What to do with old Windows software

Software 1 Minute

In the comments to an older post, Chris has a question: 

I have a Windows XP machine that needs to be able to run old software. When I try to run the application, I get the error message “This application requires 386 Enhanced Windows”. What, if anyhting, can I do with this issue? I really need this software to run on the XP machine. Is there anyway to run 386 Enhanced Mode on Win XP?

Hoo-boy. For those too young to remember, 386 Enhanced Windows was part of Windows 3.0, circa 1990-1991. (There’s a Knowledge Base article that explains the different modes here.)

I’m not surprised that the old 16-bit program doesn’t run under a modern operating system. One possibility to try is using Virtual PC 2004. Set up a virtual machine using 1MB of RAM (man, it feels strange to write that) and then install Windows 3.1 in that VM and finally install the old program.

Anybody have a better idea?

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Published by Ed Bott

Tech journalist. Author of 25+ books. ZDNET Contributing Editor since 2006. Contact info: https://edbott.com/contact-me/

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3 thoughts on “What to do with old Windows software”

  1. Try setting the compatibility mode for the application to Windows 95. Right click on the .exe file. Select properties and then select the compatibility tab. Check the “Run this program in compatibility mode for” box. Select Windows 95. Don’t know that this will work but it’s worth a try.

  2. What ever happened to a great set of DOS programs called “PFS”. They had “PFS File”, “PFS Write”, “PFS Report” and “PFS Plan”. They were great programs, easy to learn and very handy. I wish someone would re-do them for Windows XP and/or Vista…

  3. To Belmont,
    what does that have to do with anything??….. I mean the topic at hand?

    Don’t drink and surf.

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