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Has anyone created a free clone of Windows 3.x?

[Deleted User][Deleted User]
edited July 2017 in Software
Since free clones of DOS (FreeDOS), Windows NT (ReactOS), DRI GEM (FreeGEM), macOS? (FreeDarwin), DOOM (FreeDOOM) and others exist, it seems natural that there would be a free (or even open-source) clone of Windows 3.x.

But does such a thing even exist?

Google has decided to be totally uncooperative on the matter.

Comments

  • TwiggyTwiggy
    Why would you need a Free Windows 3.x:.

    It's abandonware, it's already free.

    If there is, then I wonder who wasted their time trying to full-fill a need that doesn't exist.

    You can download 3.x from the library here, man.

    Also, I'd take abandone ware over a free clone anytime, because abandoneware is the legitimate product from the creators themselves, and is obviously better for compatibility than something attempting to imitate it.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]
    Twiggy wrote:
    Why would you need a Free Windows 3.x:.

    It's abandonware, it's already three.

    If there is, then I wonder who wasted their time trying to full-fill a need that doesn't exist.

    You can download 3.x from the library here, man.

    I know it's abandonware already. I just wanted to know if such a thing existed.

    But you could say the same about FreeDOS, no? Why was FreeDOS created when MS-DOS is already abandonware?
  • TwiggyTwiggy
    Erito17 wrote:
    Twiggy wrote:
    Why would you need a Free Windows 3.x:.

    It's abandonware, it's already three.

    If there is, then I wonder who wasted their time trying to full-fill a need that doesn't exist.

    You can download 3.x from the library here, man.

    I know it's abandonware already. I just wanted to know if such a thing existed.

    But you could say the same about FreeDOS, no? Why was FreeDOS created when MS-DOS is already abandonware?

    I do say that about FreeDOS.
  • menagemenage
    Erito17 wrote:
    Twiggy wrote:
    Why would you need a Free Windows 3.x:.

    It's abandonware, it's already three.

    If there is, then I wonder who wasted their time trying to full-fill a need that doesn't exist.

    You can download 3.x from the library here, man.

    I know it's abandonware already. I just wanted to know if such a thing existed.

    But you could say the same about FreeDOS, no? Why was FreeDOS created when MS-DOS is already abandonware?

    The closest complete 3.x clone would be the Win16 subsystem in ReactOS. You could conceivably try to take that and back engineer into something that runs on top of DOS like the precursor project to ReactOS tried. Expect to spend years figuring out how to update underlying DOS structures to keep all the pieces in sync. Real mode would be nigh impossible without source code; fortunately, many Win 3 programs implement locks that basically preclude running them in real mode.

    A partial clone was attempted in Sun's WABI which implemented replacement KERNEL, USER, and GDI modules similar in concept to MS's own Windows Libraries for OS/2.

    FreeDOS had the advantage of having a relatively simple unchanging API to follow with modest changes to run on newer hardware. MS-DOS would need many patches to work.
  • TwiggyTwiggy
    menage wrote:
    Erito17 wrote:
    Twiggy wrote:
    Why would you need a Free Windows 3.x:.

    It's abandonware, it's already three.

    If there is, then I wonder who wasted their time trying to full-fill a need that doesn't exist.

    You can download 3.x from the library here, man.

    I know it's abandonware already. I just wanted to know if such a thing existed.

    But you could say the same about FreeDOS, no? Why was FreeDOS created when MS-DOS is already abandonware?

    The closest complete 3.x clone would be the Win16 subsystem in ReactOS. You could conceivably try to take that and back engineer into something that runs on top of DOS like the precursor project to ReactOS tried. Expect to spend years figuring out how to update underlying DOS structures to keep all the pieces in sync. Real mode would be nigh impossible without source code; fortunately, many Win 3 programs implement locks that basically preclude running them in real mode.

    A partial clone was attempted in Sun's WABI which implemented replacement KERNEL, USER, and GDI modules similar in concept to MS's own Windows Libraries for OS/2.

    FreeDOS had the advantage of having a relatively simple unchanging API to follow with modest changes to run on newer hardware. MS-DOS would need many patches to work.

    True, so use FreeDOS if you want do on modern hardware, but if you have RETRO why not go with the origional and use MS-DOS?
  • SomeGuySomeGuy
    Early on there was a short lived project that attempted to clone the DOS-based Windows 95. But that was abandoned in favor of ReactOS when it became clear the NT based OSes were the way forward.

    There is also the HX-DOS extender that can run some Win32 applications under DOS.

    The problem with the 16-bit stuff is that so many applications relied on undocumented Windows 3.x features and bugs, that it just wasn't practical to clone. Of note, Windows NT did not attempt to clone or translate Win16 APIs, but instead ran a modified version of Windows 3.1 in a VDM.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]
    Which files in the Windows NT C: drive were responsible for this modified version of Windows 3.1?
  • menagemenage
    Erito17 wrote:
    Which files in the Windows NT C: drive were responsible for this modified version of Windows 3.1?

    May not be in C: but there cornerstone files were (take from http://web.archive.org/web/200703160227 ... /kb/105992 )

    Window on Windows (WOW)

    WOWEXEC.EXE - Handles the loading of 16-bit Windows-based applications.
    WOW32.DLL - Dynamic Link Library of the WOW application environment.
    NTVDM.EXE - VDM Component.
    NTVDM.DLL - VDM Component.
    NTIO.SYS - VDM Component.
    REDIR.EXE - VDM Component.
    VDMREDIR.DLL - Redirector for WOW environment.
    KRNL386.EXE - Used by WOW on x86 based systems.
    KRNL286.EXE - Used by WOW on non x86 based systems.
    GDI.EXE - Modified version of Windows 3.10 GDI.EXE.
    USER.EXE - Modified version of Windows 3.10 USER.EXE.

    There are slight changes to the files but a quick check shows them to still be in Vista 32-bit. I don't have any post-Vista 32-bit OS in easy reach to verify right now.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]
    SomeGuy wrote:
    Early on there was a short lived project that attempted to clone the DOS-based Windows 95. But that was abandoned in favor of ReactOS when it became clear the NT based OSes were the way forward.

    There is also the HX-DOS extender that can run some Win32 applications under DOS.

    The problem with the 16-bit stuff is that so many applications relied on undocumented Windows 3.x features and bugs, that it just wasn't practical to clone. Of note, Windows NT did not attempt to clone or translate Win16 APIs, but instead ran a modified version of Windows 3.1 in a VDM.

    The HX-DOS extender is available here, for those who need it: https://sourceforge.net/projects/hx-dos/

    @menage: Thanks for the info! :)
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