Windows 95 Running on a PlayStation 2 — But This Modded Console Couldn’t Handle Doom

Alright, so here’s something wild — I stumbled upon this YouTuber named Jace from MetraByte. Seriously, hats off to them. They tried cramming Windows 95 and Doom (yeah, the ancient one!) into a PlayStation 2. Why? I have no idea, but man, what a ride. Spoiler alert: Windows 95 kinda works, but Doom? Nope. A no-go.

Picture this: PS2 and Windows 95. Both dinosaurs really, considering Windows 95 is, well, from ’95 (surprise?) and PS2 showed up around 2000. So, you’d think PS2 could handle Windows 95 like a boss. Nah, the tech gods weren’t having it. Plus, you’ve got to remember they’re trying to make this x86 code run on something that speaks MIPS. It’s like trying to get your dog to meow. Not happening easily.

Jace went all-in with the setup. There’s this modded PS2, a QWERTY keypad (fancy!), a USB stick, and a chunk of a hard drive stuffed into what they call a "fat" PS2. I mean, the whole hack screams, “what could possibly go wrong?” And honestly, a lot did. Needed some custom homebrew magic and emulators like DOSBox and Bochs. None of which rings a bell unless you’re deep into this kinda stuff—or pretending to be.

Now, watch the video (I got sidetracked but also landed here). Jace squeezed those dozens of hours — like trying to shove a watermelon through a keyhole — into half an hour of “thank goodness it’s not me suffering.” Classic. Picture this: they tried DOSBox; it fizzled after 47-ish tries. Then they jumped ships to Bochs because, why not? At that point, it’s all spaghetti at the wall.

Somewhere between insanity and genius, Jace finally sees Windows 95 whispering hello on the PS2 screen. But seriously, watching the process is like watching paint dry, minus the satisfaction. It’s slow; every click’s a nail-biter. The PS2 whines, emulators throw tantrums, and Windows glitches all over DOS. It’s kinda mesmerizing in a torturous way.

Bochs wasn’t rainbows and roses either. It was throwing error codes like confetti. Read errors, write errors. The whole enchilada. But somehow, they arrived at the Windows 95 setup screen. There it is, all pixelated glory staring back at you from a PS2 — probably wondering why it was dragged into this mess.

Casually, about 14 hours later, Jace was at the desktop, poking around in Paint without a mouse. Yep, pressing arrow keys like it’s 1995. I wasn’t even mad. Just impressed. No Doom though — probably a blessing in disguise.

Anyway, no regrets for sticking around. Sometimes the journey is just nuts enough to be worth it. Oh, and if you’re into that, follow Tom’s Hardware on Google News. Or don’t. It’s all good.