How to install Windows 3.11 in VMWare 6.5?

By starburst1980
in Microsoft (Windows)

 Share

Recommended Posts

Community Regular

starburst1980

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Educational Purposes ?? or do you mean boredom purposes ?

I think I can safely say there are NO meaningful systems running 3.11 anymore - so as far as it being educational...to what end ?

A bit of both :)

Honestly, I didnt ask "Why should I install it?". Im asking "How to install it?". No questions asked please.

Mentor

goatsniffer

Posted
Posted

Here's a post worth reading...

Get a DOS 6 ISO, select DOS as the guest OS, install DOS, get 3.1 Windows for Workgroups ISO, install from within DOS.

I did it a while back. I got the network working, but I can't remember if I ever got sound up and running. My guess would be to find a DOS Sound Blaster 16 or Sound Blaster 128 driver.

It's kind of harry getting it going, but it's worth it to take a trip back in time to the Comander Keen days.

Community Regular

starburst1980

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Here's a post worth reading...

Get a DOS 6 ISO, select DOS as the guest OS, install DOS, get 3.1 Windows for Workgroups ISO, install from within DOS.

I did it a while back. I got the network working, but I can't remember if I ever got sound up and running. My guess would be to find a DOS Sound Blaster 16 or Sound Blaster 128 driver.

It's kind of harry getting it going, but it's worth it to take a trip back in time to the Comander Keen days.

Thanks :)

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 7 months later...
Community Regular

3aFaReeT

Posted
Posted

Hey Guys,

Just Imagine that our Bank is still using Win3.11 @ our branches cause the Branch Automation system is so old and works perfectly only on Win3.11

So they only way to get it work on new PCs was to migrate it to a Virtual Machine.

I tried my best and made it work at last.

the only this which i really couldn't get is work perfectly is display driver.

so if any one needs drivers I can upload them on Rapidshare or So and post them here..

just let me know :)

Grand Master

+BudMan MVC

Posted
  • MVC
Posted
I've been very interesting in this, too. Does there even exist a fully-working Windows 3.11 virtual machine? I've never found one.
Not sure if any available for download -- but its easy enough to get one running.

post-14624-1263240892_thumb.jpg

See it pinging in that dos box.. Its on the network, etc. etc.. But can't really use the net -- not may places the OLD 16 bit browsers can display ;)

As to the display driver -- there is a patch out there for svga so you can run it in 1024 -- I would of shown that screen shot, but for it work have to run in fullscreen, and since remoted in to my vmware server, etc. fullscreen mode is a bit of pain.. So just ran it in vga mode.

Here's the page you can get the video driver patch from

http://chitchat.at.infoseek.co.jp/vmware/misc.html#win31svga

BTW - make sure you get a dosidle program on it, or it will really suck up the cpu.

  • 2 weeks later...
Community Regular

mpg187

Posted
Posted

First install dos. you can get a dos img from the internet.

installing windows 3.1 needs a valid license so, if you have a license its legal.

Don't you need a license for DOS too?

I have a 3.1 VM, but I am not sure if I can share it. I think it's old enough that no one cares. I seen a thread here with Windows 98 downloads...

Proficient

Madoshi

Posted
Posted (edited)

Don't you need a license for DOS too?

I have a 3.1 VM, but I am not sure if I can share it. I think it's old enough that no one cares. I seen a thread here with Windows 98 downloads...

technically, MS-DOS does require a license just like Windows 3.1

nothing stopping you though, not even MS is gonna bother

as for installing it in a virtual machine, its just like a real PC. if you have a set of floppies for DOS and Windows, and a floppy drive, it really is just like on a real PC.

Community Regular

mpg187

Posted
Posted

nothing stopping you though, not even MS is gonna botherIn that case:

http://psphomebrew.net/psp/forum_posts.asp?TID=2620

as for installing it in a virtual machine, its just like a real PC. if you have a set of floppies for DOS and Windows, and a floppy drive, it really is just like on a real PC.
I have a Windows 3.1 CD ISO, how would I install that? I can't boot it and DOS doesn't recognize it...
Grand Master

+BudMan MVC

Posted
  • MVC
Posted

And where did you get a 3.1 ISO -- I don't believe 3.1 was ever released on cdrom... Even the MS download of 3.11 from msdn or there license service is just an exe.

