It's a little hard to get running sometimes, but there are plenty of guides online. On an older PC I was able to successfully get peripherals working.

Right now I think DOSBox is the best way to play the older games. I would fork over a good amount of money for an easy to use platform for playing older PC games and a marketplace that sold them.

Good Old Games www.gog.com has a nice selection, but it doesn't completely scratch the itch.