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Emulating Windows 1.x, 2.x and NT 3.1, 3.5

theotherosprojecttheotherosproject
edited December 2014 in Software
I would like to try some of the earliest releases of Windows, both under DOS-based and NT lines. VMware won't do the job and I doubt VirtualBox will. For example, when I try to install NT 3.1, no matter how I change the CD or HDD drives' IDE/SCSI configurations, I still can't get it to detect the drives. Anyone can recommend me a good emulation tool?

Bonus question: if I decide to emulate beta versions of Windows (e.g. NT 5.0), do I select the version before it (NT 4.0), or its stable counterpart (Windows 2000)?

Comments

  • thinkpadmanthinkpadman
    For Windows 1 and 2 I've got them running okay in VirtualBox. I had just set them up as a DOS VM, with 4 MB RAM, and 30 MB IDE HDD and installed MS-DOS 3.3 beforehand. In Windows 1 the mouse won't work by default, though I've read up somewhere that using the mouse.drv from Windows 2 can overcome that. There's also a couple of generic video card drivers on the net to improve the display somewhat.

    With NT 3.1 and NT 3.5 I haven't done extensive testing as I tend to just use NT 3.51. Generally I had no trouble detecting the hard disk regardless, although I max it out at 4 GB. You'll have the issue with detecting CPUs later in setup regardless of whether you get the drives detected. Due to this I think it may be a better option to use QEMU as you can force it to instruct the VM it's running a 486 processor which will let the setup program continue without modifying the install CD. Another option is one I found recently called PCem. With PCem it actually uses a ROM from an actual motherboard and video card for XT to 486 era PCs so that should be another viable option.

    For beta versions of NT 5.0 I'd just run them as a Win2000 VM, though somehow I doubt it would make much difference choosing NT 4.0 in the VM settings.
  • calvinbcalvinb
    I suggest using DOS to bootstrap NT - do a winnt /? for a quick refresher on how to run the installer.
  • TEPontaTEPonta
    I have installed and run various early Windows versions from Windows 1 through 3.11 as well as 95, 98, ME, and XP on my Vista system using Microsoft Virtual PC.

    Buddha
  • AnonymousAnonymous
    thinkpadman wrote:
    Due to this I think it may be a better option to use QEMU as you can force it to instruct the VM it's running a 486 processor which will let the setup program continue without modifying the install CD. Another option is one I found recently called PCem. With PCem it actually uses a ROM from an actual motherboard and video card for XT to 486 era PCs so that should be another viable option.
    It depends on your host OS, imo.
    qemu is your best choice if your host os is linux, pcem is your best choice if your host os is windows.
    I'm using windows atm specifically for pcem.
    (pcem has a linux version, but the UI is really crap -to the point where it's better to just run it on windows).

    Honestly, I think that between the two, pcem is the better choice for running old (pre xp) operating systems.
  • DoctorDoctor
    I can prepare a Virtualbox vm of Winnt 3.1 if you want
  • ibmpc5150ibmpc5150
    I use PCE (IBM PC 5150) emulator / DOSBOX.

    PCE : Windows 1.x / 2.x / 3.0
    DOSBOX : Windows 3.1x

    Screenshot of Windows 1.03 from PCE or IBM PC XT 5160
    viewtopic.php?f=36&t=7119
  • yourepicfailureyourepicfailure
    You could shoot for Bochs, but it has some glitches here and there and requires a bit of configuration to get going.
    On the other hand, Qemu has more system instructions emulated, but it's a little slower than Bochs. Its config is done with CLI not a GUI, but it's fairly simple if you know how to handle bat files.
  • SoappySoappy
    It's possible to install NT 3.51 on Virtual Box but it's going to be a bit difficult to install.

    I've had success installing Windows 1.0 and 2.0 on Microsoft Virtual PC 2007. I'm not sure if it works with DOSBox.

    As for your bouns question, I've installed NT 5.0 beta on Virtual PC 2007 without any problems. Just use NT 4.0 as the emulated OS. For other betas, select the base OS or the previous OS.
  • DoctorDoctor
    NT 3.51 is actually very easy to install, you just need a Windows 98 boot disk with the EDIT program to edit the initial.inf & setup.inf files to set the processor to I586. Nothing too complicated
  • calvinbcalvinb
    3.51 doesn't need that. You will need to boot from the disks (which can be made from the installer) or just start the installer from DOS.
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