Running an MS-DOS Program on a Win7-Pro PC

[HenriK37]

In sorting through old files, I find I have several old MS-DOS programs I would like to make operational. How do I do that?

I can read the disc(s) where the software is stored using Win7-Pro's command prompt. However, when I select Win7-Pro's command prompt and attempt to initiate the software's .exe file, I get an error message that says, more or less, that I can not run a 32 bit program on a 64 bit computer. What am I not understanding? Is there some sort of workaround I can use to make these old MS-DOS programs run?

As I am in my mid-80s and have forgotten much of what I thought I once knew (if I ever knew it originally), I need fairly simple, step-by-step, guidance. Many thanks, in advance, for guidance, instructions, or what have you.

 

[Bree]

In sorting through old files, I find I have several old MS-DOS programs I would like to make operational. How do I do that?
I can read the disc(s) where the software is stored using Win7-Pro's command prompt. However, when I select Win7-Pro's command prompt and attempt to initiate the software's .exe file, I get an error message that says, more or less, that I can not run a 32 bit program on a 64 bit computer.....

It is more likely that your old DOS programs are 16 bit rather than 32 bit. A 64 bit Windows should be able to run 32 bit programs, but it cannot run 16 bit ones. This is what you'll see if you try to run a 16 bit program in 64 bit Windows 7. Is this the error message that you see?



If so your DOS program is almost certainly 16 bit. You can however run a 16 bit DOS program in 64 bit Windows using an emulator. DOSBox is a popular one. There is a link to their DOS Box Tutorial on their home page.

DOSBox, an x86 emulator with DOS

 

[dg1261]

Take a look at DOSBox or vDos. You can also use a full-blown virtualization platform like VirtualBox or VMWare, but those are certainly overkill unless you already have them installed for other virtualization projects.

DOSBox and vDos each have their little quirks, so check out both and see if one works better for you than the other. For instance, I like that I can drop to the command line in DOSBox, but I like the fonts and overall look of vDos better and the fact it's screen position can be fixed, whereas each time you launch DOSBox it opens its window in random places around the screen. I also never quite got the mouse working in vDos.

Remember that if your old DOS programs were expecting to directly control serial, parallel, or COM ports, you may have trouble getting them to work.

 

[Bree]

If your old 16-bit program is a Windows program, then you'll need to run it in a version of Windows. Windows 3.1 is itself a 16 bit program, and can be installed and run in DosBox on a 64 bit PC.