Windows 95 on a PlayStation 2 Partially Runs — Yet This Modded Console Can’t Handle Doom

Sure, here you go:

—

You ever have one of those days where nostalgia just takes over and suddenly you’re knee-deep in ancient tech for no good reason? Well, that’s pretty much what happened with Jace from the MetraByte YouTube channel, except with a hilariously ambitious twist. Jace decided to see if they could jam Windows 95 and freaking Doom onto a Sony PlayStation 2. Yeah, really.

Honestly, in a world where the PS2 is old enough to vote (what, it came out in 2000), who’d even expect this thing could handle something as vintage as Windows 95, which is even older? I mean, practically prehistoric in tech terms, right? But hey, sometimes life throws these random tech projects your way and next thing you know, you’re elbow-deep in console parts and USB sticks.

So here’s the deal: Jace dove into this mad science experiment using a modded PS2, a game controller with a mini keyboard (fancy, I know), and some good old USB stick magic. The goal? Coax this relic to boot up Windows 95, and as a bonus, get Doom running. Imagine coaxing a stubborn car engine. Yeah, like that, but techier.

Why do this? Maybe the challenge, maybe the nostalgia—probably both. Actually, they had to fiddle around with something called DOSBox, and that turned out to be a massive time-sucker. After, let’s say, way too many “please work, please work” prayers, Jace jumped ship to Bochs, another emulator. I guess that’s what happens when one thing just won’t play nice.

Anyway, the struggle was real. You could practically feel Jace’s frustration through the screen—like waiting for toast but the toaster’s from the 90s and you’re not even sure it’s plugged in. But lo and behold, after countless hours, there it was: a Windows 95 screen on a PS2. Not sure why, but seeing that was oddly satisfying.

Now, whether any of this was worth it is up for debate, especially since Doom just refused to play ball. But in a funny way, that’s kind of how these projects go. Start them for the fun, stick around for the chaos, and just maybe learn something useless but fun along the way.

So, kudos to Jace for the ride back in time. Did Doom run? Nope. But did we all enjoy the journey, maybe learning something along the way? More than likely. Wouldn’t it be wild if the next experiment was making it all work on, like, an old GameBoy? Now there’s an idea.