# Old Operating Systems Emulation **URL:** \ **Category:** useful info\ **Created:** [February 17, 2018, 12:49pm UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430 "2018-02-17T12:49:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ook](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/ook/32/72_2.png) [@Ook](https://cog.discourse.group/u/Ook)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 12:49pm UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/1 "2018-02-17T12:49:12Z")
Wanting to show the kids past operating systems, esp Mac. Anybody who got older Macs (amongst others) virtualized successfully? ---
**Author:** ![balance](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/balance/32/1888_2.png) [@balance](https://cog.discourse.group/u/balance)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 2:58pm UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/2 "2018-02-17T14:58:46Z")
Sheepshaver? ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Ars](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/lee_ars/32/2338_2.png) [@Lee\_Ars](https://cog.discourse.group/u/Lee_Ars)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/3 "2018-02-17T17:46:48Z")
@balance got it in one. [Sheepshaver](https://www.emaculation.com/doku.php/sheepshaver) will get you there for classic mac emulation. For truly old DOS stuff, [DOSBox](https://www.dosbox.com/) is an excellent option. If you’re on macos you can use the even-better Mac port, [Boxer](http://boxerapp.com/). There’s also [ScummVM](https://www.scummvm.org/), which is built specifically to support old adventure games. For specific DOS or Windows versions, you’d likely need to go with full-on virtual machines. That means installing VM software ([Virtualbox](https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads) is free), and either building VMs from scratch using install media, or finding prebuilt VMs online. One other option, though, is to just watch some youtube videos—there will be demo videos showing off every version of any operating system ever. Not as interactive as running it yourself, but far less hassle! ---
**Author:** ![Ook](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/ook/32/72_2.png) [@Ook](https://cog.discourse.group/u/Ook)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 5:34am UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/5 "2018-02-18T05:34:08Z")
Agreed wrt virtualbox. Only hassle I have with it is that your VM’s doesn’t pause automatically when shutting down or reatarting the PC. Hyper-V does that. But I like Virtualbox more, since it is portable across more than one host OS. Using it (and had used it previously) for production, but it is iffy (see statement wrt shutdown above). Reason for this thread is I want to hear about your guys’ experience regarding VM’s. ---
**Author:** ![Ook](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/ook/32/72_2.png) [@Ook](https://cog.discourse.group/u/Ook)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 5:37am UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/6 "2018-02-18T05:37:07Z")
Sheepshaver (mnaaaaarh!) it is then. Will download and try. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![moufassa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/moufassa/32/41_2.png) [@moufassa](https://cog.discourse.group/u/moufassa)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 3:05am UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/7 "2018-02-19T03:05:09Z")
Everything here. Although I use mini vMac for my B&W Mac (Plus/Classic era) needs. Or you could go hardcore and actually run it on original hardware. I don’t know ANYONE who’s done that before. 🤓 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Ook](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/ook/32/72_2.png) [@Ook](https://cog.discourse.group/u/Ook)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 8:05am UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/8 "2018-02-19T08:05:01Z")
> [@moufassa](#): > > Or you could go hardcore and actually run it on original hardware. That is fun, but nah, too much of a hassle and schlepp to get working stuff - plus extra storage space, which Frau Ook won’t grant that easily. ---
**Author:** ![moufassa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/moufassa/32/41_2.png) [@moufassa](https://cog.discourse.group/u/moufassa)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/9 "2018-02-20T02:10:35Z")
> [@Ook](#): > > That is fun, but nah, too much of a hassle and schlepp to get working stuff - plus extra storage space, which Frau Ook won’t grant that easily. Yes, yes it’s fun 🙂 I do love my old machines that remind me of simpler times. ---
**Author:** ![Ook](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/ook/32/72_2.png) [@Ook](https://cog.discourse.group/u/Ook)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 10:38am UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/10 "2018-02-20T10:38:15Z")
Windows 3.11 + hotdog stand color scheme = teh lulz ---
**Author:** ![Ook](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/ook/32/72_2.png) [@Ook](https://cog.discourse.group/u/Ook)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 5:23pm UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/11 "2018-02-20T17:23:36Z")
And you actually had more control over things back then. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Viking](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/viking/32/32_2.png) [@Viking](https://cog.discourse.group/u/Viking)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 10:10am UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/12 "2018-02-21T10:10:07Z")
