VOGONS


First post, by mombarak

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I am using the patcher scroll patches and sometimes the archive to get patches for my old DOS and Windows games. But sometimes its very hard to find them. Also patcher scrolls looks a bit as if the website is very old and could go offline at any point. Does anyone know good alternatives or an FTP where people try to store all patches of old games?

I tried to see if Total Dos Collection and Exodos have all patches included but it does not look like it, at least for what I have checked.

Also, sometimes these patches are for special versions only, like for the floppy version but NOT for the CD version, but the page or file content do not show that so you run into problems when you try them.

Reply 1 of 14, by ntalaec

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I don't know any other page like The Patches Scrolls but, If the game is from the 90s or newer you can check the developer or publisher website in Wayback Machine to download the patches. Some older games have also updates available online (The Sierra Help Pages).

Reply 2 of 14, by chinny22

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Yes It is getting harder, especially as you say not all patches are for all versions of a bit of software (not just games but also apps)
This is why it's important once you do find a working combination to keep your own offline copy of the patch.

alot of games still have a fan made web pages with a download section. Google can be used to find these web pages, but you may have to go down more then just the top 5 results for a decent site.
Even if the download link is broken. Often the link will contain the filename which you can then search for.
You can also try searching for the game and version number, eg Warcraft 1.21 will (eventually) give a archive.org link for the original Warcraft patch

Even then some games I've had to download from an abandonware site or torrent to have the latest version as I just cant find the individual patch no matter what.

Reply 3 of 14, by dr_st

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I use PCGamingWiki from time to time. It doesn't host its own patches, but links to various sources. If it's missing a source, it's easy to edit the page and add a link.

https://cloakedthargoid.wordpress.com/ - Random content on hardware, software, games and toys

Reply 4 of 14, by mombarak

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chinny22 wrote on 2025-08-07, 06:39:
Yes It is getting harder, especially as you say not all patches are for all versions of a bit of software (not just games but al […]
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Yes It is getting harder, especially as you say not all patches are for all versions of a bit of software (not just games but also apps)
This is why it's important once you do find a working combination to keep your own offline copy of the patch.

alot of games still have a fan made web pages with a download section. Google can be used to find these web pages, but you may have to go down more then just the top 5 results for a decent site.
Even if the download link is broken. Often the link will contain the filename which you can then search for.
You can also try searching for the game and version number, eg Warcraft 1.21 will (eventually) give a archive.org link for the original Warcraft patch

Even then some games I've had to download from an abandonware site or torrent to have the latest version as I just cant find the individual patch no matter what.

Warcraft 1.21 is an excellent example. I was trusting/hoping that Blizzard still has it but for some reason, their patch archive I remembered from some years ago is gone or relocated on their end. In the past they had a lot of legacy patches.

This time I had to try a lot of pages and found it and made an offline copy. For some reason the scroll patches version did not work for me.

Same for the LucasArts patches for Indiana Jones 3 and Monkey Island which make the game run on faster DOS systems.

But i guess the above ones are more popular ones so this was easy mode. I guess unpopular games and their patches will be hidden in the depts of the web even better.

Reply 5 of 14, by mombarak

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dr_st wrote on 2025-08-07, 06:50:

I use PCGamingWiki from time to time. It doesn't host its own patches, but links to various sources. If it's missing a source, it's easy to edit the page and add a link.

Thats my second goto place after the patches scolls page.

Then the archive and then my old PC Games magazine CDs.

Reply 6 of 14, by leileilol

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Before Steam took care of everything, I used to get patches from 3dgamers and the games' own support websites and bluesnews (still up) would inform of new patch releases.

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long live PCem

Reply 7 of 14, by mombarak

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leileilol wrote on 2025-08-07, 08:30:

Before Steam took care of everything, I used to get patches from 3dgamers and the games' own support websites and bluesnews (still up) would inform of new patch releases.

Can you share the 3DGamers URL? I remember there was one similar one with a .it top level domain ending but I cannot find even that anymore on Google.

Reply 8 of 14, by AncapDude

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I am setting up a Win98 Retro Box right now and suffer from endless searches too. I used 4players back then but it is crap now. I have a nice offline collection tough but not for everything. PCGamingWiki has many dead links. Maybe we should setup a Community FTP or something to share.

Reply 9 of 14, by RetroPCCupboard

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Are you not worried about getting viruses from some of these sites? I usually go to archive.org and look on archives of original game site.

I am not sure what other sites are trustworthy.

I think Soggi.org is probably trustworthy, as it is run by a Vogons member.

Reply 11 of 14, by Barley

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RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-08-07, 14:15:

I usually go to archive.org and look on archives of original game site.

How do you know what URL to search for in the Wayback Machine? Thank you.

Reply 12 of 14, by ntalaec

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@Barley
You can search for the game in MobyGames, click the developer or the publisher link and, if it had a website, it should appear in the Related Web Sites section.

Reply 13 of 14, by RetroPCCupboard

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ntalaec wrote on 2025-08-07, 19:32:

@Barley
You can search for the game in MobyGames, click the developer or the publisher link and, if it had a website, it should appear in the Related Web Sites section.

Yeah, usually I would look for the publisher or developer. Sometimes the game itself mentions a website on the disk or accompanying materials.

Reply 14 of 14, by akula65

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For the record, 3D Gamers was http://www.3dgamers.com/.