Microsoft Word 1.1a ported to run natively on Windows 11

Developer Justin Marshall has successfully ported the 1990 version of Microsoft Word for Windows 1.1a to run natively on modern 64-bit operating systems, including Windows 10 and Windows 11.

To achieve this, Marshall utilized source code that Microsoft made public in 2014. The process involved rebuilding the original sources and resources while implementing modern replacements for the 16-bit platforms and Win16 API architectures. This allows the software to function as a native 64-bit executable without the need for emulation or virtualization.

Originally released in 1990, Word 1.1a was a significant milestone in word processing, introducing WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) capabilities, such as the ability to insert graphics and tables, which moved the industry away from the text-heavy DOS-based interfaces of the era.