Interested in recreating a computing experience from 20 or 25 years ago? No problem: once you have the hardware ready (or a virtual environment), all you need is to browse the Web and obtain copies of your favorite software.
There are many sites dedicated to preserving original files regardless of their copyright status, and one of the best is WinWorld. Besides offering classic operating systems like MS-DOS and Windows 98, the site also hosts mirrors of very popular applications and unforgettable games such as Age of Empires, Chessmaster 3000, and Doom.
A repository of digital antiquities
Any enthusiast who wants to prepare a retro computer must consider several factors, starting with a critical point: how far back you want to go. Some platforms have become very hard to find these days, or require extensive maintenance sessions before being ready for general use, while on the other hand, Celerons or Pentium 4s with Windows XP preinstalled are a real plague.
To that we must add that the state of old IDE hard drives is not the best, and a fairly common practice is to replace them with an IDE-to-SD or CompactFlash adapter, or an affordable solid-state drive. And what about software? Surprisingly, software won't be your biggest problem, simply because the Web has archived... well, almost everything. If you don't know where to start, we have a suggestion: WinWorld.
One of the most interesting aspects of WinWorld is its spectacular repository of operating systems. Every variant of MS-DOS and CP/M, multiple versions of Windows, installation disks for OS/2 and Mac, and old Linux distros appear on the list. The applications section is gigantic, with 31 pages that you'll have to browse manually (Netscape, Norton Commander, and dozens of Microsoft programs stand out among the results).
There are also quite obscure tools like the official utilities for Intel OverDrive chips or IBM diagnostic software. Finally, in the games section we can download copies of Wing Commander II, Castle Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Age of Empires Gold Edition (ideal for the Lord of the Rings mod), Chessmaster 3000, the first Fallout, and more.
WinWorld has been online for more than 19 years, and somehow it hasn't received any notice regarding legal conflicts or copyright claims. The only limitation the site has is manifested through the number of downloads. It only allows a maximum of 25 per day, which is more than enough to get your favorite programs, but it's a detail to keep in mind. Other than that, it works wonderfully, and we can't help but recommend it.
