Running Old DOS Programs on Windows 10 Computers

[hlewton]

I have a few old *.exe programs that I created back in the days of DOS and the most recent version of Windows that I have been able to run them on is Windows XP. I only have 1 old and slow XP machine left and I don’t think it is long for this world. Is there any way, especially an easy way, to run these old *.exe programs using Windows 10?

Thanks

[John Gray]

There's a lot of "it depends" about this.

If the "old .exe" program is 16-bit and you have a 64-bit version of Windows 10, then the answer is No.

If the "old .exe" program is 16-bit and you have a 32-bit version of Windows 10, then the answer is Possibly.
It might need to be run in "compatibility mode".

If the "old .exe" program is 32-bit and you have a 32-bit or a 64-bit version of Windows 10, then the answer is again Possibly.
Ditto about "compatibility mode".

It might be possible to run the program(s) inside a virtual machine, but I leave the answers to that to those who've used them!

The best answer for your specific programs is to try them...

[hlewton]

There's a lot of "it depends" about this.

If the "old .exe" program is 16-bit and you have a 64-bit version of Windows 10, then the answer is No.

If the "old .exe" program is 16-bit and you have a 32-bit version of Windows 10, then the answer is Possibly.
It might need to be run in "compatibility mode".

If the "old .exe" program is 32-bit and you have a 32-bit or a 64-bit version of Windows 10, then the answer is again Possibly.
Ditto about "compatibility mode".

It might be possible to run the program(s) inside a virtual machine, but I leave the answers to that to those who've used them!

The best answer for your specific programs is to try them...

I did try them from within a command prompt window and they did not run. I created these way back even before Windows 3.1, I believe it was, came into being so I imagine they are 16 Bit. Is there any way to verify that they are 16 Bit?

Thank you for the reply.

[John Gray]

If they're that old, then they are probably 16-bit.
See JSI Tip 5189. How do I identify 16-bit programs?.

You haven't said which bittedness of Windows 10 you're running!

[Jay Freedman]

You can definitely run Windows XP in a virtual machine and run your old programs there. Both Oracle VirtualBox and VMWare Player are free for home use and include configurations for 32-bit XP. You can probably transfer the Windows license from the old PC to the virtual machine (assuming you still know the product key and have or can get installation media). You'll need an antivirus program that supports XP and, since XP is now permanently vulnerable to a number of security exploits, you should keep internet access from XP to a minimum.

[hlewton]

If they're that old, then they are probably 16-bit.
See JSI Tip 5189. How do I identify 16-bit programs?.

You haven't said which bittedness of Windows 10 you're running!

Thank you. Not sure why but the link does not work for me. I agree and would bet that they are 16 bit because I created them when I was taking a Basic Programming class probably in the late 80s or very early 90s.

[hlewton]

You can definitely run Windows XP in a virtual machine and run your old programs there. Both Oracle VirtualBox and VMWare Player are free for home use and include configurations for 32-bit XP. You can probably transfer the Windows license from the old PC to the virtual machine (assuming you still know the product key and have or can get installation media). You'll need an antivirus program that supports XP and, since XP is now permanently vulnerable to a number of security exploits, you should keep internet access from XP to a minimum.

Thank you for that information. I do have all that is necessary but these old DOS programs aren't worth the risk the way I read this reply. Also I have never dealt with a virtual machine so I'll just keep the one XP machine I have going for as long as possible but I think I'll disconnect the Internet connection to it. Again, thanks.

[John Gray]

Here's the relevant part of that Tip:

To identify whether any program is 16-bit or 32-bit:
1. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the folder that contains the executable (.exe) file.
2. Right-click the .exe file and press Properties.
3. The program is probably 16-bit if there is no Version tab. To be sure, create a shortcut from the .exe file. If the shortcut Properties has a Run in separate memory space check box, it is 16-bit.

[jonwallace]

An option might be to have a go at running the programs in DOSBox. This was originally designed for running old games on new systems, but hey, it might be worth a look.

[hlewton]

Here's the relevant part of that Tip:

To identify whether any program is 16-bit or 32-bit:
1. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the folder that contains the executable (.exe) file.
2. Right-click the .exe file and press Properties.
3. The program is probably 16-bit if there is no Version tab. To be sure, create a shortcut from the .exe file. If the shortcut Properties has a Run in separate memory space check box, it is 16-bit.

Thanks so much. Glad you posted this because I had looked at the properties of the file and saw nothing to tell me if it was 16-bit or not. Now after reading your post I checked again and saw there is definitely no Version tab so that answers the question.

[hlewton]

An option might be to have a go at running the programs in DOSBox. This was originally designed for running old games on new systems, but hey, it might be worth a look.

Thank you. I will look into it.

[hlewton]

Hope this isn't a stupid question but do they no longer teach computer Basic Programming? If they do what operating system would have to be on the computer and what good would the programs be even after they are compiled to become an *.exe file if they don't run on the newer versions of Windows which so many people have? I just checked to see what I may have used when creating these *.exe files and the latest software I found in my files was MS-DOS 6 but I don't suppose that would be used anymore on any machine.

[StuartR]

An internet search for basic compiler for windows 10 turned up a number of options. I haven't tried any of them, I will leave that as an exercise for you.

[HansV]

Visual Basic has evolved into VB.NET, one of the languages in Visual Studio. The syntax is similar, but not the same.
You can download Visual Studio Community for free from Visual Studio Downloads.
See Build a Visual Basic Hello World application with .NET Core in Visual Studio 2017 for a tutorial.
Applications created with VB.NET should run on all modern PCs (users may have to download and install .NET Runtime components).

[hlewton]

Visual Basic has evolved into VB.NET, one of the languages in Visual Studio. The syntax is similar, but not the same.
You can download Visual Studio Community for free from Visual Studio Downloads.
See Build a Visual Basic Hello World application with .NET Core in Visual Studio 2017 for a tutorial.
Applications created with VB.NET should run on all modern PCs (users may have to download and install .NET Runtime components).

Thank you Hans. I don't think I will be doing any programming but was curious and appreciate your reply. I guess it's time to clear out my bookcases and get rid of old software.