Run Windows 3.1 from a USB flash drive

[strekship]

I know that you can run Windows 3.1 from a floppy, so i was wondering if it would be possable to run it from a flash drive. Are there any guids on how to do it? I have searched google, but nothing came up.

[clonk]

  strekship said:

I know that you can run Windows 3.1 from a floppy, so i was wondering if it would be possable to run it from a flash drive. Are there any guids on how to do it? I have searched google, but nothing came up.

Follow whatever guide you found and wherever you see 'floppy' replace it with 'flash drive' and see if that works.

[tylerm]

you could always get Hirens boot disk and run it as a live cd.

[markwolfe Veteran]

I don't think that Win3.11 could be maded to understand the whole USB thing, and you likely cannot run it directly from a flash drive. However, you can probably run an OS that does handle USB (Linux, Win98b+) and use some sort of emulation/virtual PC to run your Windows 3.11 session from within that other OS.

[Aaron44126]

  strekship said:

I know that you can run Windows 3.1 from a floppy, so i was wondering if it would be possable to run it from a flash drive. Are there any guids on how to do it? I have searched google, but nothing came up.

There are drivers for accessing USB drives from MS-DOS (they'd have to be FAT, not FAT32, formatted, of course). I know that Norton Ghost comes with them (I've made a DOS boot CD with them that works -- I got them from Norton Ghost 2003, I believe). Seems to me that if you could get DOS and these drivers loaded and a drive mounted with a letter, installing and running Windows off of the flash drive would be a non-issue.

Booting DOS/Windows from the flash drive may be an issue. I'm thinking about booting DOS from a CD or other media and then running Windows.

Edited May 14, 2006 by Aaron44126

[jamend]

It should be pretty simple. It's pretty easy to boot DOS from a USB key (with that HP utility for which they unfortunately took the link down), and Windows 3.1 is just a bunch of crap running on top of DOS. If you enable USB legacy support in your BIOS (which emulates USB mice/keyboards to normal ones and USB mass storage to a hard drive or floppy), it shouldn't be a problem.

[Kraftman]

[hijack] Is someone able to link me to that HP utility. I have heard things about it before [/hijack]

[markwolfe Veteran]

  bobp said:

[hijack] Is someone able to link me to that HP utility. I have heard things about it before [/hijack]

Archive.org remembers all... :whistle:

http://web.archive.org/web/20050401013226/...load/20306.html

[jamend]

I tried that with google cache but the download always fails after a short while... Found a mirror for it though: http://www.docjelly.com/Blog/content/binary/SP27213.exe

[strekship]

Thanks for the input. I think i will try to boot dos via the HP utility. If that fails, i will try getting qemu/bochs for DSL and running 3.1 from there.

[strekship]

Well, it sort of works. I installed it via vmware by telling it to use a physical disk. I installed dos 6.22 and windows for workgroups 3.11. Dos works fine, but every time i try to start windows, it shows the boot screen then crashes to the command prompt.

[strekship]

Sorry for the double post, it won't let me edit my previous one.

I looked in the log and this is the error:

System.ini is missing the "[386enh]" section.
Run windows setup again to install a compleate system.ini file.

I looked at my system.ini, and it seems to have the section. Here is a copy of it:

[Password Lists]
*Shares=C:\WINDOWS\Share001.PWL
   `a5?? CARDFILEEXE	   !   `a_ l CARDS   DLL		   `ak0D CLIPBRD EXE	   !   `a~ 6 EFAXPUMPDLL		   `a? ?  EMM386  EXE	   !   `a?^? FAXOPT  DLL		   `a??m GLOSSARYHLP		   `a???  FAXVIEW EXE	   !   `a? \ MORICONSDLL		   `a	P? IMPEXP  DLL		   `a?  MPLAYER HLP		   `a`2  MSHEARTSEXE	   ?4  `a ? MSMAIL  HLP		   `a(?* PRINTMANEXE	   !   `aE? 
language.dll=English (American)
system.drv=MS-DOS System
codepage=437
woafont.fon=English (437)
aspect=100,96,96
display.drv=VGA
network.drv=Microsoft Windows Network (version 3.11)
secondnet.drv=No Additional Network Installed

