Windows 3.x Bootable Installer CD

Discuss MS-DOS, Windows 1, 2 and 3.
Post Reply
Fred_PJ
User avatar
Posts: 76
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2014 4:09 am
Location: Portugal

Windows 3.x Bootable Installer CD

Post by Fred_PJ »

Hey guys, I'm aware that custom compilations are not welcome here at BetaArchive, however I'd like to share this Windows 3.x quick installer that I've made and some of you may find useful. It's completely made using batch scripts and batch script tools. It will be part of a future version of a compilation series that some of you might already know.

You can get the bootable disc here:
Win3x_Bootable_Installer_Disc.7z

Here are some screenshots:

The startup menu. It features a boot from hard disk default option.
Image

After you select the quick setup option a warning message will be displayed to remind the user that the current system files will be replaced, just to be safe:
Image

If CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files are found, a backup is automatically made.
It also checks if a FAT16 partition is found, and if the partition is formatted.
Image

The quick setup operating system selection menu:
Image

First it automatically installs MS-DOS, along with CD-ROM and mouse drivers:
Image

Then it copies the original Windows Setup files to the hard drive:
Image

Rebooting after complete. You don't need to remove the disc if you select the boot from hard disc option at the next boot or don't do anything.
Image

After restarting the normal Windows Setup will appear:
Image

Notes:
- The computer will boot directly into Windows, similarly to Windows 9.x. If you don't like that edit the WIN.COM line out of AUTOEXEC.BAT.
- Some official updates are preinstalled (File Manager, Calculator, others).
- Windows 3.0 with Multimedia is a custom cleaned up version that doesn't include any third party OEM software. It behaves more like a stock Windows installation.
- MS-DOS 5.0a will be installed along with Windows 3.0 or Windows 3.0 with multimedia, although it still uses the MSCDEX.EXE, SMARTDRV.EXE, EMM386.EXE and HIMEM.SYS files from MS-DOS 6.22.

Alternatively you can ignore the quick setup option and use the other manual options to install MS-DOS 6.22 directly from the disc, and/or Windows.

soviet9922
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Dec 25, 2010 2:04 am

Re: Windows 3.x Bootable Installer CD

Post by soviet9922 »

Cool !, love this stuff make installing on real hardware very easy.

Brave Bird
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri May 12, 2023 5:48 pm

Re: Windows 3.x Bootable Installer CD

Post by Brave Bird »

do i install it from ms dos or do i install it on its own.

os2fan2
User avatar
Donator
Posts: 1385
Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2007 8:12 am
Location: Brisbane, Queensland
Contact:

Re: Windows 3.x Bootable Installer CD

Post by os2fan2 »

MSDOS is the first three screens of the install, up to 'reboot now'.
Windows is the fourth screen

Fred_PJ
User avatar
Posts: 76
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2014 4:09 am
Location: Portugal

Re: Windows 3.x Bootable Installer CD

Post by Fred_PJ »

Brave Bird wrote:
Fri May 19, 2023 11:12 am
do i install it from ms dos or do i install it on its own.
You boot from the CD-ROM to go to the startup menu. Make sure that the boot priority is set to CD-ROM in the BIOS.
Image

And here, you can:
- Install both MS-DOS and Windows 3.x from scratch, by selecting option "5. MS-DOS + Windows 3.x Quick Setup".

Or:

- Install MS-DOS 6.22, and then Windows 3.x manually, by selecting the following options in that order "6. Run MS-DOS 6.22 Setup" then "7. Install CD-ROM and mouse drivers + MS-DOS 6.22 Supplemental Disk" and then "8. Run Windows 3.x Setup". Please note that installing it this way you won't have the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT optimizations that you have on the quick setup option.

If you already have MS-DOS installed, you can just select the "8. Run Windows 3.x Setup" option.

Fred_PJ
User avatar
Posts: 76
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2014 4:09 am
Location: Portugal

Re: Windows 3.x Bootable Installer CD

Post by Fred_PJ »

soviet9922 wrote:
Tue May 16, 2023 8:03 pm
Cool !, love this stuff make installing on real hardware very easy.
Hey, I'm glad you appreciate it! That was my goal, to make things easier by making the installation more similar to Windows 9x, not only for less experienced users but also for experienced users who want to enjoy Windows 3.x on real hardware or a virtual machine but don't want to waste time inputting commands and swapping disks.

Post Reply