Tough about the flatmates - have you considered hiring a witch....WEG!!

Re running old games. If you can get the game to load...go to the game icon or shortcut on the desktop, right click and select properties. From the properties box, select the compatibility mode, check the "run this program in compatibility mode" box, and select the OS for it to run under. You can also alter screen modes and such like if necessary while in that tab.