XP not able to run MS-DOS and MS Windows applications

[kermie]

Greetings

I purchase a program containing a digital repair manual for my car. (1983 - 2002. It came on two CDs and appears by the quality of presentation to be a genuine product. However when I run the setup program I get the following box:

Title Box in blue background : 16 Bit Windows Subsystem

description box: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\AUTOEXEC.NT. The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'close' to terminate application.

The setup file is dated at 1993 but the subfolders are dated 3/2005. I thought that MS programs were backwardly compatible. I know my computer will run "lemmings", a program from back in the digital stone age (yet curiously more fun in some ways than later offerings).

Any ideas or suggestions on how to overcome this???

Thanks

Kermie

[MartyMcFly]

Well XP, unlike older OS, doesn't actually run on the top of MS Dos, so if it is a Dos based application, you would need a DOS emulater, like "DOS Box" for example, (google would find it).

If it a program that is designed to run on a normal 16Bit operating system, then XP (a 32 bit OS) wouldn't be able to run it. Microsoft provides backwards compatibility with other Microsoft programs, not everything. Lemmings, ran on 98 I beleive and must therefore be 32bit application.

Without knowing the file extension, or what type of program the manual is, it is hard to recommend a way of accessing it. Does the packaging give any clues?

[kermie]

Thanks for the reply

the actual installation files are as follows:

Dellist.ini
finalCD.lst
mcicda.drv
mitchell.drv
odinstl.lst
setup.BMP
setup.exe
setup.ins
test01
test01.exe

the actual data itself appears to be the form of *.OD4 files or ODZ.*

any further ideas???

thanks kermie

[chrisbliss18]

Read what MartyMcFly posted again. You are going on a completely different tangent than he is.

The program is old, very old in computer software land. The problem is that the hardware and operating systems have changed so much, that it is very hard to support such old software.

You can also try to add some files to your c:\windows\system32\ folder as shown here. Microsoft also has a similar solution (more difficult but more robust) here.

If the previous fixes don't work, you can try using this guide to configure the program to work correctly. This is kind of a hit or miss type of deal. Sometimes it works, other times it won't.

Hopefully one of these solutions will work for you.

[MartyMcFly]

good advise Chris.

But I would also check out DosBox if it is a MS Dos based program.

http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/news.php?show_news=1