During the first decade of Microsoft Windows (versions 1.01 to 4.00.950A), Windows ran on DOS and was merely a glorified program manager, not really an operating system (OS). It does not matter how many times Microsoft says otherwise. For the first ten years, Microsoft marketed Windows as a stand-alone graphic user interface (GUI).

With the release of Windows 95B (Windows 4.x running on DOS 7.x) on 1996, Microsoft marketed Windows as a stand-alone OS. Windows 98, 98SE and ME continue this misunderstanding. For these reasons many people say that Windows 95B and up are real operating systems. Because Windows 95B and up run on DOS 7 even though it is buried in C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND, many others (including myself) say that Windows 4.x in general is a great tool but not a real operating system.

With the release of Windows NT 3.1, Microsoft finally dropped the DOS-dependent Windows 4.x kernel. Windows NT 4.0 and 2000 (NT 5.0) offered some compatibility with 16-bit applications. Windows XP (NT 5.1) offers little to none whatsoever.

I have rebuilt an old 386 machine for fun, just because I can. I installed MS-DOS 6.22 as the OS and the Windows 3.11 GUI with the Calmira II shell. Rebuilding old computers makes interesting projects. I recommend it. If you need any help, send your email.

Installing Windows

For Windows 3.1 and 4.00.950A (Windows 95A, first edition), you must install DOS because they do not come with DOS built-in. Read the instructions on installing DOS. When installing Windows 4.00.950A you get a boot-floppy with a Windows Uninstaller. On a portable 486 PC that I had years ago, I installed MS-DOS and Windows 4.00.950A getting full advantage of MEMMAKER.

For Windows 95B (1996) and up you can bypass installing DOS running FDISK and FORMAT using a bootable disk (FAT 32). Windows 4.xx (95/98/ME) includes DOS 7 and does not have low-level memory utility. Because DOS 7 is a limited version of DOS, I recommend you to install DOS 6.22 and run memory management. MS-DOS has MEMMAKER and PC-DOS has RAMBOOST.

Windows 4.xx (95/98/ME) has CONFIG.SYS, a system file that can create a virtual disk (RAM drive) to speed up whatever you do. Of course, do not save anything there that you need. Add these lines to the CONFIG.SYS to optimize your system a bit with RAMDRIVE.SYS, creating A RAM drive (virtual disk).

devicehigh=c:\windows\ramdrive.sys 2048 /e

Do not install Windows 1 or 2. They are merely useful.

If you are installing Windows 3.1, (6 floppies for 3.11; 9 floppies for Workgroups 3.11) do not forget to install Calmira II on your machine. Also refer to the batch file that I wrote to take care of my 386 computer running DOS/Windows 3.1 machine.

If installing version 4.00.950A (Windows 95A) get ready for 21 floppies. For the record, IE is not included. You can get any 16-bit web browser on floppies.

If installing Windows 95B or later, make sure the BIOS will read CD-ROM first. Reboot the system with the Windows CD-ROM. Once the CD starts running, watch TV or something exciting for the next half an hour or longer. Finally follow last steps of the installation and registration.

The architecture of Windows 4.xx can be FAT 32 while MS-DOS is FAT 16. Do not change the structure of the File Allocation Table (FAT) running C:\WINDOWS\CVT1.EXE. If you do, you would have wasted about an hour of work and possible access to your upper and extended memory blocks.

If installing Windows 95B or later from a recovery disk, forget everything that you have read so far. Most recovery disks do not have the operating system with a SETUP.EXE and all the .CAB files (as you would buy it in a computer shop). These recovery disks are merely an image of a HDD with the operating system, drivers, and whatever other junk the manufacturer wants to push. These disks are also BIOS locked. This means that only an recovery disk from manufacturer A will work with a certain BIOS specified by manufacturer A. Therefore a recovery disk from manufacturer A will not work on a machine from manufacturer B. Try booting your machine with the recovery disk. Most likely the machine will boot to an installation program and follow whatever instructions you are given. Every manufacturer makes these recovery disks differently. There is no way to work around this problem. This is the result of Microsoft's Piracy Policy.

If installing Windows NT 4.0 or later (including Windows 2000 and XP), first get a list of what hardware is in your machine. At the beginning of the installation, there are various questions about hardware. Follow the same steps as for 95B, but you will not get much of a break. The installation is more interactive. Make sure that you select NTFS (New Technology File System) instead of FAT 32 (File Allocation Table 32-bit) when asked for the format of file system. NTFS will give you more protection and privacy, in a multi-user system. After you finish installing Windows 2000 or later, refer to the Black Viper website to know what services (programs that run in the background, sometimes without your control or interaction) can be stopped.

Calmira, Making Windows 3.1 Look Like Windows 95

Calmira II was originally developed by Li-Hsin Huang under the name of Calypso. Nowadays Erwin Dokter, Brian Johnson and other developers work on this "shell for Windows 3.x that adds Windows 95 look and functionality" written in Delphi.

If you are still running Windows 3.x at home or work, Calmira is a shell worth trying. It is very good, user-friendly and free.

Calmira II requires a 386 processor or higher, Microsoft Windows 3.11, at least 4 megabytes (MB) of memory (RAM), a VGA monitor or better, and of course a mouse.

The new version of Calmira has an installer. Just follow the proper instructions.

The older versions do not have installers. Just copy the decompressed files to a directory on the hard disk outside C:\WINDOWS or C:\DOS. A good idea is C:\CALMIRA. At this point just run CALMIRA.EXE.

If you want to bypass Program Manager (PROGMAN.EXE) to start, edit the SYSTEM.INI file. Change SHELL=PROGMAN.EXE to SHELL=C:\CALMIRA\CALMIRA.EXE.