Using Stanford Wong's Blackjack Tournament Software on Windows 10

Discussion in 'Blackjack Tournament Strategy' started by Monkeysystem, Aug 26, 2018.

  1. Monkeysystem

    Monkeysystem Top Member Staff Member

    Those of us who bought Stanford Wong's Tournament Blackjack Software years ago have found that modern 64-bit computers can't run it. On my Windows 10 laptop I can't even run it as an administrator, or in compatibility mode.

    There is a workaround, for those of you who still have your old copy of this software. You use the open source program VMWare Workstation Player to set up a Windows 98 virtual machine in your computer. You have to have a licensed copy of Windows 98 to do that.

    A virtual machine is a window running in your computer that is actually acting as a second computer.

    If you don't already have an old copy of Windows 98 or other old operating system disk, you can obtain one on eBAY for a nominal cost. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...RS1&_nkw=windows+98+operating+system&_sacat=0

    Then you download VMWare Workstation Player from VMWare's website for free. https://my.vmware.com/en/web/vmware/free#desktop_end_user_computing/vmware_workstation_player/14_0

    Install VMWare Workstation Player. Then open it and set up a Windows 98 virtual machine. You have to download the VMWare Tools within the virtual machine. This video does a good job of walking you through the whole process:



    I found that to get my Tournament Blackjack Software files into the virtual machine, I had to make a new folder on the Desktop of the virtual machine, and then copy the files from File Explorer in my Windows 10 host into the new folder in my Windows 98 virtual machine. It would not copy the folder from my Windows 10 host to the Windows 98 virtual machine directly.
     
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2018
    Monkeysystem, Aug 26, 2018
    #1
  2. London Colin

    London Colin Top Member

    I've never owned Wong's software, but I know it is actually 16-bit (Windows 3.x) software. I found some instructions on how to enable 16-bit support in Windows 10. I don't know if it will work for Wong's software, but it is sufficiently obscure that it may be something you have not tried. - https://www.groovypost.com/howto/enable-16-bit-application-support-windows-10/

    *** Just realised this only applies to 32-bit Windows 10, not the 64-bit version most people will have***
     
    London Colin, Aug 26, 2018
    #2
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  3. London Colin

    London Colin Top Member

    From what I've read, the Windows emulator Wine (www.winehq.org) supports 16-bit mode. So it should be possible to run Wong's software under Linux, or even on a Mac.

    Using a a virtual PC such as VMWare under Windows 10, Linux+Wine would be a way to avoid having to purchase a licensed copy of an older version of Windows.
     
    London Colin, Aug 26, 2018
    #3
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  4. Monkeysystem

    Monkeysystem Top Member Staff Member

    Using VMWare you have to enter a license key for the version of Windows you are installing, such as Windows 98.
     
    Monkeysystem, Aug 26, 2018
    #4
  5. London Colin

    London Colin Top Member

    If you use Linux and Wine under VMWare then you won't be installing any version of Windows. That's the point I was trying to make. I can't guarantee that Wong's software will run OK under Wine, but there is a good chance that it will.
     
    London Colin, Aug 26, 2018
    #5
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