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Downloaded them, got the colour problem and looked up the patching guides. followed this for 1 http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1144779 and go to run the last exe file, it just gives me an error message. anyone find a fix?

You should have gotten the GOG edition mate...GOG games are cheaper, come with no DRM and are usually configured to work flawlessly on modern systems.
Anyway, there are some 3rd party patches out there that might be able to fix your problem

http://falloutmods.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout1_Resolution_Patch

http://falloutmods.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout2_High_Resolution_Patch

That's the only way I know how.
Alternatively, you could try the method I use for Starcraft, and keep the screen resolution window open in the background.
I think I also have it set to 256 colors and disable visual themes in the compatibility section.