How can I make this 32-bit program run on my 64-bit?

Question

I have an old disc that contains a program which was made for Windows 95. I tried to install it on my Windows 7 64-bit system and it gives me this error:

"The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running. Check your computer's system information to see whether you need an x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher."

I've tried running it in compatibility mode for both Windows 95 and XP, but the error message is the same. And yes, I've tried a virtual machine, but it presented some other complications with the sound. So I'm just wondering if it's possible to get it to work on this system.

Solution

The problem is not that your program is 32 bit, but that it is likely 16 bit.

64 bit editions of windows drop support for 16 bit applications, however if you have an edition of windows that supports it XP Mode will give you a 32 bit VM of Windows XP that will still be able to run 16 bit applications (you mention you tried a VM but you did not say which one).

If you don't have access to XP Mode or you tried it and it did not work, another thing to try is the DOSBox x86 Emulator, I have used it in the past to make some old games work, from what I have read online it will let you run 16 bit programs on 64 bit windows.

Comments

[Nicole Hamilton]

Possible duplicate of How to get old 16-bit Windows games to work on 64-bit Windows?. Yes, I understand you're asking about what appears to be a 32-bit program, but as is explained in the answer, "A lot of early 32-bit software relied on old 16-bit DLLs for some functions, as they did the job, they weren't used in a performance critical part of the software and there was no need to look for 32-bit versions." Further, there is no 16-bit support on 64-bit Windows.

[Scott Chamberlain]

What is the name of the program you are trying to run?