Running old games on Windows 7

Hello everyone. I just want to know. Is there any way to run old games (released before 2000) on Windows 7? They are not DOS games. DOS games I can run with DOSBOX, so no problem. But I need to run old Windows games meant for Windows 95/98. I tried compatibility mode, but these games just crash to the desktop. Is there any way to run these games? I thought newer Windows versions were backwards compatible with old software. I'm so surprised that this is happening. When old operating systems like Windows 95/98 can run these games, why not Windows 7? Even the compatibilty mode does not work for these old games. I really want to play those games, but I can't install Windows 98 on my system because there are no Windows 98 drivers available for my new hardware. Any way out of this? Please help.

Thank you.

@guynamedbilly

Can you please explain how to do that? Sorry, I'm a noob when it comes to these stuff.

ive given up on this , games under 2004 (some 2005) just won't work not matter what i try

Generally most of those games have fan made guides or patches around the internet allowing you to run the game. Jedi Knight, Grim Fandango, Blade Runner and Theif 1/2 for example. Using Google, I have yet to encounter a game that doesn't work on my system.

@guynamedbilly

Can you please explain how to do that? Sorry, I'm a noob when it comes to these stuff.

sunil_u123

it depends on ur WIN 7 version , if u have WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE or PRO u can run WINDOWS XP MODE it requires virtualization software such as Windows Virtual PC , so u can run ur old games or application.