64-bit OS = No 16-bit support

jmichae3 · 12 Jan 2011

as for the guy being told to use djgpp for his class, there is an alternate compiler for windows 7 called mingw-w64. MinGW-w64 - for 32 and 64 bit Windows - Browse Files at SourceForge.net

I offer info on how to make the executables vista/7/8 compatible, and a batch file compiler wrapper.
http://jesusnjim.com/code/mingw.html

alphanumeric · 12 Jan 2011

jmichae3 said:

I got my answer, and the answer is 16-bit DOS apps run fine under xp mode on 64-bit 7. no, you don't need to install dos first.

OK, the original version of windows 3.1 had to be installed on top of / from DOS.

mjf · 12 Jan 2011

The OP has Windows 7 RC according to their specs. Can XP mode run under this as it can't under Home Premium.
DosBox is geared for gaming and may be too slow for your application. If the 16 bit application runs under native DOS (not early windows) then FreeDos or win98 Dos elements booted from a small USB flash drive may get you by. You can get utilities to R/W NTFS disks.

Alternatively you could try the DOS and minXP OS environments which run on the Hiren's Boot CD.

jmichae3 · 12 Jan 2011

alphanumeric said:

jmichae3 said:

I got my answer, and the answer is 16-bit DOS apps run fine under xp mode on 64-bit 7. no, you don't need to install dos first.

OK, the original version of windows 3.1 had to be installed on top of / from DOS.

I think from posts in the freedos mailing list that windows 3.1 is tied by software design into portions of MS-DOS' smartdrv.exe - this doesn't run on freedos yet, but it does run under IBM PCDOS2000, which you can still buy from various places (hopefully the disks are still good).

hope this helps.