this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2026
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Windows, can I run this 25 year old software I just installed?
In the early 2000s there was this website called dll-files.com or something like that, and every time that error popped up (which happened a lot in the 90s and 2000s), you'd go to that website, download the missing file, and 99% of the time it would fix the problem. These days I'd advise against obtaining random DLL files from the internet but back then it was like magic.
Or you'd get lucky and some other program you installed happens to have the right dependencies. Just copy them to the application install dir or to
C:\windows\win32\and off you go.I remember...
On Windows people should only be downloading software from the Windows repo and using Winget to install it.
Wine: Just choose from a big list of overwrites.
Legit, at my current workplace one of the first things i did was update the very neglected hardware.
The IDRAC on the core server was so old i had to spin up an xp vm just to get a browser that would accept it so i could upgrade.
Yeah, stuff like that continues to be the best use-case for windows virtualization. Sounds a lot like trying to upgrade the BIOS or Firmware on an older PC; often the installer is some binary that only runs on Windows of the same vintage.
Backwards-compatibility with older web browsers so engineers can build websites for them, is another. I've also heard of industrial automation (e.g. CNC machines) being married to Win2k or WinXP, so being able to run an old OS on new hardware is crucial.
A lot of pieces of medical and industrial hardware have their controlling software written in VB and if you're lucky it's VB6...(and usually heavily dependent on openGL libraries)
Banking? That's all COBOL and BASIC.
Lots of windows apps behind Remote Desktop vms at my workplace too.
Do you have to maintain licenses for Windows XP and such? What a sorry state of affairs.
Nah for a single vm i just use the ol' pro key.
Fun fact: it will still validate on m$ servers
That’s wild! I thought you’d have to block all packets headed to MS or the WAN entirely.
hello windows 8