Installation of 32-bit program

Hi,

I'm trying to install a 32-bit program on my desktop PC with Win7 Pro (64-bit).
The problem is : The program (.exe format) has an old 16-bit installer called Freeman Installer. I know Win7 has provisions for the old MS installers in Root\SysWOW64\setup_16.exe. When I try to run the program I get the message "Unable to copy temp files", and the installer doesn't open. Same thing happens if I use the "Troubleshoot compatibility" install options. Setting the file's properties to compatibility mode doesn't help either. Obviously, none of the onboard 16-bit installers will do the job.

I have tried to extract the .exe file with both 7-Zip and WinRAR...no success, even if I change the extension to .zip. The program ran faultlessly on Win98, Win2000 and Win XP Pro. Is there any way to solve this ?

Have you tried "XP mode" in Windows Virtual PC?

Access Denied

No...haven't tried that yet. I'll DL the virtual machine and try it out. Tnx

I am a little bit in doubt here...should I use the 32-bit file or the 64-bit ? Assuming it is the latter...

And...does it have to be installed to the same drive as Win7 ?

Welcome to the forum.

Many older 32 bit programs used 16 bit installers. A 64 bit OS cannot run 16 bit software and there are no compatibility settings that will make this work. When the loader detects a 16 bit installer it will substitute a 32 bit version if it has one but that only works for a few popular 16 bit installers. There were many other 16 bit installers and some applications had their own. If there is no 32 bit version available you are out of luck.

With Windows 7 Professional XP mode is your best option.

Edit: XP mode is a special image of XP that runs under VirtualPC which is included with the OS. VirtualPC is 32 bit only, even on a 64 bit OS.

Couldn't get the VirtualPC to install, until I turned off my 3rd party security application.
My program installed just fine in XP Mode....thanks for the help

You're welcome.
I use XP mode to play older PC games (when I can get them to run).