Is any Windows 2.X beta?

[BetaVista]

I'm just wondering ? Does exist a single Windows 2.X beta or the leaked ones are fake? Just MS released Windows 2.X without a single beta or they haven't been leaked.

[ovctvct]

....use the search function?

[Overdoze]

Just MS released Windows 2.X without a single beta

That would be ridiculous, so I think it's pretty clear they're just not leaked (yet).

[DiskingRound]

Here are some screenshots of Windows 2.0 betas.

Source: https://www.pcjs.org/pubs/pc/magazines/msj/MSJ-1987-05/
Thanks to SoftPCMuseum for finding them in April 15, 2017, this topic: https://www.betaarchive.com/forum/viewt ... 59&t=35479

[rthdribl]

I'm crazy about Windows 2.x betas as well, there's just so little information.

And every now and then, you open some old issue of a CHIP computer newspaper from 2000 and see this:

https://i.imgur.com/ezyspJ6.jpg

[Wyrmmidon]

I'm looking at the list of beta operating systems and it doesn't seem like there are many betas of Windows OS's pre-3.X period. No idea why that's the case, though.

[BetaVista]

Also is no Windows 1x Pre-DP5 build because it isn't leaked or the copies have been destroyed.

[Windows OS]

Also is no Windows 1x Pre-DP5 build because it isn't leaked or the copies have been destroyed.

That is just what we unfortunately have to work with in dealing with these really old betas. There isn't much info available, let alone actual builds, due to the difficulty to leak anything. Companies such as Microsoft were much smaller back then, and usually kept pre-release builds to themselves, in fact, most info that we have were released by MS themselves to the press. Any developer builds were kept to themselves as, again, whoever leaked them can be easily identifiable, even when released to developers. It wasn't until the 90s where warez groups of the past first began paying attention to pre-release software like this. It is a damn shame, in some respects.

[OltScript131]

I'm crazy about Windows 2.x betas as well, there's just so little information.

And every now and then, you open some old issue of a CHIP computer newspaper from 2000 and see this:

https://i.imgur.com/ezyspJ6.jpg

Very... special !!!

Here are some screenshots of Windows 2.0 betas.
https://www.betaarchive.com/imageupload ... th.193.png
https://www.betaarchive.com/imageupload ... .93458.png
https://www.betaarchive.com/imageupload ... .74799.png
https://www.betaarchive.com/imageupload ... .85834.png
https://www.betaarchive.com/imageupload ... .67710.png
Source: https://www.pcjs.org/pubs/pc/magazines/msj/MSJ-1987-05/
Thanks to SoftPCMuseum for finding them in April 15, 2017, this topic: https://www.betaarchive.com/forum/viewt ... 59&t=35479

Note: On some images, it is well written Windows 2.00

[Overdoze]

Companies such as Microsoft were much smaller back then, and usually kept pre-release builds to themselves

That's not really true, since Microsoft released at least five developer releases, alpha, beta, PE and several other unknown builds between Beta and RTM to testers, so over 8 builds in a period of a year and a half. And that's Windows 1.0 alone, when the project was still rather small. Keeping pre-release builds to themselves doesn't make much sense, since in-house testers can only do so much work in a certain amount of time, so naturally they had to seek out external help. Your warez argument is correct, though. Pirates leaked many builds in the 90s, but unfortunately the PC warez scene was still in its infancy in the late 80s.

The more likely reason as to why these builds are rare nowadays is that they're, well... old. And the older something gets, the more likely it is someone will throw it away or it'll eventually deteriorate beyond recovery. Most software from the 80s is rare now because not many people still keep working 30+ year old installation disks (often in long obsolete formats too) around.

As far as Windows 3.0 goes, it was under a much stricter NDA than the previous versions, probably due to tensions with IBM regarding OS/2 development. Still, at least two builds made it into the warez scene and one was still kept on original media.