Older Games don’t work with Dual Core Processors/ Other latest hardware
Many old games do not work on newer machines which hone a dual core processor or other hardware that wasn’t introduced during the game’s release period. A few of these games weren’t designed for Windows XP, so they face major compatibility issues. If such an issue occurs, the game probably won’t start up at all, or start up and crash instantly. If the symptoms you’re facing with a game include these, and the game is quite aged, try the following steps out…
Solution:
- Right Click on the game’s shortcut and click on ‘Properties’
- Click on the ‘Compatibility’ tab that appears before you.
The Compatibility tab was incorporated into Windows XP specifically to deal with such issues. If you’re having trouble running a primitive game, try selecting the OS it was designed for in the Compatibility mode dropdown.
If you’re using a theme in XP or theme related program such as WindowBlinds, older games might crash (especially if your theme program uses alpha/transparency channels). To help you deal with this, use the ‘Disable visual themes’ option under Display Settings.
This is one of the most interesting articles I've come across in a long time. Very cool stuff! 
