http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/virtualpc/)

Hey, does anybody here know if Microsoft Virtual PC for Windows XP is good for legacy gaming?

The reason I ask is that I can't get Grim Fandango to work properly in Windows XP. I've tried different compatibility modes, CPU Killer, switching my desktop to 16 bit color, and disabling hardware sound acceleration, all to no avail.

If I run the game without tweaking any settings the movies play fine, but I either get no sound during gameplay or the sound drops out after a short while. Disabling hardware sound acceleration seems to fix this issue, but then movie playback becomes VERY choppy.

I'm gonna install and configure the free trial version of Virtual PC (along with Win98 or ME) when I have some free time this week. Please let me know if you've tried this before and weather or not it was successful.

My system specs:

P4 3.0 GHz 800FSB
Intel D865PERL mobo
1.0 GIG of ram
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB
SoundBlaster Live! Value
Windows XP SP1

Thanks.

Your specs are definitely good enough to run Virtual PC - I managed to get The Longest Journey working on my Athlon700 / 320megs SD-RAM. The Longest Journey was a little stuttery for me, and didn't run perfectly, but it ran well enough - and I'm sure that Virtual PC has been tweaked and touched up since I used it (Which was before Microsoft had bought out Connectix).

The ScummVM team are currently developing "GrimeVM/Residual" which will enable Grim to run on any platform, with anti-aisling and a few other features too no doubt. There's no clue as to when the first working release will be up for grabs, so it could be at least a year before this becomes a viable option.

Thanks for the info. That "GrimeVM/Residual" project sounds very exciting. I can't wait! :D

Edit: HYPER-THREADING! That was the culprit! I disabled it and now Grim Fandango runs perfectly. IJOLE! Guess I won't have to mess around with Virtual PC just yet.