I recently picked up a Ranma 1/2 screen saver from 1995 at a hobby store, thinking it would be a fun blast from the past. However, I was disappointed to find out that it doesn't work on my Windows 11 Asus Tuff F15. The screen saver seems to be designed for Windows 3-5, and the main file is a REE, which I can't open. I even attempted using a virtual machine with a disc drive, but had no luck. I'm not exactly a tech whiz, so I was wondering if there's any hope in using this screen saver, or if I'm destined to just admire it from a distance. Happy to provide more details if needed!
5 Answers
The only Ranma 1/2 screen saver I found was for Windows 3.1 and DOS 5.0 upwards, meaning it's probably a 16-bit DOS executable. Your best shot might be using DOSBox to run it if you can't find other ways to access the files. Also, about that REE file – how do you know it's the main app? It doesn't sound like an executable format, so it might just be some proprietary data.
Using a VM or DOSBox might be your only option, but just remember you'd be running it inside those programs, not directly on your Windows 11 desktop. It could be cumbersome, but it's possible!
You might want to post the original files and see if anyone can reverse engineer it for you. I've been into tech since the 80s and haven't come across a "REE" file before. Sharing a screenshot or the files could be helpful!
If you could share that file, I'd love to take a look! If there are no tools to open it, it could be a fun project to try coding something for it. By the way, was the screen saver on CD or floppy?
I noticed you mentioned Windows 3-5. To clarify, there were Windows 3.0 and Windows 3.11 before Windows 95, but not a version called 3-5. Could you share a picture of the system requirements that came with the package?
It's actually on a CD, which is pretty cool!