Okay, hopefully you all saw the last video\h where I started to set up this office. The\h\h
first thing I'm now going to do in this\h office, because it's nostalgia nerd. Well,\h\h
I'm going to set that plant up first,\h which looks a bit better, I think.
Second thing I'm going to do is set up a\h brand new PC in the computer room downstairs.\h\h
This is a Windows XP era PC, which should\h be quite nice, and I think it's ideal.
After all, I need some downtime to\h play Solitaire and a few XP games. So,\h\h
let's set this up. Hello. Hello.
Um, so this Oh, it's a Targa Visionary. So,\h if we go through the specs on this thing,\h\h
we have an AMD Athlon 64 3000 plus 512 MB of\h RAM, an ATI VGA 9800 Pro with 128 Mega bytes,\h\h
got a dual drive DRW, um, Toshiba SD DVD,\h got a 200 GB hard drive, onboard sound,\h\h
you know, everything you'd expect from\h a fairly decent computer from that era.
Oh yeah, personal computer. It comes with\h a monitor as well, which is nice. Oh,\h\h
this is good. This is how to do video. So,\h we were in the flat screen era of monitors\h\h
just about. This is a 19in TFT panel. It's got a\h maximum resolution of 1280x 1024, which is SXGA.
Huh. Looks nice, doesn't it? And this is what\h this computer shipped with. You see, same brand,\h\h
Targa Visionary. So, let's take these down\h to the computer room and get them set up.
Oh, yeah. So, I guess my first challenge\h really is where I'm going to set this up\h\h
because this is quite a big space. I think if\h I can just get one machine set up at a time,\h\h
then this place will soon come together.\h So, I'm thinking in the corner here,\h\h
first PC, it's a Windows XP machine. It would\h be nice to have things in chronological order,\h\h
but I don't know where things are going\h to go. Things can get moved around later.\h\h
Windows XP machine in this corner,\h I think, to start with. Let's do it.
I mean, it looks a bit like a prison cell,\h\h
but ignore that. This will be\h the perfect place for the PC.
Oh yeah, there it is.
Do I trust these handles? Absolutely\h not. Okay, it's actually quite cool.
Oh, static shock.
So, this little tab here is to signify\h that it's never been opened. So,\h\h
I think this is a TV tuner. This is an RF port.\h DVI, got a wireless card, got a modem down here,\h\h
so dialup days are strong, but we also have\h Ethernet. Conversely, 9 pin serial, parallel port,\h\h
we've got USB ports, we've got PS2 ports, audio\h ports, four USB ports. That's quite a lot.
Wow, look at that. So, this PC is from 2004, and\h as you can see, it's very 2000s in its design.\h\h
This was the era when everything changed from\h beige to black and gray. PCs started having all\h\h
these card ports fitted so we could use them\h with our cameras and everything else. Floppy\h\h
drives were out, but DVD read-write drives were\h very much standard. Oh, glorious. How do I even\h\h
describe what I'm seeing? Look at this. Looks\h absolutely minty perfection. Look at that. Well,\h\h
I'd describe it as an ASUS K8VF board with a\h 754 CPU socket, 800 MHz front side bus speed,\h\h
and 2 GB of maximum RAM. We've got a BTC\h DRW drive and a Toshiba 48-speed DVD for\h\h
some serious DVD copying. and of course that\h 7,200 RPM IDE hard drive. Of course, in 2004,\h\h
people were shying away from big bulky CRT\h screens, and so we get this matching Targa\h\h
Visionary monitor. This one clips straight\h into the stand, has built-in speakers, and\h\h
a standard VGA port and a lovely usable size of\h 19", which always looks bigger in the 4x3 format.
Now, there are a lot of cables that come with this\h computer, a lot of which are for the built-in TV\h\h
tuner with that ATI Pro, but we mainly need\h this lovely clear DVI to VGA converter,\h\h
which can be screwed in thusly. Connect up the\h wireless aerial. Plug the power cord in. And\h\h
although we do have speakers in the monitor, we\h do get some little separates to use as well. Uh,\h\h
so power output 1 watt 8 ohms. I'm not sure a\h pair of 1W speakers is going to be any better\h\h
than the monitor, but they're here. Now, yes, the\h bane of all PC owners. Which jack does what? Oh,\h\h
it's a wireless keyboard. Ah. Oh god. I'm not\h I'm not sure how I feel about this to be honest.
