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Oxford Hachette Dictionary on Seven?


pointertovoid

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Hello nice people!

 

I gladly used the Oxford-Hachette dictionary on Win95a-b-98se-Me-2k-Xp, possibly with the compatibility option, anyway, it runs with something like Wowexec.

 

I shortly tried Seven 64b recently, and even with the compatibility option set as "run as Win95", launching it answers approximately "this program is not meant for this version of Windows".

 

I really appreciate the dictionary. Is there a solution? Thanks!

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Microsoft made it impossible to run 16 bit software on their 64 bit systems.

 

What does the application do for you?  Is it strictly a dictionary lookup program?  If so, are you online all the time?  Maybe you could use http://dictionary.reference.com or a similar site?

 

Alternatively, does the original author offer a version that's compatible with modern operating systems?

 

-Noel

Edited by NoelC
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 Thank you all!

 

The Oxford-Hachette is a dictionary. A good one: just the paper contents, with pronunciation and some tenses, all the fuss, but in a software that runs much faster than a website and which I do access offline often. Not really replaceable.

 

What is the "XP mode"? An option of Seven? A third-party add?

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Microsoft provides a free download that creates an XP virtual machine.  The intent is to provide a somewhat integrated environment to run old software that can't be run in Windows x64 or on a modern OS - just the situation you're in.

 

It adds a fair bit of overhead to your system (essentially it's running a whole virtual XP system behind the scenes), so unfortunately it won't be as quick to run as if your application were running natively.

 

You're lucky you're on Windows.  Old software becomes obsolete and unrunnable in a MUCH shorter time on Mac.

 

-Noel

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Since I had to install the Oxford-Hachette Dictionary on Xp, I tried to take a copy of the fresh installation there and paste it on Seven.

 

Same failure. The installer (copyright 1990-94 approx) wasn't rejected by 64b-Seven as it was absent, but the program was rejected with the same message.

 

Something ilke "DosOnSeven" would be nice.

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As mentioned, it's simply not possible to run 16 bit software on a 64 bit system.  Microsoft COULD have made a Windows On Windows setup that would do it - all the components are already there (they can run 16 bit software on a 32 bit system, and 32 bit software on a 64 bit system, ergo they COULD run 16 bit software on a 64 bit system).

 

But not having provided that, they incentivized software authors to upgrade their applications to at least 32 bit which, coincidentally, is where most software stopped at. 

 

The interesting thing is that while binary compatibility is provided by their WOW implementation, it's really quite trivial for a software writer to recompile his 32 bit program to run on a 64 bit system - yet many have never taken that step.  I'm sure they think, "why bother?"

 

I wonder when (or if) Microsoft will obsolete 32 bit software (i.e., remove the WOW system entirely from their 64 bit systems).  I'm kind of surprised they didn't test those waters with Win 8 or 10.  They're all about deleting things to make the system easier for Microsoft to maintain, and I've got to believe that the WOW system is complex.

 

-Noel

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Pity, because the Oxford-Hachette is better than my other dictionaries. I hadn't even noticed before that it's a Dos application, but in fact, it predates Win95 and Nt3. Though, it does nothing acrobatic, since W2k and Xp accept it.

 

It's a strong argument against Seven - or would the 32b Seven accept it? I don't have the 32b install Dvd but could buy one.

 

Or pick Wow from Xp32 or Xp64 and try to graft it on Seven64...? :huh:

 

I can understand the software providers who stick at 32b. If they don't need >4GB Ram, the 64b mode brings little. Recompiling would be quick for sure, but then they would add all the complexity of offering and maintaining two versions: twice as many compatibility tests, customers trying to install the wrong version, updates for two versions with the associated mistakes... That's a switch to make only if mandatory, which nearly means: if needing >4GB.

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It's quite possible Windows 7 32 bit would run your 16 bit software.  There are other things, having to do with changes to the security landscape, that could cause you problems, though.

 

That being said, it's notable that up through Windows 7 you're allowed to disable UAC for purposes of remaining compatible with software that follows the old "application must modify Windows in order to be useful" philosophy.

 

For what it's worth, for the software I create I made a single (32 bit) installer that chooses the proper versions to install into appropriate locations, depending on the capabilities of the system it's being run on.  But that did take time and effort.

 

-Noel

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