Don't know about Nancy Drew, but the virtual machine is for real. There are several products that will allow you to do that (both on XP and Vista): Microsoft Virtual PC, VMware Workstation, Qemu (?), Xen (?), ...

I've got the virtual PC set up and awaiting my install of an o/s; but I can't find my OLD copy of Win 95. I found my Win 98 install CD, but don't know if that would serve. I'm trying to find my or someone's clean Win 95 disc for that. In the meantime I heard about the installer written by a guy in Germany and tried it for Phantasmagoria, and it's working well, so far. And it turns out that Nancy Drew runs on Win XP, so I installed it on the same machine running XP. As far a Vista goes, there's not much I can do with that one, just check email on it, etc.

I use Vista and haven't had much trouble running games as old as 1997 - particularly children's games - sometimes run as administrator is the way to go.

Really? Good to know. Do you simply install with the Program Compatibility Wizard emulation and it works? Back to 1997...that would include anything as far back as Win 98 programs?

By the way, anybody reading this; has anyone written in general about what the specific problems are for old software on new systems and how to work around them? The way it is now, it seems like every individual is on his own to try to reinvent the wheel from scratch when it comes to working out specific game issues on new systems. The German guy who wrote the Phantasmagoria installer for XP is the equivalent of a saint when you consider how much time and trouble for how many people his efforts have "saved."

MiniMax, I just thought of a question: What's the difference in pros and cons of running a virtual machine in Win XP with its own Win 95 o/s for games, or setting up a dual-boot with an installation of win 95 in one partition and Win XP in another? Assuming that it can be done.... Thanks.

Really? Good to know. Do you simply install with the Program Compatibility Wizard emulation and it works? Back to 1997...that would include anything as far back as Win 98 programs?

Generally I just use the properties/compatibility tab. 😀 I've played Win 95 games without problems - not all, but I've been pleasantly surprised...now if only I could run Might & Magic VII (but that's another topic)!

Zeugitai, not everything works in a virtual PC. I have heard that not all kinds of joysticks will work, and VPC only supports simple 2D graphics directly, 3D graphics is done (if at all?) by full emulation so it will be slow. But then again, I don't know if the 2D/3D thing is a real problem for such old games.

I would try the virtual thing first, since it seems easier to manage and test.