O.S.A. Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to the Old School Apps F.A.Q. section of the website. We've listed what we feel to be the best set of questions for our F.A.Q. However, we are always open to adding additional questions upon request. This content will grow and change as time goes on...

Q. What is Old School Apps (OSA)?

A. Old School Apps is an online community created in 2009 in efforts to help keep classic gaming alive. Our site hosts over 500 DOS games from the early 1980s through the end of the millennium. The applications and games you find here are considered to be "abandonware".

Q. What is Abandonware?

A. Abandonware is the word used to describe software that has been abandoned by it's copyright holder. This can happen over time as a piece of software becomes non-profitable or when the company goes out of business (unless the copyright is bought by another company.) Games that are no longer distributed can be considered abandonware. Video games are considered one of the most popular types of abandonware.

Q. Is it legal to download or use abandonware?

A. This is a shaky ground as companies don't actually lose their copyright on software, it's just overlooked and not enforced once the software is deemed non-profitable and production has been halted. Abandonware is not legal

Q. How do I play these games?

A. You need to run a DOS emulator for most of the games found here. We have DOSBox and D-Fend Reloaded hosted for your convenience. We also have Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and Sega Genesis emulators hosted, but please note, we don't have ROM files hosted here as they are considered illegal to distribute.

Q. What are ROMs?

A. R.O.M. stands for "Read Only Memory". They are image files created from console game cartridges. This data can then be turned into a playable format by your computer with the use of an emulator. Old School Apps does not provide or support ROMs, please look elsewhere.

Online Arcade

Q. What do I need to play these games?

A. In order to play the games in our online arcade you need JAVA installed, to get JAVA, visit JAVA.com for the free download.

Q. How do I control the game?

A. The controls for the game are listed on the same page along side the game window.

Q. Can I save my game and play it later?

A. Yes! If you want to resume your progress of a game at a later point, simply press F10 and a small gump will pop up with the save code it. Copy/Paste it to a text document, the code is rather lengthy. You can also share these codes with friends or use them on other machines to continue your game's progress.

Q. I dont see the game I wanted too play, can I request one?

A. Of course, we will be adding many more games in the future for your enjoyment, however you can request a game by clicking contact at the top and emailing us the title you wish to play. If we are able to post the game, we will.