Modding Windows 95 on a PlayStation 2 Almost Works — But Running Doom Is Another Story

Yo, so let me tell you about this wild ride I stumbled on — Jace from MetraByte, this YouTube channel that’s kinda into “quirky tech,” decides to, I dunno, just casually run Windows 95 on the old PS2. Yeah, the PS2, like 25-year-old tech at this point. Why? Beats me. Maybe it was for fun or just to see if it could happen. Spoiler: Doom never really made it.

So, Jace gives us the scoop in a video — Windows 95 kinda works on the PS2, eventually. Like after a million tweaks. Well, maybe not a million, but more tries than anyone with a life would care to bother with. You’d think the PS2 would handle it because, meh, newer tech, right? But nah, turns out making that Windows 95 dinosaur play nice with Sony’s console was like trying to teach a cat to fetch. Kinda hilarious, kinda tragic.

Anyway, I’m jumping the gun. So, basically, Jace put a gazillion hours into this, and somehow packed it into a short video — a miracle, if you ask me. It’s all modded PS2 this, USB stick that. He even used some ELF thingy and some emulator wizardry that sounds like magic spells, TBH. My brain just went blank hearing “Bochs emulator,” but I stuck with it ’cause, well, Jace’s excitement was contagious.

Here’s where it goes sideways: Jace tried DOSBox first. It flopped, like a fish on land (yes, I just said that). Forty-seven tries and nada. Cue switching gears to that Bochs emulator — like, last-resort style. By now, you’d think they’d just give up, right? Nope. Windows 95 setup showed up on that PS2 screen like, hey, what took you so long? But watching was painful, it moved slow as molasses. Seriously.

What’s next? Oh, right, so they deal with things like files missing here, errors there, maybe a blue screen — like a tech horror show, if that’s a thing. Eventually, Jace sees the desktop. Paint sort of works, not that it matters much with no mouse. Doom95? Nah, not happening. Sounds frustrating, yet oddly satisfying to watch someone else do all the hard work just to see that ancient screen come to life.

So yeah, if you’re into pushing tech boundaries or just wanna shake your head at crazy experiments, Jace’s journey in modding la-la land is worth a watch. Even if it leaves you pondering the point of it all. Or maybe that’s just me.