> [@Ook](#): > > Windows 3.11 + hotdog stand color scheme = teh lulz You had to mention that, didn’t you… Just when I thought I’d forgotten that particular shade of hell, you had to go and cause me to dredge that memory out of archival storage. ---
**Author:** ![balance](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/balance/32/1888_2.png) [@balance](https://cog.discourse.group/u/balance)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 8:12pm UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/14 "2018-02-21T20:12:04Z")
Kind of glad I avoided Windows for that era almost completely. Although some of the Kaleidoscope themes I ran on classic MacOS could be pretty hideous. I think I stuck with one that added ‘drafting mark’ accents or one that was kinda-sorta like BeOS. ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Ars](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/lee_ars/32/2338_2.png) [@Lee\_Ars](https://cog.discourse.group/u/Lee_Ars)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 12:01am UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/15 "2018-02-22T00:01:06Z")
Wasn’t there a Classic theme from the 90s PPC era (system 7? system 8?) that was basically just all squiggly lines and 90s pastel hallucinations? ---
**Author:** ![RRabbit42](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/rrabbit42/32/79_2.png) [@RRabbit42](https://cog.discourse.group/u/RRabbit42)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 2:02am UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/16 "2018-02-22T02:02:51Z")
Okay, since we’re now talking about things closer to pranks, there was a program on the Amiga called “Nightmare”. When you ran it, it did nothing for five or ten minutes. Then it flashed a picture of a metallic skull with a spike sticking out of it and played a sound file with someone screaming. When the guy who ran the program not knowing what it was asked how to shut it off, we helpfully told him to run it again. The Amiga has **great** multitasking abilities. 😄 ---
**Author:** ![CaffeinatedNoms](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/caffeinatednoms/32/3779_2.png) [@CaffeinatedNoms](https://cog.discourse.group/u/CaffeinatedNoms)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/17 "2018-02-22T02:11:15Z")
> [@Lee\_Ars](#): > > For truly old DOS stuff, DOSBox is an excellent option It also allows you to run DOS games at their native resolutions in windowed mode, which leads to hilarity… ![08](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/uploads/cog/original/2X/1/1c3a6c7d17f92867f39c91c0765fb04899c9f2ae.png) I’m glad I don’t have a retina screen sometimes, the native resolution on that would be like a postage stamp! To think, when I first played this it was on a 23" CRT… ---
**Author:** ![balance](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/balance/32/1888_2.png) [@balance](https://cog.discourse.group/u/balance)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 4:05am UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/18 "2018-02-22T04:05:54Z")
I think that was the “Gizmo” theme which was oh so very 90s. The good/bad is I think these weren’t really released, so had to be copied from betas. The official Appearance Manager was mostly ignored, but I think it got used to make apps running in Classic on OS X look more Aqua-era OS X like. I ran “Kaleidoscope” in that era despite it probably being a huge RAM sink. Themed stuff and worked extremely well. It had hundreds of themes as it was open, unlike the official tools which never got opened up. ---
**Author:** ![Viking](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/viking/32/32_2.png) [@Viking](https://cog.discourse.group/u/Viking)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 7:32am UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/19 "2018-02-22T07:32:52Z")
You rotten b’stard… ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Ars](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/lee_ars/32/2338_2.png) [@Lee\_Ars](https://cog.discourse.group/u/Lee_Ars)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/20 "2018-02-22T13:48:40Z")
> [@balance](#): > > I think that was the “Gizmo” theme which was oh so very 90s. ![gizmo](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/uploads/cog/original/2X/d/dc256b257af807474b64ee93fbf869810961af60.jpg) Good lord, yep, that’s definitely it. Nightmare fuel. ---
**Author:** ![balance](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/balance/32/1888_2.png) [@balance](https://cog.discourse.group/u/balance)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 8:18pm UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/21 "2018-02-22T20:18:55Z")
I kind of miss the Control Strip, even as I admit it was horrible. OTOH, I totally love how Mac OS X has changed the UI such that instead of a fixed ‘file’ menu the leftmost menu is now the running app name. ---
**Author:** ![Ook](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/cog.discourse.group/ook/32/72_2.png) [@Ook](https://cog.discourse.group/u/Ook)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 12:50pm UTC](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430/22 "2018-02-23T12:50:39Z")
Lol, who thought that abomination up? [Next page](https://cog.discourse.group/t/old-operating-systems-emulation/1430.md?page=2)