There are plenty of guides on how to install 3.11 on virtual -- but in your case if you have a ISO, just get cdrom working in your dos environment.. Then access the files on the iso you mounted to a cdrom in your virtual software.

Or just extract the files off the ISO and use them that way -- put on a hard drive image you have mounted to your virtual machines.. There are many many different ways to skin a cat ;)

Proficient

Madoshi

Posted
Posted

And where did you get a 3.1 ISO -- I don't believe 3.1 was ever released on cdrom... Even the MS download of 3.11 from msdn or there license service is just an exe.

one of my old 3.11 boxes of past that had a CD-ROM, had it's source files path set to some nested folder on the CD drive. the directory names in the path (never seen the actual CD, could have been some sysop's burned disc) looked "official". kinda odd it was

Enthusiast

Black Leopard

Posted
Posted

To access your CD under DOS you need to have a CDROM driver and the MSCDEX (or any alternative) CDROM enabler. Or you could just install FreeDOS. It's opensource, compatible with 99% of MS-DOS apps, and include long file names, archive (de)compression and CDROM/NET/NTFS/USB handling OOTB).

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Apple MacBook Neo is a blessing for Windows users, here's why

      By +samw61 · Posted

      But the reality is it will work for people's needs, and they don't care about the technology that makes it. Clearly not everyone's needs, but that low end space where personal laptops were only used to type emails, watch content and browse websites, but they didn't want to do that on a small screen device. Heck, writing that out I can now see the connection and reason it'll do so well. Apple is about experience. If the experience is bad, they don't release it. Low end Windows laptop manufacturers up until this point have not taken that into consideration ever before, so slow laggy usage with brittle slimey plastic shells were common. I hope that the low end space at least creates better physical products that last a bit longer, and if Microsoft get their act together, they could also have a solid OS on such low end hardware that would actually make the experience work for what the hardware was intended for. The fact that the CPU is a "cellphone", sorry mobile phone processor is irrelevant. It's about the experience, and so far, that sounds quite solid.
    • Module Blocked - Is this Okay?

      By goretsky · Posted

      Hello, Bonjour is Apple's implementation of a multicast-DNS service, which allows devices running Apple's software and/or hardware to find each other on your local network.  I believe the Windows version was last updated around 2010. If you do not need it, you can stop and disable the Bonjour service in the Services Control Manager (filename: SERVICES.MSC).  Once you have done that, the operating system will no longer attempt to load the service. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky  
    • This AMD RX 9070 16GB GPU that performs close to Nvidia 5070 is under $600

