Sim Tower on Windows 7

[vRegan5]

Hey guys! I am trying to get Sim Tower to unzip and run in DOSBox. I followed the instructions on here but I can't get it to run. I made a folder on my desktop and moved the files to it. I drop it into DOSBox but it just pops up that black screen. I also mounted drive C. Thanks for the help!

[vRegan5]

I finally found some others posts, I see it won't work with dosbox? :(

[Eagle of Fire]

I see two critical problems with your statement. First, as far as I know SimTower was released for Windows and was never released for DOS. This of course mean that DOSBox is useless for you since it emulate DOS only.

Second, I checked on Wikipedia and the original game was released for Windows 3.11 (as I thought). This mean that if you have a 64 bits version of your OS then you simply won't be able to run this 16 bit game. At all. If you have a 32 bits version then simply try to run the game on XP compatibility settings and it should work fine, in theory.

There is supposedly some workarounds to be able to run 16 bits programs on a 64 bits OS... They are however very complicated, especially for a computer illiterate person.

The easiest way to run this game if you have a 64 bits version is to find a copy of Windows 3.11 and run it under DOSBox. Then run SimTower in Windows 3.11 once you get it running in DOSBox.

[The Fifth Horseman]

The easiest way to run this game if you have a 64 bits version is to find a copy of Windows 3.11 and run it under DOSBox. Then run SimTower in Windows 3.11 once you get it running in DOSBox.That's correct, and the easy to use solution is here: http://www.abandonia.com/vbullet/showthread.php?t=27770
Unpack, start DOSBox, run windows.bat, run SimTower, have fun.

[Hamsterlicious]

I'm on a Windows 7 with the Compatibility feature.

I'm trying to install Sim Tower (to play it obviously) and all I get from the Zip Folder is a bunch of files with a set up file. I set the compatibility to Windows XP (service pack 2 or 3) or Windows 2000

Every time I try and run this program, I get the same message:
"The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you are running. Check your computer's system information too see whether you need x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher."


What am I doing wrong? Is there a way to get it to install and run properly?

[Hamsterlicious]

That's correct, and the easy to use solution is here: http://www.abandonia.com/vbullet/showthread.php?t=27770
Unpack, start DOSBox, run windows.bat, run SimTower, have fun.
Can someone explain this to someone who's completely computer illiterate? I downloaded DOSbox but have no clue what to do next (really, I don't know how to do it...)

[The Fifth Horseman]

Follow this tutorial up to 1.2 : http://www.abandonia.com/vbullet/showthread.php?p=286192#post286192
Download this: http://files.abandonia.com/extras/Programs/Windows%203%20for%20DOSBox.rar
If you are using C:\Oldgames as your default C mount, unpack the archive into C:\Oldgames
Inside C:\Oldgames, create a temporary directory - we'll be deleting it once the installation is finished, so any 8-letter name is fine (such as TEMP).
Unpack the files from the SimTower archive to the TEMP directory you just created.
Run DOSBox. If you set it up like described in the Beginner's Guide, you'll now be able to start Windows 3 by typing in: windows at the prompt and pressing Enter.
If there is no window named Main opened, double-click Main.
Double-click File Manager.
Navigate to the TEMP directory and double-click SETUP.EXE to run it.

[GBfan423]

I want sim tower just like everyone else, im not all that computer literate. So could someone just give numbered instructions on how to get this going on windows 7 home. I have DOSbox 0.74

[The Fifth Horseman]

Try these instructions. If you have a more specific question or problem you encounter in the process, I'll gladly answer it.

Follow this tutorial up to 1.2 : http://www.abandonia.com/vbullet/showthread.php?p=286192#post286192
Download this: http://files.abandonia.com/extras/Programs/Windows%203%20for%20DOSBox.rar
If you are using C:\Oldgames as your default C mount, unpack the archive into C:\Oldgames
Inside C:\Oldgames, create a temporary directory - we'll be deleting it once the installation is finished, so any 8-letter name is fine (such as TEMP).
Unpack the files from the SimTower archive to the TEMP directory you just created.
Run DOSBox. If you set it up like described in the Beginner's Guide, you'll now be able to start Windows 3 by typing in: windows at the prompt and pressing Enter.
If there is no window named Main opened, double-click Main.
Double-click File Manager.
Navigate to the TEMP directory and double-click SETUP.EXE to run it.

[Unregistered222]

Try these instructions. If you have a more specific question or problem you encounter in the process, I'll gladly answer it.

Follow this tutorial up to 1.2 : http://www.abandonia.com/vbullet/showthread.php?p=286192#post286192
Download this: http://files.abandonia.com/extras/Programs/Windows%203%20for%20DOSBox.rar
If you are using C:\Oldgames as your default C mount, unpack the archive into C:\Oldgames
Inside C:\Oldgames, create a temporary directory - we'll be deleting it once the installation is finished, so any 8-letter name is fine (such as TEMP).
Unpack the files from the SimTower archive to the TEMP directory you just created.
Run DOSBox. If you set it up like described in the Beginner's Guide, you'll now be able to start Windows 3 by typing in: windows at the prompt and pressing Enter.
If there is no window named Main opened, double-click Main.
Double-click File Manager.
Navigate to the TEMP directory and double-click SETUP.EXE to run it.

