Putting MS-DOS + Windows 3.11… on a single floppy! #VintageComputing #Floppy @TheLunduke
Someone managed to squeeze a version of MS-DOS 7.1 and Windows 3.11 onto a single 3.5” floppy as discovered by Bryan Lunduke.
You can boot directly into Windows 3.11… off a single Floppy.
Whoever created it goes by “DOS China Union” (seems to be a group of people)… and did this work back in 2006. I hadn’t seen this until now (and the original Geocities webpage is long gone), luckily a version is also hosted up at Archive.org.
Booting, it asks if you want to launch “Mini-Windows”, or just boot into DOS 7.1. Shazam! There it is! Windows 3.11 booting entirely off a floppy drive!
Win 3.1 required extended memory if it serves my memory right. Win3.0 could run on a 8088/6 with expanded memory (very different memory architecture). And Windows 3.11 is the famous and wonderful Windows for Workgroups which launched PC interconnectivity for many. Ed.: So this may only run on one vintage PC I have, a 286, or perhaps I’ll have to wait to get a 386.
As noted by Bryan, the Windows is pretty bare bones to fit on a 1.44MB floppy. Without all the extras and apps. Still this is a nice piece of software magic.
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