Would like to run legacy version of compiler.

I have a code which was 32-bit compiled in 2006 with the Salford 2.52 compiler, and which I have recently compiled with Silverfrost 32 bit (option release win32).

The 2 executables give subtle but significant differences in results.

In order to check the matter I would like to recompile the code with the Salford 2.52 compiler (of which I have a copy). But I can't install it on win7 or win 10 (error unsupported 16 bit application).

Could anyone tell me about the best option to run Salford 2.52 in a 'modern' environment. I am quite familiar with Virtual Machines (VMware and Vbox), so that woudl be an option if anyone can tell me what environment exactly to create.

Cheers,

Joost

There is a program called DosBox that I've used successfully with 16-bit applications. It basically is a DOS emulator. It runs pretty fast, and would appear to give great functionality. I do not know if it will run under Windows 10, but I know it ran under Windows 7.

https://www.dosbox.com/

This implies that the installer for FTN95 v2.52 was for Windows 95. The installed software (particularly FTN95 and SLINK) would be fully 32 bits. So if you can find an old Windows 95 machine you should be able to install and then copy the files to a post Windows 95 machine.

And if you can't find an old Windows 95 machine or VM, you can do the installation of a 32-bit package that uses a 16-bit installer on a Linux PC with Wine installed. Once the installation is done, copy the whole installed package to your Windows PC.

DosBox runs on Windows 10, and I have used it to unpack/install several DOS packages.

Another option is to set up a XP as a virtual machine. The installer should run there too.

There are 32-bit (and 64) VMs here:

https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/vms/

They are very useful for testing.