It's a wireless ball mouse. Uh, okay.
Oh, pristine keyboard.
That's what you'd expect from an\h era. Ah, okay. I need some batteries
with two AAA, two AA. You can tell\h this is a retro PC experience because\h\h
I'm having to actually go to a\h physical shop to buy something.
Batteries!!
Right, let's get everything in place\h and turn this bad boy on. I've put\h\h
my microphone in the case so you can\h hear those glorious startup sounds.
[glorious startup sounds ensue]\h
[sounds like a hamster churning\h in a very large and robust wheel]
Yes, that's right. We're going to sit\h through the entire boot process here.
I don't care that you're getting\h impatient. Do you realize how long\h\h
it took to install an operating system from\h floppy discs in the past? This is a gift.
Just take in those hard drive sounds. Let it\h wash over you like a babbling mountain stream.
Imagine starting up your first Windows XP machine.\h Imagine the potential that awaits you. Napster,\h\h
Kazar, Lime Wire. The potential\h is endless. Just like you are,\h\h
you can achieve anything you set your mind to.
Straight into Windows XP configuration\h screens. Ah, yes; that wireless mouse.\h\h
Wireless stuff from this era always fills\h me with a sense of dread and unease.\h\h
It wasn't always the most reliable or nice to use.
Right, time to set up Windows. You might\h notice the monitor has two lines running\h\h
across the lower half. Unfortunately, those\h rows have clearly become damaged over time,\h\h
and we just have to live with that.\h First, Windows XP. Let's remove this.
The internet connection could not be\h chosen. Okay. Not for this time. Thank you.
Right. Get ready. Here it\h comes. This is the BIG TAMALE.
Whoa. Damn. It needs speakers.
[Windows XP Startup sound plays]
Got the speakers on just in time there.\h Right. So, this computer actually comes\h\h
bundled with a lot of stuff out of the\h box, which is nice. But you and me,\h\h
we want the fun stuff, right? So, let's\h get straight into Windows Media Player.
Like Humans Do by David Burn is no Weezer,\h but it's what Microsoft went with for the XP\h\h
era. Thankfully, we do also get Highway Blues.\h Whoa. This one's a classic one. There we go.\h\h
Here's the visualizer. Is it me or did everything\h just get a little more LGR in here? Oh man,\h\h
I miss that on screen visualizer so\h much. I could just kick back to some\h\h
jazz and stare directly into that all day long.\h Remember, you get various skins here as well,\h\h
some of which are pretty damn funky.\h Remember when Windows was fun? In fact,\h\h
20 years ago, everything seemed fun. And\h that's not just the nostalgia talking.
What do we get? So, we've got Microsoft Encarta\h installed as standard. Microsoft Works for all\h\h
your homework needs. Quite a lot pre-installed\h on this one. Games standard. Pinball.
Microsoft wouldn't even dare to create a new\h\h
pinball game for Windows 12. They\h definitely should, but they won't.
Encarta Premium Suite 2005. The new Enartca is\h installed. So, we need to see if we've got the\h\h
discs. We do have a load of discs. Let's\h see what we we have. Got Pinnacle Studio,\h\h
Microsoft Work Suite with Autoroute, back when\h you had to print off the routes you wanted to\h\h
follow. No sat-nav then. Well, very limited. Easy\h install. XP recovery disc. Norton antivirus. ATI\h\h
Catalyst software. Pinnacle Systems Instant CD\h DVD. PCI wireless adapter. Here's the manual for\h\h
the PCI wireless card. Motherboard drivers. Uh\h user guide for the motherboard. That's just Oh,\h\h
so nice. Windows XP Home Edition for distribution\h with a new Targa PC only. Oh, we've got the remote\h\h
control and adapter for the TV card, which\h we'll probably have a look at another time.\h\h
And here's the computer manual itself. Nice,\h thick, sturdy manual with multiple languages.
Okay, so we pop this in the drive. We should\h be good to go. Inserting the work suite DVD\h\h
allows us access to that meaty in Carter\h goodness. This kind of thing made homework\h\h
a cinch. Connect up your bubble jet,\h print it out, job done. Night's dream.
