[OFFER] Windows NT 3.1 September 1991 beta (build 196/1.196.1)

surrodox2001

Offer courtesy of Cirrubec:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bImV4SD0Gv8rKVDs7tpb5_TmdMMVBPHH/view?usp=sharing

Yes, this build was leaked after 2 years from first preview (or hype if you want to call it like that) in BetaArchive at 2018-09-20, it's firstly leaked over BetaArchiveBetaWiki's (i know, that's conflicting information can do for ya) Discord server on 2020-12-18.

I want to offer this to Winworld to be put into the Library so this beta is more well-known.

Pertinent information about this build:
https://betawiki.net/wiki/Windows_NT_3.1_build_196.1

EDIT: Also, I know there's some discussions about this build of NT before I arrived here, but I'm gonna post this anyway for visibility purposes.

YET ANOTHER EDIT: Keep in mind that this offer isn't at its original form, Cirrubec just repackaged this into a ISO image that's usable in emulators/machines. The original file by ReflectiaX can be seen here (mirror): https://archive.org/details/windows-nt-3.1-pdk-1.196-sept.-1991

surrodox2001

PS: This is my first post here so if there's any problems on my post, tell me.

SomeGuy

Wha? That ISO erases the time stamps. You have to go through extra steps to be that stupid.

Fuck it, I'm not even touching this shit.

FantaShokataNerd

From what I've seen this build looks like build 239, except Print Manager and Clock have Windows 3.0 icons, and Windows logo in About Program Manager box is the same as Windows 3.1 builds 26 and 34. Even Minesweeper (WinMine) has a monochrome icon.

German

This is very interest build.
NT 1.196 is better leak in 2020!
I think, this is first external release NT. Oldest builds only internal.
This is very similar on 1.175.
I made full gallery. You can see images in Old-DOS Wiki: http://old-dos.ru/wiki/index.php/Windows_32-bit_OS_1.196_(September_1991).
Notes:
1. NT 1.196 don't booting in MS-DOS 6. Need DOS 5
2. Keyboard don't work in PCem v16.

FantaShokataNerd

@German Try 86box if keyboard doesn't work in PCem

jonirob

It runs fine with keyboard in 86Box on MS-DOS 6.22.

robobox

The original archive is a ZIP with just the files (not disk images). Someone probably made a custom ISO with the files (CDs were not bootable in any form in 1991, at least on PCs).

The ZIP DOES have the original timestamps from 1990/1991, but whoever made this ISO borked the timestamps (And we would ideally be trying to get away from hackjob bootable ISOs. Memories of those bootable Windows 3.1 CDs haunt me to this day.)

surrodox2001

Wha? That ISO erases the time stamps. You have to go through extra steps to be that stupid.

Fuck it, I'm not even touching this shit.

Keep in mind that this offer ISO isn't mine's, original zip available on archive.org (last link).

02k-guy

@robobox : appreciate the link to original zips. One look at the scan of the CD told me something was amiss.

johnlennon364

I problem with setting up Windows NT 3.10.196 Beta. I'm using 6.22 to setup Windows. The Windows NT Files is setup.Windows NT bootloader do not load Windows NT it boot in to DOS.

Winins

Don't worry, an original ISO is on its way.

robobox

Things of note I found:

The WINDOWS directory, unlike later builds, is populated with programs. Later builds only have a empty SYSTEM directory and a FONTS directory with, well, fonts.

All of the DLLs in each build seem to be in a DLL directory.

All text-mode programs are in a BIN directory, while all the graphical programs are in the WINDOWS directory. Interestingly, the WINDOWS directory on all three builds I downloaded (September, October, and December 1991) is a sub-directory of the NT directory.

And the directory structure is completely different in each build! 9/91 has the non-debug files in the regular directory, with a special , while 10/91 had 'debug' and 'non-debug' directories, and 12/91 had i386, r4000, i386i, mstools, r4000i, and setup directories! And 'i386' is called 'I386' in the 9/91 build. Most of the filenames seem to be uppercase in the 9/91 build.

For some reason NTOSKRNL is in the I386 directory (not NT/WINNT) in the 9/91 build. 10/91 and 12/91 have 'config' and driver' directories, but 9/91 lacks the config directory and has a WAV directory, with WAV files inside. WTF?

NTLDR is called 'OS2LDR.NT' in the 9/91 build. Probably a leftover from NT OS/2. And 9/91 has not setup directory at all, and no graphical setup. Instead the batch setup from 10/91 and 12/91 is used. And the setup directory is called INSTALL instead, but contains some random programs, including IBMBOOT.COM and the MV.exe.

I couldn't find any evidence of it being tampered (latest file dates are ~9/15/1991), and nothing I see by opening some files in a hex editor seems modified either. At this point the graphical setup was probably unfinished and hence why the installer wants DOS or OS/2 (it does the same thing in the batch setup in 10/91 and 12/91)

In short, this is almost certainly real. (although the hackjob ISO is just a DOS Live CD with the NT installer and files)

Winins

but 9/91 lacks the config directory and has a WAV directory, with WAV files inside. WTF?

The WAV files does play, but you need a Sound Blaster 1.5 with I/O port 0x260 and IRQ 7. You can get this on 86Box, but it needs to be the latest nightly build as a recent build fixes an issue about sound on 1991 NT.