Will multiplayer crashes fix on old machines?

[666788bbd653eImpyNickers]

Was browsing this thread on GiantBomb
http://www.giantbomb.com/pc/3045-94/forums/i-went-on-a-bit-of-a-win98-retro-pc-kick-1792186/#34

Got me thinking. If I were to replicate an old LAN setup, would the bulkhead crashes/desynch just disappear?
Does anyone know if this was a problem originally, or is it isolated to modern OS/hardware/network incompatibility?
If the OS was the problem, how far back do you think one would need go? Win98? XP?

I know netbooks had some hardware/spec similarities to old machines. I had SS2 doing 2 player multi with 2 of them maybe 7 years ago just fine with XP. However 2 player crashes less for me anyways, what I really want is an ideal 4 player environment. I am sure it cant cost that much.

[666788bbd679cvoodoo47]

I'm very sure going back to oldDark and win9x would yield next to no improvement, as far as crashes and desyncs (and random oddities) are concerned - MP has always been wonky. the only thing you'll gain is the ability to play with 4 people total (NewDark only goes up to 3, if I remember correctly).

but, if you have the time, I say go for it, retro pcs are fun - and let me know if you need some info or whatever, as this is pretty much my (original) field of expertise.