the old games should work, except the problem is that your quest.exe version is not old... so the old games aren't compatible with your current version of quest.exe, so it may not be a win XP problem with old games (with new games, then it could be a win XP problem).
if you want to play the old games, download v520 or v530 of the quest software~program~engine (quest.exe) ~ keep it separate so you don't over-right your current quest version installation, and the games should work with it and your win xp.
the syntax (mostly its the List~Dictionary Attributes) changed with v540, which makes the old games incompatible, unless their code is adjusted to the new syntax.
see here for the change log of quest versions:
http://docs.textadventures.co.uk/quest/ ... notes.htmlsee how v540 talks about the new syntax~format for List and Dictionary Attributes: the 'upgrading from 5.3 to 5.4' section
-------
you can also download v540, as this works with win XP.
it's v560 and maybe also (can't remember) v550 that don't work with win XP