On 05/02/2021 18.11, michael.kasimir@gmx.de wrote:
Hi all,
currently I have the problem to unpack an archive file which was packed as self extractor in 1998. I guess that this file was created with the operating system W...95. The associated file archiver was ARJ 2.55b ALPHA TESTWARE Copyright (c) 1990-96 ARJ Software. Jul 16 1996.
which works/has worked on DOS level. The core problem is apparently now that obviously the created self-extracting archive is not extractable across different operating systems, because the runtime environment is completely different today (e.g. 32-bit --> 64-bit, etc.). Presumably, the self-extracting archive can only be extracted under the operating system.
Unfortunately I don't have an old operating system to try this, nor the hardware used at the time of packing to run it.
I have now tried to solve my problem with the DOSBox 0.74-3 program. The existing ARJ.EXE packing program can apparently be started normally with it. However, the existing self-extracting archive does not. In DOSBox the following error message is issued: This program cannot be run in DOS mode.
That error means the program was made for Windows.
Does anyone have an idea how to solve this problem?
Well, you need to emulate windows, either with wine or virtualization.
Have you tried on a modern windows machine? I don't think the 32/64 bit issue matters. Or 16 bits? I have forgotten.