Playing games on windows vista home premium

[kitty1950]

I was given some pc games on cd rom, they are copies but I have the registration codes, what my query is can they be played on vista and what may happen if I put them in the disk drive and try to run them? What does it mean when a computer crashes? I have a laptop with xp which they are ok on but I am scared I may damage my brand new desktop (3 weeks old). This probably sounds simple to all you whizz kids out there but I am not very up on these things. Help needed please. Kath.

[redmug100]

Unless the disks are visibly damaged (cracked) you cannot damage your pc- so try them out. Many older games will not work with vista. Crashes nowadays usually mean a program in your computer stops working temporealy. This is nearly always caused by a software problem and causes no lasting damage. Vista crashes much less often than older versions of windows but it does have the anoying habbit of hiding files in places other programs cant find them - one of the reasons that games don't work!

[kitty1950]

Thanks redmug, I will have a go at installing them, I am a bit of a coward and daren't do anything without seeking some assurance first. Kath.