Emulators and compatibility layers for old software


This page lists tools that I have built (or contributed to) that may be useful for running obsolete MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, and "classic" Mac software on modern Windows, macOS, and Linux systems. I am not the author of any of the actual emulator applications used by these tools (vDos, DOSBox-X, otvdm, SheepShaver, BasiliskII, or dosemu2) but the pages listed provide relatively easy ways to use them.


DOS emulators for Windows, macOS, and Linux

DOSBox-X-App - DOSBox-X, with built-in ability to print and create PDFs from DOS applications (for Windows and macOS)

DOSBox-X-Print - a less complex variant of the DOSBox-X-App, modified only to support printing and PDF creation (for Windows and macOS)

vDos for the Mac - runs vDos in a Wineskin wrapper under macOS

vDosWP - uses vDos to run WordPerfect for DOS under Windows

DOSBoxWP - uses DOSBox-X to run WordPerfect for DOS under Windows

vDosWP for the Mac - uses vDos to run WordPerfect for DOS under macOS

DOSBoxWP for the Mac - uses DOSBox-X to run WordPerfect for DOS under macOS

dosemu2 - instructions for running WordPerfect for DOS in dosemu2 under Linux

XyWrite for Windows - an installer for modern Windows that runs the 16-bit Windows version of XyWrite

See also PrintFilePrinter for Windows for printing from other emulators and NTVDMx64 by Leecher1337 for an NTVDM for 64-bit Windows.

You may also find useful PDFtoPrinter for printing PDF files from the Windows command line, and WinTextToPDF for sending text files to a printer or a PDF file under Windows


16-bit Windows (Windows 1.0-3.11) emulator and compatibility layer

otvdm - an installer for otvdm/winevdm, which lets 16-bit Windows programs run under 64-bit Windows.

Win31DOSBox - uses DOSBox-X to emulate Windows 3.11 under Windows 7, 8, and 10

Win31DOSBoxMac - uses DOSBox-X to emulate Windows 3.11 under current versions of macOS


32-bit Windows (Windows 9x) emulator

Windows 98 SE - uses DOSBox-X to emulate Windows 98 SE under Windows 10 and 11 and under macOS


Classic Mac OS emulators

SheepShaver Wrapper - an easy-to-use application for setting up the classic SheepShaver emulator under macOS

Mac OS 9 for OS X/macOS - a complete Mac OS 9.0.4 system that runs under current versions of macOS (the same page also offers a System 7.6.1 emulator)

Mac OS 9 for Windows - a complete Mac OS 9.0.4 system that runs under current versions of Windows  (the same page also offers a System 7.6.1 emulator)

WPMacApp for macOS - a complete Mac OS 8.6 system that runs WordPerfect for the Mac under current versions of macOS

WPMacApp for Windows - a complete Mac OS 8.6 system that runs WordPerfect for the Mac under current versions of Windows (link available on the same page as the macOS system).

AUXrunner - an AppleScript wrapper that runs the A/UX 3.1 operating system on macOS


Edward Mendelson (edward [dot] mendelson [at] columbia [dot] edu).