windows 8 and the original Surface Pro) means that's probably not going to happen. I might need to settle for a non-terrible Dell semi-gaming laptop running Windows 7 (which I'd happily take recommendations for too).
Oh, I know what you are talking about. I have the windows 95 version of MW:2 mercs on cd. I spent an entire day trying to get that game to run on my windows 7 laptop had had zero success. I ended up having to play the dos version in doxbox instead.
I didn't have any difficulties in getting MW3 to launch in win7, but it did not run in a playable way. I forget the specific issues I had but there was some major bugginess with the graphics (the UI in particular).
I don't think you're going to have much luck getting either of those games running on windows 7. You'll likely have better luck running those games on an actual windows 95 machine.
Yeah, that's not an issue. Via USB and after installing a few drivers, I wouldn't need to connect it to the internet--that's a good warning, but it's not a surprise to me personally.
I actually had a friend of mine (the only one who still uses Windows 7--he has his reasons, I assume) test out the Quadology. MW2 worked on the first try for him--the "Quadrology" repack is basically idiot-proof.
MW3 would be more troublesome, but I can install that on Windows 10 with certain issues.
One day...
Steam | XBL
Maybe. As much as I love GOG, I don't really count on them to fix my troubles, especially with the licensing headache that is classic MechWarrior.
Anyway, my solution will probably be to nab one of these, an HP Compaq 6005. It's relatively small, it comes with the necessary cables, and more importantly, it has Windows 7 (32-bit) installed. An ATI Radeon HD 4200 and an Athlon II X2 ought to be more than enough for MW2, possibly also MW3.
I was hoping for something with an Intel HD 4200 or thereabouts, but finding one of those with Windows 7 pretty much means getting an old laptop, which on top of having an unnecessary display/battery, simply hasn't declined in price as much.
Well, hopefully this answers my limited Windows 7 legacy needs.
Steam | XBL
I hope so. At least the return policy exists, and this is one of those times where it pays to have eBay's absurdly pro-customer return policy if anything goes wrong.
Last night, I did some more experimenting with MechVM, and DosBox, and the results were disappointing across the board. I have no idea what the mouse emulation problem is, or why it's prevalent in DosBox but not the Windows versions (which crash on launch anyway). I should probably try a few other DosBox mouse-driven games to make sure it's not across the board.
If everything goes as planned, that thing could potentially be a good XP/Windows 7 retro gaming box. Anything that pounds a Radeon HD 4200 should run on Windows 10 anyway, and admittedly GOG has filled out a lot of the gaps. It could, for example, serve as my new TIE Fighter '95 machine, since that just refused to work at some point. Without a USB-Wifi device connecting it to the internet will be a minor challenge, but that might not be necessary anyway--it has a disc drive after all.
Try using a PS/2 mouse if you're not already (or an adapter).
Anyway, the HP Compaq 6005 came in a week earlier than expected. The PC itself is in surprisingly good condition, and surprisingly small--the huge power brick makes up for it I guess.
It also boots fine...except for the fact that because this is an HP office computer and/or Windows 7, it's set to only output to VGA by default. And you can't change it in the BIOS. So I've had to go hunting for a VGA cable (thankfully I have have an old TV that will accept VGA) so I can hopefully go into the ATi options inside Windows 7 and change the input to the DisplayPort out.
At least it makes all the Windows 7-ish sounds, so I can confirm it's not dead on arrival.
DisplayPort does not work, and I cannot figure out why (both D-Sub and DP are on the motherboard). The AMD Control Panel doesn't have any visible options to disable one or enable the other, and it detects plenty of other monitors as secondary displays...it just won't send video out from the DisplayPort (except for the BIOS and Windows booting screens).
For all I know, that's why this computer was surplused. Nothing online to suggest that you need to toggle something.
Well, I guess I could just leave it plugged into my bedroom and sit on the floor to play MechWarrior 2 (assuming that works, I still haven't tried it). Or hope a D-SUB/HDMI converter doesn't fuck up somehow.