Wherever I am, there's always Pooh. There's\h always Pooh and me. Whatever I do, he wants\h\h
to do. Where are you going today? Says Pooh. Well,\h that's very odd cuz I was too. Let's go together,\h\h
says Pooh, says he. Let's go together,\h says Pooh. Presumably a poem written\h\h
by someone who's had 14 pints and a Vindaloo\h the night before. Microsoft Corporation. Oh,\h\h
there's Bill Gates. There he is. Apple Computer\h Incorporated. The internet. Introduction to the\h\h
internet. I mean, this was our internet.\h Back when you didn't have the internet\h\h
or you had limited access, Microsoft Encarta\h was the way forward. Okay, this is all good,\h\h
but this area is still looking a bit prison-like\h around it. So, I think I need to dim the lighting,\h\h
put a few decorations up, and make it look\h a bit more inviting. So, let's do that.
Now, I don't want to unveil\h all my home decor secrets,\h\h
but what you're seeing here\h is literal magic in the flesh.
This is peak Windows XP experience. This is all\h the decoration you need to make it atmospheric,\h\h
cosy, and nice. Now, let's try some\h games. But first, I have to find some.
Ah, here's some games. What have we got? Sim\h City 2000. Any Windows XP era games? There's\h\h
the Ultimate Doom. We want some appropriate\h games for the era. Now, what do we have here\h\h
in this bag? Descent III. That's getting a bit\h more like it. Worms. Descent II. Network Q Rally.\h\h
There's Thief 2, Tomb Raider 3. Closer. So, I was\h going through all my big box games thinking, "Oh,\h\h
this isn't for Windows XP. This isn't for Windows\h XP." And then I realized that when you get to\h\h
the Windows XP era, big box games don't really\h exist. Everyone moved to the little DVD cases.
So, I'm looking for the wrong games.\h I do have one Windows XP game I found,\h\h
and that is Platypus. And we're going to take\h a look at this for good reason. Platypus was\h\h
released in 2002, developed by Anthony Flack\h along with George Bray and Michael W. Boeh,\h\h
under the name of Squashy Software. And it's\h great, mainly because all the artwork is created\h\h
using clay animation, a bit like Clay Fighter,\h but as a horizontally scrolling shoot them up.
You might also hear the familiar sounds of\h the Commodore SID chip. That's because there\h\h
are remixes of all Commodore 64 tunes\h throughout the game, and it's great.
What's also great is that in 2019, Anthony\h and Claymatic Games got the license back for\h\h
Platypus and on the 18th of September 2025 have\h released Platypus Reclayed across Steam, Switch,\h\h
PlayStation, Xbox, Humble Store, and Epic Game\h Store. So, BIG thank you to Climactic Games for\h\h
sponsoring this rather appropriate video. There's\h also 10% off during the first week of launch.\h\h
This new version is widescreen and faithful\h to the original. Fully reprogrammed and\h\h
reimagined for today's world with brand new\h handcrafted clay animation in all its glory.\h\h
Just like the original, every ship, enemy,\h and explosion is sculpted from pure clay,\h\h
but this time shot in 4K. Co-op play is back.\h Licensed retro chip tunes are back. A diehard\h\h
community contributing in-game art is back.\h And moddable mayhem is here for all to enjoy.\h\h
It's perfect for creators, families, fans of the\h original, and proper schmuppp players who want to\h\h
try the NASTY mode. Honestly, it's fluid and it's\h addictive. The developers have done a great job,\h\h
and they've also created a mod for me featuring\h CRT screen enemies, which is very nice. I\h\h
like.... check out the link in the description\h to take a peek and get yourself clayed up. Also,\h\h
one advantage of the new game is that you\h won't have to put up with the limitations\h\h
of this wireless keyboard, which can only accept\h two button presses concurrently. See, these stock\h\h
keyboards are absolute trash. Right. Anyway, let's\h go and find some more XP games to explore. So,\h\h
I actually found some Windows XP games, and they\h are in the same room as the computer I've just\h\h
set up, including Doom 3. So, let's give it a\h go. You know, I used to hate these jewel cases,\h\h
but actually, I'm starting to warm to them.\h This one. You still get an instruction\h\h
book. You get other little things. I don't\h know. Maybe my standards have just dropped.
