AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) was AOL’s classic instant-messaging client, widely used throughout the late 1990s and 2000s for buddy lists, instant messages, chat rooms, away messages, buddy icons, file transfers, and its distinctive notification sounds.
This Lutris installer targets **AIM 5.9.3861** and applies the compatibility changes needed to run it reliably under **Wine 9.0**. It creates a 32-bit Wine prefix, enables Windows XP compatibility mode, installs the required `mfc40` runtime, registers AIM’s `sb.dll` component, disables the problematic `aimapi.dll`, and installs a patched Wine `mciwave.dll`. The `mciwave` patch removes Wine 9.0’s rejection of AIM’s use of `MCI_OPEN_SHAREABLE`, restoring reliable repeated AIM notification sounds without the hangs caused by older workarounds.
The installer automatically downloads **AIM 5.9.3861 from OldVersion.com** and applies the compatibility setup during installation. Messaging, buddy lists, buddy icons, chat rooms, and repeated notification sounds have been tested successfully. Direct Connection and file transfer rely on AIM’s legacy peer-to-peer Rendezvous system and may require additional network configuration such as port forwarding.
- Platform: Windows