Hello, I have an extremely old computer that I recently took some interest in (some people in the DOS forum have been helping me, but I thought I'd come over to the gaming forum for advice on games and software) this was a computer I used as a kid and ended up getting stored in my basement for years and years. The machine is a Compaq Deskpro, purchased in 1986. It has an Intel 8086 Processor running at 8 MHz, 640K Ram, 20MB hard drive, single 5.25" floppy drive (probably 320K) and a monochrome monitor. I was reading the manual and they make a big deal out of the fact that this monitor can automatically change between "text mode" and "graphics mode". I'm not sure if that's important but I thought I'd mention it.

Just for fun, I would like to find some games or other software to run on this rig, I know EBay will probably be the best place to find them, but I don’t really know what to search for (titles, etc) also, what other software could this machine run? Will it run Windows 1.0 or 2.0? Do they require a mouse and if so would it be possible to install it? The manual for this machine does mention that it is possible to install a mouse, but I doubt I'd be able to find the hardware to do that.

Anyway, if anyone knows of any games or software that would run on this computer and could tell me how I would go about finding them I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!!

P.S. I know this machine is completely obsolete, I'm just doing this for fun.

thats cool you found your old comp and still have interst in it besids games and apps for it you can also pick up dirt cheap upgrads and lern how to upgrade a comp on your own eg new ram prossesor another hdd

just look up DOS Quest games on ebay or on google or go to a computer shop in your town and talk with the tech guys in the back they probly have old stupp lying around from back in the day maby

trust me putting some parts on that comp will fun and rewarding

hope that helps peace out homie

Athlon 64 3200+
MSI K8N NEO2 PLATINEM
ATI X800PRO
1024 PC 3200 RAM
AUDIGY 2ZS
80GB 7,200 RPM MAXTOR HD
52X LG CD BURNER DRIVE
12X LG SUPER COMBO DRIVE
350W PINE DUEL FAN PSU

Space Quest 1-3?
Police Quest?

Brilliant games, keep you going forever and they're samll enough to get on a 320k floppy i think, if not 2.
I clocked up 180+ hours on spacequest 2 xD

A bonus is that most software to run on that machine would probably be abandonware anyway, so you can d/l and copy it legally :)

Gigabyte K8NSNXP-939 @ 2450
Athlon 64 3500+
Dual -
Corsair TwinX CMX512-3200XL
Gecube X800 XT Platinum
Seagate 200 Gig
Coolermaster Wavemaster Silver

This is becoming a habit of mine, posting 2-3 posts in a row, i really should pay more attention.

Just for a kick, do you remember how much you paid for this beast back in 1986?

Gigabyte K8NSNXP-939 @ 2450
Athlon 64 3500+
Dual -
Corsair TwinX CMX512-3200XL
Gecube X800 XT Platinum
Seagate 200 Gig
Coolermaster Wavemaster Silver

since the monitor has graphic mode you may be able to use a serial mouse with a gui like gem or geos. i dont believe any windows would run on 8086, but i never tried win1. before graphics there were text based games, zork comes to mind but im sure there were others.

Wow. you bought that computer 2 years before I was born. I remember using a similar one in my computer class in the first grade. It had eductional games teaching kids to read.
I know of this site that tells people about computer info, including old OS and old games. It could help.
http://www.computerhope.com

The first verison of windows came out in 1985, a year before you bought your computer. Windows 1.0 was $100.00 in 1985. Windows 2.0 came out in 1987, also was $100.00. I don't think you can buy these OS anywhere now.

Windows 3.0 is the earliest OS that the site has info about:
Min. Requirements:
-100% IBM compatible, DOS 3.1 or higher,
-80386 or faster, 2mb RAM+
-8 Mb HDD, comes on two 5.25" floppies,
-VGA, Mouse, keyboard
-price is no longer avalible.

You can maybe get a mouse on ebay or something.

Dell Dimension 4500
Pentium 4, 2.0 GHz
Windows XP Home, SP1
512 mb PC2700
nVidia Geforce MX 420 64 Mb
80Gb Hard Drive
24x4x48x CD-RW
8x DVD-ROM

First off I think you will need a color monitor to play any games that are not purely text based. The graphics you will get is probably at best CGA but only mono due to the monitor. Maybe you can find an EGA card and a color monitor of almost the same vintage.

My first encounter with Windows was 1.03 and it needed a 286 and (I think) 2 MB RAM to run.

Anyway, good luck
Nigel