FAQ:
Q: Is this legal?
A: All of the disk images that I provide on this website fall under the category of "Abandonware," meaning that they are over 7 years old, mostly out of use by the general populace and no longer supported by their respective manufacturers. While these programs are still protected under copyright, you are more than welcome to read 17 US Code § 117 for more information. (However, please note that copyright laws are not the same in all countries and will vary outside the United States.)
Q: What's the password for [insert disk image here]?
A: If there is no password listed in the disk image's description, then the password is always "password" (without the quotations.)
Q: Do you take requests for new disk images?
A: Of course! In your request, just be sure to specify the following:
Q: QEMU Manager isn't working properly in Windows 10. How do I fix this?
A: This question has been moved to the "Help" page. Please see it for instructions.
Q: For some VMWare and Virtual PC 2007 disk images, you say that I should change the BIOS date. How do I do this?
A: This question has been moved to the "Help" page. Please see it for instructions.
Q: How can I enable 32-bit color depth on Windows NT 4.0?
A: (VirtualBox only) At the top of the virtual machine window you should see all of the menus available. Go to Devices > Insert Guest Additions CD image and install VirtualBox guest additions. Reboot when finished.
Q: Why did you create this website?
A: I created this website so people don't have to go through the hassle of installing an operating system off of an ISO or other disk image themselves. Believe me, I've run into a lot of errors...
Q: I downloaded one of your disk images and it didn't work! Am I just wasting my time?
A: I personally test all of the disk images I upload onto this website beforehand, however it is by no means uncommon to run into problems when booting one. There are a few possible reasons for this:
Q: Where do you download the ISO image files you use to install operating systems on disk images?
A: When I first started creating disk images, I downloaded ISO files off of 4Shared, but now I use WinWorldPC.
Q: Why do people use virtual machines?
A: Well, there's more than one reason:
Q: How do I install games and other programs onto my virtual machine?
A: You can either download games/programs directly on to your virtual machine via the Internet or use ISO files from your host (I recommend using WinISO or CDBurnerXP to add files onto an ISO image that can be mounted to your virtual machine, or you can download an ISO image off the internet; an example would be the Office 97 setup disk.)
Q: Why haven't you provided any multilingual disk images?
A: I'm a native English speaker (I hope you can tell by the website.) Most operating systems already have the capability to change the language built in (so you can just change it within the virtual machine, but this can be difficult.) I am considering releasing some disk images in foreign languages such as Spanish, Russian, or Chinese, but for now I'm unsure of what will come of this. If you have a request for any language to be preinstalled on a disk image, please see the "Contact me" page and I will definitely try to make it for you.
Is your question not on this page? If so, please feel free to submit any additional questions you may have to me via email. Please see the "Contact me" page for more info.
Thanks for using this website!
A: All of the disk images that I provide on this website fall under the category of "Abandonware," meaning that they are over 7 years old, mostly out of use by the general populace and no longer supported by their respective manufacturers. While these programs are still protected under copyright, you are more than welcome to read 17 US Code § 117 for more information. (However, please note that copyright laws are not the same in all countries and will vary outside the United States.)
Q: What's the password for [insert disk image here]?
A: If there is no password listed in the disk image's description, then the password is always "password" (without the quotations.)
Q: Do you take requests for new disk images?
A: Of course! In your request, just be sure to specify the following:
- What operating system you want (Windows 95, Ubuntu, etc.)
- Which emulator you want to use (VirtualBox, QEMU, VMWare, or Virtual PC 2007)
Q: QEMU Manager isn't working properly in Windows 10. How do I fix this?
A: This question has been moved to the "Help" page. Please see it for instructions.
Q: For some VMWare and Virtual PC 2007 disk images, you say that I should change the BIOS date. How do I do this?
A: This question has been moved to the "Help" page. Please see it for instructions.
Q: How can I enable 32-bit color depth on Windows NT 4.0?
A: (VirtualBox only) At the top of the virtual machine window you should see all of the menus available. Go to Devices > Insert Guest Additions CD image and install VirtualBox guest additions. Reboot when finished.
Q: Why did you create this website?
A: I created this website so people don't have to go through the hassle of installing an operating system off of an ISO or other disk image themselves. Believe me, I've run into a lot of errors...
Q: I downloaded one of your disk images and it didn't work! Am I just wasting my time?
A: I personally test all of the disk images I upload onto this website beforehand, however it is by no means uncommon to run into problems when booting one. There are a few possible reasons for this:
- Some operating systems just take longer to boot than others, so please be patient!
- A common error to see when booting some Windows 9x-based systems is "Windows protection error. You need to restart your computer." If you get this error message, make sure you have allocated between 100-200MB of RAM (hint: try 128) to your virtual machine and restart it. If problems persist, reinstall the disk image.
- If you attempt to boot a time-bombed operating system without changing the BIOS date first, it will not work. Check the description of the disk image you downloaded. If it says "Be sure to set the BIOS date to" that means it is mandatory to change the BIOS date before booting. If you have already attempted to boot the disk image without changing the BIOS date, reinstall it. Please see "Changing the BIOS date in VMWare and Virtual PC 2007" and "Disabling the Timebomb in Windows Betas" on the Help page for more information.
- If you changed the BIOS date BEFORE booting or the operating system is NOT time-bombed, but hangs on the startup screen or doesn't boot at all and just gives a "No bootable device" error, then the disk image is likely corrupted. Try reinstalling it, and if the problems persist, please contact me.
Q: Where do you download the ISO image files you use to install operating systems on disk images?
A: When I first started creating disk images, I downloaded ISO files off of 4Shared, but now I use WinWorldPC.
Q: Why do people use virtual machines?
A: Well, there's more than one reason:
- Playing old games/running old programs that won't work with newer operating systems
- The nostalgia
- Curiosity
- Testing (antivirus testing, software testing/development, etc.)
- Educational purposes (for learning about the history of operating systems)
Q: How do I install games and other programs onto my virtual machine?
A: You can either download games/programs directly on to your virtual machine via the Internet or use ISO files from your host (I recommend using WinISO or CDBurnerXP to add files onto an ISO image that can be mounted to your virtual machine, or you can download an ISO image off the internet; an example would be the Office 97 setup disk.)
Q: Why haven't you provided any multilingual disk images?
A: I'm a native English speaker (I hope you can tell by the website.) Most operating systems already have the capability to change the language built in (so you can just change it within the virtual machine, but this can be difficult.) I am considering releasing some disk images in foreign languages such as Spanish, Russian, or Chinese, but for now I'm unsure of what will come of this. If you have a request for any language to be preinstalled on a disk image, please see the "Contact me" page and I will definitely try to make it for you.
Is your question not on this page? If so, please feel free to submit any additional questions you may have to me via email. Please see the "Contact me" page for more info.
Thanks for using this website!