Win 3.0, the answer

From: Kai Kaltenbach <kaikal_at_MICROSOFT.com>
Date: Fri Jan 30 11:40:40 1998

Well, here are the genuine system requirements for Windows 3.0 -- I'm pretty
sure these are correct, since I wrote this KnowledgeBase article back in
1990 :)

If you know how to get the secret credit screen, you can see my name on
there...

Let me know if you have any other ancient Windows questions.

Kai



Windows 3.0 Modes and Memory Requirements [win3x]
ID: Q58317 CREATED: 31-JAN-1990 MODIFIED: 21-NOV-1994
3.00 3.00a
WINDOWS
PUBLIC | kbdisplay

SUMMARY
=======

This article contains information on the processor and memory requirements
for the three different operating modes of Microsoft Windows version 3.0.
These modes are real mode (similar to Windows/286 versions 2.x), 286
standard mode (also known as 286 protected mode), and 386 enhanced mode
(also known as 386 protected mode).

MORE INFORMATION
================

WIN.COM automatically starts up Windows 3.0 in the proper mode for the
configuration. However, Windows may be forced into one of the three
modes through the following command-line switches:

   Switch Mode
   ------ ----

   WIN /R Real mode
   WIN /S or WIN /2 Standard mode
   WIN /3 Enhanced mode

Notes
-----

1. All numbers below are approximate and may vary widely depending
   on the configuration -- for example, Windows device drivers chosen,
   DOS version, display adapter, etc.

2. 128K of extended memory is recovered from shadow RAM usage on
   COMPAQ 386 machines.

3. Memory requirements take into account memory that can be recovered
   from SMARTDrive (down to the minimum cache size specified).

Real Mode Requirements
----------------------

1. The requirements for WIN.COM to automatically start up in real mode
   are as follows:

   a. 8088 processor or above
   b. 384K of free conventional memory (393,216 bytes reported by
      CHKDSK)

2. The actual real mode requirements are the same as above.

Standard Mode Requirements
--------------------------

1. The requirements for WIN.COM to automatically start up in standard
   mode are as follows:

   a. 80286 processor or above
   b. 192K of free extended memory
   c. HIMEM.SYS loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file

2. The actual standard mode requirements are as follows:

   Standard mode conventional/extended memory requirements are
   mutually dependent and are not fixed. A typical installation
   requires a minimum of 128K free at the DOS prompt to run standard
   mode, assuming sufficient extended memory is free. Standard mode
   requires between 384K and 512K combined conventional and extended
   memory to run (approximately).

   For example, if only the minimum 192K of extended memory is free,
   approximately 322K of conventional is required to run standard
   mode. However, if available extended is increased to approximately
   208K or greater, only 128K of conventional is required. This
   example is intended to illustrate that the memory requirements are
   an interrelated, variable issue.

Enhanced Mode Requirements
--------------------------

1. The requirements for WIN.COM to automatically start up in enhanced
   mode are as follows:

   a. 80386 processor or above
   b. 1024K of free extended memory
   c. HIMEM.SYS loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file

2. The actual enhanced mode requirements are as follows:

   See notes for standard mode, above, relating to the
   interrelationship of conventional/extended requirements. A typical
   installation requires a minimum of 182K free at the DOS prompt to
   run enhanced mode, assuming sufficient extended memory is free.
   Enhanced mode requires between 580K and 624K combined conventional
   and extended memory to run (approximately).

   Note that enhanced mode is able to start up in low-memory
   situations only because it provides virtual memory support;
   although enhanced mode may run in such situations, it may be
   extremely slow due to the large amount of disk swapping it must
   perform.

============================================================================
====
Created_by: KAIKAL Edit_review: DANAS Edited: 01-FEB-1990
Modified_by: DAVIDE Tech_review: RANDOW Reviewed: 23-FEB-1990

> -----Original Message-----
> From: lfb107_at_psu.edu [SMTP:lfb107_at_psu.edu]
> Sent: Thursday, January 29, 1998 9:11 PM
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
> Subject: Win 3.0
>
>
> I might be mistaken, but I somehow recall that someone said that
> it was possible to run windows 3.0 on an XT???
>
> A buddy of mine gave me an unopened box of v3.0 but the back
> says it requires a 286.
>
> So whats the deal?
>
> Les
Received on Fri Jan 30 1998 - 11:40:40 GMT