Running old #16bit #Windows3.1 programs apps on modern Windows - since Windows 11, which is 64bit only - has become a tad non-trivial, as the "Windows on Windows" emulation layer has been removed from the operating system (Windows 10 32 bit still possessing it). But behold! In the GitHub repository "winevdm" by "otya128" you will find #otvdm, which in its releases contains otvdmw.exe, and which allows you to comfortably pick the Windows 16 bit program you wish to run in a graphical fashion, after you have obtained it e.g from Windows 3.1, "Windows for Workgroups" or similar. This is demonstrated on the 16 bit Windows variant of XLISP-PLUS from almy.us, a variation by Tom Almy of XLISP by David Betz, itself an incredibly portable LISP environment. (32 bit XLISP-PLUS works on Windows 95 just as it does on Windows 11 without any emulation layer, at less than 300kb). All you need is to unzip the otvdm release zip file, and run the executable otvdmw.exe from there. Enjoy the beauty of old Windows design!
15 май 2024
