On 05/03/2016 05:57 AM, Liam Proven wrote: > On 3 May 2016 at 05:24, Chuck Guzis <[email protected]> wrote: >> The hardware's not there to run 16-bit code natively in 64 bit >> mode. > > > I think you mean software? > > It is possible to run Windows 7's XP Mode under Windows 8.x -- I've > done it.
I'll retrench and restate that in terms of "it depends". If your CPU doesn't support Hardware Virtualization Mode, you're out of luck: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/5460/our-look-at-xp-mode-in-windows-7/ You'll note that I did suggest VirtualBox with my initial post. I've run a variety of "antique" systems under it (under Linux), including Microsoft Unix (the SysVR4 variant). That it works has saved me a lot of trouble over the years. I don't know how long we'll have any sort of native capability to run 16-bit code without emulation, however. Of course, anything can be run (more slowly) under emulation or on-the-fly conversion. You'll perhaps recall when, a couple of years ago, the Debian kernel release disabled 16-bit segment descriptors, citing it as a security issue, causing a minor kerfuffle. Linus quickly admitted that it was a mistake--so score one for the oldsters. --Chuck