[386Enh]
device=vtdapi.386
device=vshare.386
mouse=*vmd
ebios=*ebios
woafont=dosapp.fon
display=*vddvga
EGA80WOA.FON=EGA80WOA.FON
EGA40WOA.FON=EGA40WOA.FON
CGA80WOA.FON=CGA80WOA.FON
CGA40WOA.FON=CGA40WOA.FON
keyboard=*vkd
network=*vnetbios,*vwc,vnetsup.386,vredir.386,vserver.386
netheapsize=20
device=*vcd
device=*vpicd
device=*vtd
device=*reboot
device=*vdmad
device=*vsd
device=*v86mmgr
device=*pageswap
device=*dosmgr
device=*vmpoll
device=*wshell
device=*PAGEFILE
device=*BLOCKDEV
device=*vfd
device=*parity
device=*biosxlat
device=*vmcpd
device=*combuff
device=*cdpscsi
device=vpmtd.386
device=vcomm.386
device=serial.386
device=lpt.386
device=ifsmgr.386
device=vcache.386
local=CON
FileSysChange=off
COM3Irq=4
COM3Base=03E8
COM4Irq=3
COM4Base=02E8
PagingFile=C:\WINDOWS\WIN386.SWP
MaxPagingFileSize=238372
InDOSPolling=FALSE

[NonWindowsApp]
localtsrs=dosedit,ced

[vcache]
minfilecache=512

[mci]
CDAudio=mcicda.drv
Sequencer=mciseq.drv
WaveAudio=mciwave.drv

[drivers]
midimapper=midimap.drv
timer=timer.drv

[DDEShares]
CHAT$=winchat,chat,,31,,0,,0,0,0
SCHAT$=winchat,chat,,31,,0,,0,0,0
CLPBK$=clipsrv,system,,31,,0,,0,0,0
HEARTS$=mshearts,hearts,,15,,0,,0,0,0

[Network]
winnet=wfwnet/00025100
multinet=nonet
FileSharing=Yes
PrintSharing=Yes
LogonDisconnected=yes
EnableSharing=Yes
UserName=
Workgroup=WORKGROUP
ComputerName=WFW311
Comment=



[network drivers]
devdir=C:\WINDOWS
LoadRMDrivers=No

[Password Lists]
*Shares=C:\WINDOWS\Share00

[os2fan2]

You can most certianly run windows from a floppy disk, since this is been done several times. You need to unzip the stuff into a ramdisk, and not be overly fussy as to the shell: i used sol.exe here, as this provides most of the functionality of windows, anyway.

Running it from a usb-stick requires a dos usb driver (which exist).

You can quite easily run it from a cdrom, by using the so-called "network install". You set up windows via "setup /a" for the cdrom side, and "setup /n" for the client side. This creates a windows directory with something like 140 kB (enough for a floppy!), which with a little tweaking, can be reduced to a 14k rar file (basically, you create a batch file to make win.com and winver.exe, and rar the rest!).

[strekship]

  os2fan2 said:

You can most certianly run windows from a floppy disk, since this is been done several times. You need to unzip the stuff into a ramdisk, and not be overly fussy as to the shell: i used sol.exe here, as this provides most of the functionality of windows, anyway.

Running it from a usb-stick requires a dos usb driver (which exist).

You can quite easily run it from a cdrom, by using the so-called "network install". You set up windows via "setup /a" for the cdrom side, and "setup /n" for the client side. This creates a windows directory with something like 140 kB (enough for a floppy!), which with a little tweaking, can be reduced to a 14k rar file (basically, you create a batch file to make win.com and winver.exe, and rar the rest!).

Well, dos ran fine from the usb drive without a USB driver, its just that Win 3.1 didn't want to boot for one reason or another. If i got a usb driver for win 3.1, what would i need to do to have it load on start up?

[Allan]

Allow me to ask an obvious question ................ why?

[strekship]

  Allan? said:

Allow me to ask an obvious question ................ why?

I don't know. Just to do it? To show the idiots in my class that Windows XP was not the first version of windows? Lots of reasons.

[morebaker]

Why not you can run [DAMM SMALL LINUX ]off a usb stick . :woot:

[Digital404]

hi there i was wondering if someone could help me here see i have a old laptop which is hitachi visionbook traveler 3000 series and i windows 3.11 workgroup with ie 3.03 and netscape i have a 3com 16bit pcmcia card with all the drivers can anyone help me how to get online with 3.11

thank you

[strekship]

  morebaker said:

Why not you can run [DAMM SMALL LINUX ]off a usb stick . :woot:

I already run that on my other one. :)

[PL_ Veteran]

  strekship said:

I don't know. Just to do it? To show the idiots in my class that Windows XP was not the first version of windows? Lots of reasons.

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