GoKawiilBlogger finds CDPLAYER.EXE from 1992 still runs unmodified on Windows 11
Tech blogger Enlyth identified CDPLAYER.EXE, a GUI app linked on November 16, 1992 from an early Windows NT 3.1 pre-release build, as the oldest Windows GUI application that still runs on Windows 11 without modification or emulation. Enlyth had initially found FREECELL.EXE from February 1993 worked, but kept searching NT pre-release builds and found the older CDPLAYER.EXE. Since the app expects a CD drive, Enlyth used a small DLL called cdemu.dll to emulate one and confirm the program still functions.