Question Installing legacy software onto W7 or W10...

[Charlie98]

So... my MIL has a very old (2002 last copywrite date) Video Poker training CD that we are trying to install on an older PC (that I built in 2015) running W7. It's currently on a 18 year old Acer (running Vista) that I just had to fix, yet again, and I'm doubtful this thing is going to last much longer... in fact, I'm amazed it still runs at all. Anyway... I need to get it on a newer machine, so I can finally ditch the old dinosaur... the Acer, not my MIL. Here's what I've done...

1) Tried to install it on the W7 machine (H81M/G3220) and it errored out with '...the .exe can't run because of the 64-bit system.' I've tried every compatibility mode that I can think of, even though I THOUGHT that WOW64 was supposed to take care of this by itself... but it will not load.

2) I installed a new SSD, and installed a copy of W10 Pro on it... same-same... won't run because of the 64-bit.

Now... here's the deal.... I've installed it on my computers at home... my old Z68/2500K W7 system, and my current B450M/R2700x W10 system... no problemo. I don't get it...

What do I need to do to get this thing to run and install on a 64-bit system?

 

[videobruce]

"MIL" ???
Just what/where does this "64bit system" come into play?
I assume Vista is 32bit and the software is that also?
A 2002 s/w date I would say is the problem, I don't see how that would/could work on W10.

 

[mikeymikec]

So... my MIL has a very old (2002 last copywrite date) Video Poker training CD that we are trying to install on an older PC (that I built in 2015) running W7. It's currently on a 18 year old Acer (running Vista) that I just had to fix, yet again, and I'm doubtful this thing is going to last much longer... in fact, I'm amazed it still runs at all. Anyway... I need to get it on a newer machine, so I can finally ditch the old dinosaur... the Acer, not my MIL. Here's what I've done...

1) Tried to install it on the W7 machine (H81M/G3220) and it errored out with '...the .exe can't run because of the 64-bit system.' I've tried every compatibility mode that I can think of, even though I THOUGHT that WOW64 was supposed to take care of this by itself... but it will not load.

The installer is 16-bit, hence the error message re 64-bit. WOW64 allows 32-bit exe's to run on 64-bit Windows. It was commonplace once that install programs were 16-bit even for 32-bit programs.

Can you just grab the program files and copy them onto the 64-bit system?

Your original install of Win7 was most likely the 32-bit version.

 

[videobruce]

What the F is a "MIL"?????

 

[mikeymikec]

What the F is a "MIL"?????

I assume Mother In-Law

 

[Charlie98]

The installer is 16-bit, hence the error message re 64-bit. WOW64 allows 32-bit exe's to run on 64-bit Windows. It was commonplace once that install programs were 16-bit even for 32-bit programs.

Can you just grab the program files and copy them onto the 64-bit system?

Your original install of Win7 was most likely the 32-bit version.

I know my current build (W10) is 64-bit... and it loaded somehow, and runs fine. I may have copied the files manually, however... it's been a few years since I did it.

I'll have to give it a try... I didn't know if there was some magical way of getting the installer to run, and was confused about the WOW64 part... that clears that up.

 

[mikeymikec]

At a pinch I would just use one of the spare Win2k/XP VMs I have to run the installer, then the tactic of grabbing the program files often works with basic programs. There's half a chance that it might require some DLL that the installer stuffs the Windows folder with but that's easy to sort, often just throwing that DLL into the program folder is enough to get it working.

 

[Charlie98]

At a pinch I would just use one of the spare Win2k/XP VMs I have to run the installer, then the tactic of grabbing the program files often works with basic programs. There's half a chance that it might require some DLL that the installer stuffs the Windows folder with but that's easy to sort, often just throwing that DLL into the program folder is enough to get it working.

Now you are starting to talk French... ...I'm not a software/program guy. But... I'll give it a whirl. Because I have it installed on this machine, I can look and see where everything is for a working install.