Knowledge Base

VintageVPS Quick Startup Guide

VintageVPS is our specialized offer for retro operating systems and experiences from another era. Enjoy much of the technology history in a customized commercial offer - the first of its own, worldwide.

Why choose a VintageVPS and not VirtualBox/VMWare/QEMU?

For many, many reasons:

• Simple: No one has the time - or the patience, or even the knowledge - to spend countless hours configuring or using any old computer, now. In another era, there was a certain ceremony in doing so; countless PC users of today were introduced yesterday to computers they don't remember today how to configure anymore. Those current virtualization solutions exist, but they're technically complicated and demand the users to jump through specific hoops most aren't really ready to jump, and partial instructions only the most experienced know how to tackle. VintageVPS's offer by C-Servers avoids all of that difficulty and presents a straightforward, simple, easy-to-use package.
  
  
• Optimized: by using a virtual machine, you're using additional resources on your PC. Our offer only demands you have a browser, the mere ability of using a mouse and any keyboard, and that's it - and it's automatically optimized to run with great performance.
  
  
• Need to have that old piece of software running? And that 20 or 30-years old machine is still there? We've got you covered immediately and will make you save in electricity, allow for recycling that old desktop, and give you a PC-like experience. 
  
  
• Want to run games? We've got you covered as well: specific to our Windows 9x OS template (Windows Me), our solution has CPU-generated graphics and sound (broadcasted online via Shoutcast Server services) that give you, for pre-2006 games, an average experience that desires to be similar to a medium GPU of the time, courtesy on Windows of the open-source SoftGPU solution we implement, and multiple open-source libraries associated with it. (Big thanks to its developer!). Our Windows 9x template also implements WinG libraries, for games issued between 1993 and 1996, pre-DirectX. We even have VRAM dedicated for our VintageVPS.
  
  Have the license but the game is not available on the Internet? Create an ISO from the CD/DVD and load it immediately, all straight from the VintagePanel. As simple as that.
  
  MS-DOS is deliberately not provided in real mode on the stack, for stability and quality purposes, as this stack wouldn't be capable of emulating adequately MS-DOS, and there is quite competent and simple software already available to quickly and easily emulate DOS.
  
  2D games are supported and have better performance on Windows 2000 than on Windows Me. Bear in mind we also give no guarantees on a given 3D game to work or not, neither its performance, since what's implemented on Windows Me is a translation from Wine and Mesa technologies (used in Linux) and the open-source driver is in alpha state for 3D support.
  
  
• And for Linux? The first Linux games are covered over different distributions and seasons, considering the year of launch. Mandrake Linux 8.2 (April 2002) has several preinstalled games, and may support multiple additional titles, being based on RPM packages and interchangeable.

Want just to have some nostalgia? Running a VintageVPS will give you plenty. The customized, optimized experience we offer is as similar as they can be to a good PC of the time. 

I didn't see this anywhere! How did you do this?

This is not the standard run-of-the-mill VPS offer with predefined templates given by the panel providers. This is a highly-customized offer, thought and crafted carefully, bit-by-bit, from a systems administrator as nostalgic as you are.

Each template C-Servers is running was not created elsewhere. One by one, each template was crafted specifically only for this product and for the underlying system of our virtualization (QEMU, KVM and Virtualizor). It's not a simple product technically by any lenghts, but it does fulfill an area that, we believe, needed that type of offer, opening an entirely new market worldwide.

C-Servers is commited with innovation - and as with everything, innovation sometimes also is learning from the past and using it for the future.

Do I have Internet available?

Oh yes, you do. Internet is available with at most 1 Gbps of speed, although due to rendering, hard disk speed and other relevant virtualization and proxying constraints, you may not get the full performance on Windows.

For security reasons, Internet access is provided in IPv4 NAT mode and with all ports closed by default. You can open a maximum of 5 at the Domain Forwarding option.

While provided with a /80 (65.536 subnets of the upstream /64), IPv6 is not supported on Windows Me by default. Linux also does not detect IPv6 on SuSE Linux and Conectiva Linux 7, and while existing for Fedora Core 1 and Mandrake Linux 8.2 (based on the 2.4.x kernel series), support is partial and does not conform to some of the IPv6 RFC standards.

Okay, what operating systems do you offer?

Between ISOs and predefined templates, a total of 7 OS can be installed, several of the most relevant of that time:

• Windows | Millennium Edition via customized template, in BYORL mode (Bring Your Own Retail License), updated to the maximum extent currently possible. NT4 and 2000 Professional SP4 provided in English, via ISO, in BYORL mode.
• Linux |  SuSE Linux 8.2 (2003 - FVWM), Mandrake Linux 8.2 (2002 - KDE), via customized template. Ubuntu 5.04 LTS and Damn Small Linux 2024-RC7 provided via ISO.

Why don't you offer Windows XP?

The Windows XP operating system is not offered due to the fact that, in general terms, all software that ran on Windows XP also ran on Windows 2000 and/or Me until 2006/2007, which more than covers the general expected use case for this VPS product (between 1994 and 2006); the other way around wasn't so guaranteed.

This Windows version was the first one to request mandatory activation, which can't be provided anymore for anyone in a legitimate, Microsoft-derived way, since Microsoft stopped activating XP a while ago, which effectively prevents us from providing the operating system.

Specific Windows-binding agreement

We must stress that those two Windows operating systems are offered in a standard, regular Windows user mode, where you must supply your own retail license key which, per Microsoft's regular terms, must be derived from a physical and legitimate license and inserted (exceptionally in this case as it is not technically possible otherwise) via changes to the Windows Registry; check the KB article. C-Servers does not assume any responsibility for any licensing or use issues in this regard and entirely transfers all usage liability to the user, solely providing the original server, neutral and on a Linux platform. By using our VintageVPS services, you are aware of this.

Due to the same licensing questions, the VintageVPS product has sales post-controlled particularly for users of the United States or Canada, which absolutely must enter their physical, original, non-counterfeit retail Windows licensing key according to the Microsoft EULA or other equivalent locally-binding law as soon as possible, the aforementioned agreement directly binding all Windows users at any given location. This is object of manual control, any US/Canada registered user has 7 days to insert a valid, legitimate Windows license, and this will be asked via ticket with proof of evidence and corresponding KYC. Should the user fail the control, the C-Servers's general T&C/FUP procedure for KYC applies.

We stress again: only a legitimate posession of a retail copy and license key allows legitimate usage of any of the two Windows versions. It's at your sole responsibility to do the right thing, as you already had to do on your PC. The difference is we actually provide the PC hardware and a usable way in 2024 for you to use those systems legitimately and securely - nothing else. Should you not have any license, you must use Linux. It's your responsibility, as the enduser, to do the right thing.

Moreover, since the software is Microsoft's propriety, should Microsoft communicate with us to cease to provide Windows in this way, we will comply.

Are other languages supported on Windows?

Other languages are not supported on Windows Me by default, but are supported on all other operating systems. In all cases, the default is English (US).

If you have a license for a non-English Windows Me, you must reinstall creating an ISO from your original copy (what Microsoft calls a "backup copy", which per EULA/equivalent terms, is legal), and loading it on Virtualizor the same way you would do it on a CD-Rom. All relevant Windows files will be retained, and those that have localization will change to the correct localization and license. This was common practice on Windows at the time. Windows 2000 doesn't need it (you can simply change your settings in Regional Settings and load the key on the Windows Registry).

How much free space is available on the disks for Windows and Linux?

On Windows Me, around 1GB out of 2GB are available to use. This space is more than enough to install multiple softwares of the time.

On Linux, available space is around 600MB-1GB, with several packages already preinstalled.