~All units, this is Sergeant We're under attack by\h an unknown enemy force. Fall back to Marine HQ to\h\h
regroup.~ Now, I actually forgot how much fun Doom\h 3 was. Once you get past all the story elements,\h\h
at least, it's very different to the first two\h Dooms. You can see why people find it jarring,\h\h
but it's a competent step up from the '90s\h and firmly puts the series into the '00s.\h\h
Also, it's a good game to show off the ATI Radion\h 9800 Pro's abilities. This was a fast card back in\h\h
2004 with a CPU clock speed of 380 MHz, 8 pixel\h shaders, four vertex shaders, and eight texture\h\h
mapping units. The 256bit memory interface meant\h fast action with that 128 MGB of RAM. And for a\h\h
while, this smacked anything that Nvidia had\h out of the window, including the GeForce FX\h\h
5800 Ultra. Yeah, how about Ghostmaster? We all\h played Ghostmaster, right? Remember Haunting\h\h
Starring Polterguy on the Mega Drive? Great game.\h Well, that's essentially what this is, but more\h\h
complex. And god damn, this is actually a good\h game that I didn't even know existed at the time.
~We are taking you to the Kappa Lambda\h Sorority House in Gravenville University.\h\h
Only a small number of sorority\h girls are in residence at the moment,\h\h
but scaring them all away should be\h a sufficient test of your abilities.~
Scaring people out of the house is my jam, and\h this is a good way to spend a few hours. In fact,\h\h
I found myself getting into a lot of these games\h and really enjoying them. This was actually an\h\h
incredibly good era of gaming, and I think it's\h kind of been forgotten about. ~Try to show them\h\h
totally unnatural events. Think paranormal\h rather than scary. You can put Clatter Claws\h\h
to work by clicking on her image in the pack,\h selecting bind, and then choosing any room as\h\h
her feeder~. A lot of the game serieses we know\h and love today had its origins from this time.
~Yes, the ruins on TG 6 are spectacular.\h I'll be sure to mention your good taste\h\h
in my formal report. Thank you, Captain.\h Federation vessel is only as good as its\h\h
crew. This point cannot be overstated. It\h is this interaction with a well-trained\h\h
crew that allows a starship to\h operate with a singular purpose.~
Bridge Commander was an incredible game. Sure,\h we'd had Star Trek games before, but this is\h\h
what Trekkies really wanted. To be in command\h of the USS Enterprise D, or an equivalent ship.
~Congratulations, sir. Captain\h Wright would be very proud of\h\h
you. Your orders, sir? Course laid in.~
And there were also a lot of PC Only titles which\h a lot of people have likely never even heard of.
Neighbors from Hell is great. You have to prank\h your neighbor. That's it. That's the game.
And it got me thinking that actually this\h is maybe a ripe era to start collecting for.\h\h
You can pick up titles in these DVD jewel cases\h for peanuts. Local charity and thrift shops are\h\h
rife with them. And for just a few quid, you can\h find yourself in absolute peak XP gaming heaven.
Plus remember, of course, XP runs pretty much all\h games from Windows 95, Windows 98, and even DOS.
And this isn't just gaming. XP offered a\h wealth of software, accessories, experiences,\h\h
which we don't even have now. And for me at\h least, it feels like a bit of a black hole\h\h
and something that needs reviving. So, although\h that brings us to the end of this video journey,\h\h
this PC will be back and we'll be\h looking at more XP stuff in the future.
Hehehehehe. That sounded funny.
This has been an interesting video to make. I\h thought I was just going to set up a Windows XP\h\h
machine, show it off, and get that little pang of\h nostalgia that we all crave. And I was wrong. I\h\h
found myself enthralled by it, drawn into it, and\h I didn't want to put it down. Using Windows XP,\h\h
despite its similarities, felt different.\h It feels like it's got fun at its core,\h\h
and that's something we lack a lot today.\h I don't want to be cliché, but it's a bit\h\h
like when people compare old McDonald's with\h its, you know, things to play with outside and\h\h
terrifying clowns inside compared to new corporate\h McDonald's, which doesn't look fun at all. Or when\h\h
people paint their houses magnolia compared to\h the glorious apricot bathrooms of the '70s. Oh,\h\h
maybe that one's a bit extreme, but you get the\h idea. We've lost something over time. In trying\h\h
to appeal to everyone in trying to get the most\h profitable margins. We lose something. And that\h\h
-thing- is very important. You know, I sat down\h and I was playing these games for the camera. I\h\h
turned the camera off and I kept playing them for\h hours later. There was something just addictive,\h\h
enthralling about that environment\h which I don't think I can get from\h\h
my PC today. Anyway, until next time,\h I've been Nostalgia Nerd. Toodleooooooo.