u/Tediscus

I recently dug out my old laptop (with windows 7 installed) because I wanted to replay some childhood games (Crusader Kings, Total War, etc.). The games had been installed on this PC for years, but when I tried launching them I got a "missing executable" error. I'm a bit confused as to how the executable could just disappear, but it did.

My first thought was to uninstall and reinstall the games. However, the reinstall finishes in about a second because it doesn't actually install anything. I've already tried the usual fixes: clearing the app cache, clearing the download cache, restoring Steam licenses, and verifying the integrity of the game files, but none of that helped (also turned off my antivirus to make sure the installation was not blocked).

I'm guessing the most likely explanation is that my operating system is simply no longer supported without any serious workaround, but I'm curious what you guys think. Are there still any Windows 7/8 users around who have found workarounds for issues like this?

Additional context, I can't connect to the Friends network even though Steam shows that I'm online. I keep getting a pop-up update dated June 14 2023, which I accept every time, but it doesn't seem to actually go through.

Any ideas would be appreciated.