I have it set up like the tutorial, except with both windows and simtower folders.
My mounted drive (C:\oldgames) as shown in tutorial
My oldgames directory includes: simtower (folder), win3x (folder)
When attempting to run the Windows 3x, I only get an illegal command prompt. Simply typing 'windows' or 'win3x' or any variation thereof is not successful. Help?

[The Fifth Horseman]

Sounds to me you unpacked the contents of the package to c:\oldgames\win3x instead of directly into c:\oldgames
Please post screenshots after:
1. entering dir /w
2. entering cd win3x and then dir /w

[hahkeystah]

Sounds to me you unpacked the contents of the package to c:\oldgames\win3x instead of directly into c:\oldgames
Please post screenshots after:
1. entering dir /w
2. entering cd win3x and then dir /w

It's telling me that the file i want to run (sim tower) requires windows. well i can't run it on my windows 7 so i'm assuming i have to emulate windows 3.1 or something... more steps to be taken?

[The Fifth Horseman]

Posted twice in this thread already:
http://www.abandonia.com/vbullet/showpost.php?p=442321&postcount=9

[UnregisteredLKN]

I GOT WINDOWS TO START, BUT I CANT INSTALL SIMTOWER BECAUSE I CANNOT TYPE. HOW COME I CANT TYPE? SORRY FOR CAPS.

[The Fifth Horseman]

It's Windows. The graphic interface is considered the default method of interacting with the system.
Instead double-click "Main" and then "File Manager".

[Amrine45]

Is there anyway to make the window larger? I can't see what's going on with my old eyes.

Thank you so much for the instructions on how to start these older games up! I really appreciate it.

[The Fifth Horseman]

Yes. You can switch to fullscreen mode by using ALT+ENTER or increase the fullscreen and windowed resolution permamently by making the following changes to your DOSBox config file:
1. Change the output mode (the output setting in DOSBox.conf) to something other than Surface; Overlay and DDraw both work fine in my experience.
2. Change the fullresolution setting to a 4:3 resolution closest to your desktop resolution's height. If you're running widescreen, you will need to change your graphics card options so that any 4:3 aspect output is pillarboxed rather than stretched)
3. (OPTIONAL) change fullscreen to true if you want DOSBox to start in fullscreen mode.
4. Change the windowresolution setting to a 4:3 resolution smaller than your desktop resolution's height. This should preferably be an even multiple of 320x240. (I tend to use 960x720 myself, since my desktop is 1024x768)
5. (OPTIONAL) Enable aspect correction by setting aspect to true. Many games used an 8:5 pixel ratio meant for a 4:3 display.
5. (OPTIONAL) Change the scaler setting for one you find more pleasing. The normal scaler modes are simple nearest-neighbor upscaling, others offer different forms of smoothing.
6. Save the modified config file and run DOSBox.

[peterr89]

I downloaded DOSbox but have no clue what to do next

[The Fifth Horseman]

http://www.abandonia.com/vbullet/showthread.php?t=14406

[star20]

Thanks very much for this, can finally get this to install and run. Only problem I have left is that I need to get my cycle count down so it's not zipping past too fast. Is there a way to do a config for the windows so that I can get it to run at 3000 cycles? I have that set up for my main dosbox, but it doesn't carry over to running windows 3.1, defaulting back to percentage factors. Even at 1% it's still being too fast for my tastes.

[star20]

edit: eh heh heh heh, didn't realize that fast mode is checked by default. unchecked, works great! looking forward to some fun times here.

[skitch000]

That's correct, and the easy to use solution is here: http://www.abandonia.com/vbullet/showthread.php?t=27770
Unpack, start DOSBox, run windows.bat, run SimTower, have fun.

I got the itch to play SimTower yesterday, and just wanted to let you know that this worked great, thanks for the tutorial! Ah, memories. :D

[T-Born]

I got the itch to play SimTower yesterday, and just wanted to let you know that this worked great, thanks for the tutorial! Ah, memories. :D

Seconded! I haven't touched this game (or DOS and definitely not Windows 3) in well over a decade... quite the trip down memory lane :-). Thanks for the tutorial - very easy to follow and got this thing up and running in no time with zero prior experience with DOSBox!

[azhreidebonair]

Hi, I came here to play sim tower. I successfully installed and ran all of the component programs (DOSBox, Win3x, Sim Tower) this however is where i ran into issues. when I clicked the button to build a lobby my cursor got trapped in that block of buttons and they all became unresponsive. is this an issue you have seen before? if so can it be fixed?