      By hellowalkman · Posted

      This AMD RX 9070 16GB GPU that performs close to Nvidia 5070 is under $600 by Sayan Sen With the memory shortage that's prevalent nowadays, discounts are super-hard to get. As such we post good deals whenever they pop up. Recently, we covered a few great discounts on SSDs wherein you can get a 4TB TeamGroup NVMe PCIe Gen4 drive for just $400 thanks to a special coupon. If you want a faster product but don't need all that capacity, you can also opt for Samsung's 990 PRO 2TB that is on sale for its lowest price in over three months. Let's say though that you are on the hunt for a 1440p gaming card. In that case AMD's RX 9070 non-XT can help, and with its 16GB VRAM, you can also run AI models locally without worrying about bottlenecking (check out our recent 9070 GRE reviews for gaming and productivity to get an idea). The PowerColor Reaper variant of the RX 9070 is currently on sale for just $580 which is a very good price in the current state of affairs (purchase link under the specs table down below). The Reaper cooler on this 9070 uses a triple‑fan design with ring‑blade fans, paired with premium dual ball bearings to extend lifespan and reduce friction. "Intelligent" fan control allows the fans to remain idle at lower temperatures, only spinning up when the GPU is under load. A nickel‑plated copper base makes direct contact with both the GPU and memory modules, helping to spread heat evenly. PowerColor also applies Honeywell PTM7950 phase‑change thermal interface material (TIM), which fills microscopic gaps between the die and heatsink for more efficient thermal transfer. The fan shroud is shorter in height as the firm has made it such that it can be used in certain SFF (small form factor) cases. The technical specifications of the Reaper RX 9070 are given in the table below: Specification Value Stream Processors 3584 Units Video Memory 16GB GDDR6 Memory Speed 20.0 Gbps Memory Interface 256-bit Engine Clock Game Clock: up to 2070 MHz Boost Clock: up to 2520 MHz Bus Standard PCI Express 5.0 x16 Display Connectors 1 x HDMI 2.1b, 3 x DisplayPort 2.1a Maximum Resolution DisplayPort: 7680 × 4320 HDMI: 7680 × 4320 Board Dimensions 289mm × 111mm × 41mm 304mm × 127mm × 42mm (with bracket) Slot 2 Minimum System Power Requirement 600W Power Connectors Two 8-pin PCI Express Get the PowerColor Reaper RX 9070 at the links below (you get only a 90-day warranty on Woot): PowerColor Reaper Radeon RX 9070 16GB Graphics Card (RX9070 16G-A): $579.99 (Sold and Shipped by Amazon US) (Was: $700) PowerColor Reaper Radeon RX 9070 16GB Graphics Card (RX9070 16G-A): $559.99 (Sold and Shipped by Woot US) Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • DWARF mini review: the world's smallest smart telescope for night and day sky captures

      By ZipZapRap · Posted

      Are they marketed as an entry into astronomy or astrophotography? I do astrophotography. With big rigs, lots of computers, cables and headaches. I love it. And by learning this ridiculously complex hobby, I’ve learned about the objects I’m shooting. Astronomy followed from photography.
    • Microsoft confirms Recycle Bin bug across all versions of Windows

      By Usama Jawad96 · Posted

      Microsoft confirms Recycle Bin bug across all versions of Windows by Usama Jawad A couple of days ago, we reported that the latest Patch Tuesday update has seemingly resulted in a lot of issues for many users, including OneDrive and Dropbox access problems, BitLocker recovery lockouts, and BSODs. Although Microsoft is yet to acknowledge these bugs, it has confirmed another, relatively smaller issue across all supported versions of Windows. In an update on its Windows Release Health Dashboard, Microsoft has confirmed that after installing June's Patch Tuesday update (KB5094126), you'll experience unexpected behavior when leveraging Recycle Bin. Basically, when you attempt to delete an item from the Recycle Bin, the confirm dialog will show you the internal file name of that content rather than the actual name. For example, the file may be named abc.png, but the confirm dialog will ask if you're sure that you want to permanently delete $Rxxxxx.png from the Recycle Bin. This is pretty much it for the scope of the bug itself; it just displays the wrong name in the confirm dialog. The correct name will be shown in the list view of the Recycle Bin and if you restore the file, it will return with the correct name as well. This issue affects pretty much all supported versions of Windows client and server, including: Client: Windows 11, version 26H1; Windows 11, version 25H2; Windows 11, version 24H2; Windows 11, version 23H2; Windows 10, version 22H2; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016 Server: Windows Server 2025; Windows Server 2022; Windows Server 2019; Windows Server 2016; Windows Server 2012 R2; Windows Server 2012 As things currently stand, Microsoft is working on a concrete solution that will be released in a "future" Windows update. It remains to be seen if the firm will wait till the next Patch Tuesday or roll out an out-of-band (OOB) fix. The good news is that commercial customers can deploy a workaround right now, but they will have to reach out to Microsoft Support for Business for additional details.

  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Jordan Smith earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Reacting Well
      BizSAR earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • First Post
      AndreaB earned a badge
      First Post
    • Week One Done
      Huge Trailer earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      Classifyskilleducation earned a badge
      Week One Done

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      579
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      184
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      75
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      72
    5. 5
      neufuse
      64
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!