Errors while executing 32bit installers on a 64bit Windows-7

Question

I have few installer executables which are 32 bit versions. When i tried to install those programs by executing on Windows-7 OS, it gave following error:

The version of this file is not compatible with the version of windows you are running. Check you computer's system information to see if u need a x86(32-bit) or x64(64-bit) version of the program.

1. Does this mean older 32 bit version executables cannot run on Windows-7 64 bit OS?

2. How can i get older 32 bit version executables running on Windows-7?

3. If i generate some executable by compiling a C file using MS-VS2005 on a Windows-7 64 bit system, what version that generated executable would be, 32 bit or 64 bit?

Thanks,

-AD

Answer 1

Does this mean older 32 bit version executables cannot run on Windows-7 64 bit OS?

Generally 32bit executables just work. However it is possible for the programmer to hard code version limits (or check the version incorrectly).

How can I get older 32 bit version executables running on Windows-7?

It depends why it is failing. Opening the exe's properties in Explorer and making selections on the Compatibility tab is the simplest approach. MS have more sophisticated compatibility tools which can provide all sorts of behaviour overrides.

If i generate some executable by compiling a C file using MS-VS2005 on a Windows-7 64 bit system, what version that generated executable would be, 32 bit or 64 bit?

It depends on the project settings. The Windows SDK C/C++ compiler has supported 64bit for quite some time.

Answer 2

Alternatives of running 32 bit exe would be to install a virtual machine and installing 32bit os in. not sure if there is other alternatives.

I suppose it is based on what you program in that c program that affect whether it affect being run in either 32bit or 64bit os. and would thus most probably be running in 32bit only.

take a look at this MSDN