Hey all!

Seems to be a bit of 286 enthusiasm around at the moment! I'd like to hear if anyone has got anything interesting running on Windows 3 or 3.1 on a 286?

I've struggled to find software that will run on Windows and will also work
on a 286, will gratefully accept any suggestion you've got.

I have managed to do some internety stuffon windwos 3.1 with my 286. Turns
out that early versions of trumpet windsock (a network & TCP/IP layer for
win 3.1) will run and I have managed to get an old gopher client HGopher
v2.4 working with it just fine. Can search veronica 2 for gopher holes &
browse though them no problems !

Also tried to get a web browser working, the best I've managed is to use
the oldest version of mosaic I could find. That sort of works, but crashes
on any websites that have graphics of any sort.. other more modern browsers Netcapte ect just wont run or wont install.

So got any suggestions? Anything you've tried out that works?

... Nothing wrong that reincarnation won't cure.

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Seems to be a bit of 286 enthusiasm around at the moment! I'd like to hear if anyone has got anything interesting running on Windows 3 or 3.1
on a 286?

This isn't a helpful answer, but I never tried running windoze on a 286... I don't think I ever saw a version that would install. I stuck with DOS on 286 class systems, most of the systems I saw of a similar vintage, generally 386s though tended to have DOS applications being used.

Spec


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Re: Cool things to run on Win 3.1 running on a 286
By: Spectre to kirkspragg on Mon Apr 22 2024 06:48 pm

This isn't a helpful answer, but I never tried running windoze on a 286...

My Dad had a 286 for a long time, he had windows on it, I think windows 3.1 - I remember him not being able to install the final version of windows (3.11) and many people said the 286 couldn't run windows 3.1

I don't think I ever saw a version that would install. I stuck with DOS on 286 class systems, most of the systems I saw of a similar vintage, generally 386s though tended to have DOS applications being used.

Yeah, windows was nice, but when I was that age I was only really interested in games and programming, and both those things were almost always in DOS. I think we had the windows entertainment pack, but that was about it for windows games. Windows was really just a nice gui to launch dos stuff.

Programming I was doing mostly GW-Basic then on to QBasic, but I had a 386 and it also ran Visual Basic.

Andrew
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
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Hey all!

Seems to be a bit of 286 enthusiasm around at the moment! I'd like to
hear if anyone has got anything interesting running on Windows 3 or 3.1
on a 286?

use FreeDOS it is really cool!

I've struggled to find software that will run on Windows and will also work on a 286, will gratefully accept any suggestion you've got.

i know nothing xD except the entertainment pack 1

I have managed to do some internety stuffon windwos 3.1 with my 286.
Turns out that early versions of trumpet windsock (a network & TCP/IP layer for win 3.1) will run and I have managed to get an old gopher
client HGopher v2.4 working with it just fine. Can search veronica 2 for gopher holes & browse though them no problems !

thats cool actually!

Also tried to get a web browser working, the best I've managed is to use the oldest version of mosaic I could find. That sort of works, but crashes on any websites that have graphics of any sort.. other more
modern browsers Netcapte ect just wont run or wont install.

i use dos programs for web browsing

So got any suggestions? Anything you've tried out that works?

not that i know~

--mary4 (Victoria Crenshaw) the 286 enthusiast

... 640K ought to be enough for anybody. -Bill Gates, 1981.

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286... I don't think I ever saw a version that would install. I stuck with DOS on 286 class systems, most of the systems I saw of a similar

Windows vesrions up to and including 3.11 should work on a 286 providing it
has a couple of megabytes of RAM.

Windows 3.11 for workgroups will NOT work on anything less than a
386/386SX.. and this is confusing because Windows & Windows for workgroups are not quite the same thing even if they both had a 3.11 version.

Anyhow I think I'll mostly stick with DOS, just wanted to see if any of the wise people here had any suggestions....

... I love working on computers. Hand me the axe, please.

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layer for win 3.1) will run and I have managed to get an old gopher client HGopher v2.4 working with it just fine. Can search veronica 2 gopher holes & browse though them no problems !

thats cool actually!

You can find HGopher v2.4 on archive.org & trumpet windsock v1.0A (the version I used) is there as well. I am pretty sure v3 of trumpet windsock wont work on a 286 but other earlier versions might.

... Politics are silly; politicians even sillier.

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Windows vesrions up to and including 3.11 should work on a 286 providing it has a couple of megabytes of RAM.

Intriguing.. I never had more than 1Mb in any of my 286s not sure any of the mobo's supported more.. I messed around with the super optioned one while messing around overclocking it. I don't know what flavour SIPPs came in, but
it wouldn't talk to 1Mb... and I couldn't get it to run with DRAM and SIPPs
at the same time...

Spec


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Spectre wrote to kirkspragg <=-

SIPPs came in, but it wouldn't talk to 1Mb... and I couldn't get it to
run with DRAM and SIPPs at the same time...

I remember those either/or motherboards, had totally forgotten about
those 1mb SIPPs. Most of them ended up as earrings.

I worked at a company with Compaq 286es, instead of upgrading to PS/2s,
one department paid for new hard drives and EMS boards to run Windows
3.1. It wasn't a great experiment, they ended up buying PS/2s a year
later and I got an AboveBoard. :)



... The tape is now the music
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Hello kirkspragg,

21 Apr 24 21:08, you wrote to All:

Hey all!

Seems to be a bit of 286 enthusiasm around at the moment! I'd like to
hear if anyone has got anything interesting running on Windows 3 or
3.1 on a 286?

I've struggled to find software that will run on Windows and will also
work on a 286, will gratefully accept any suggestion you've got.

I have managed to do some internety stuffon windwos 3.1 with my 286.
Turns out that early versions of trumpet windsock (a network & TCP/IP
layer for win 3.1) will run and I have managed to get an old gopher
client HGopher v2.4 working with it just fine. Can search veronica 2
for gopher holes & browse though them no problems !

Also tried to get a web browser working, the best I've managed is to
use the oldest version of mosaic I could find. That sort of works,
but crashes on any websites that have graphics of any sort.. other
more modern browsers Netcapte ect just wont run or wont install.

So got any suggestions? Anything you've tried out that works?

i have a collection on my BBS:

"DOS.WIN30" file area: Windows 3.0 - 286 archive
and
"DOS.WIN31" file area

maybe it worth a check!

Regards,
--
dp

telnet://bbs.roonsbbs.hu:1212 <<=-

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SIPPs came in, but it wouldn't talk to 1Mb... and I couldn't get it to run with DRAM and SIPPs at the same time...

I remember those either/or motherboards, had totally forgotten about
those 1mb SIPPs. Most of them ended up as earrings.

Mine came with 4x256k in it, I messed around with SIMMS in SIMM holders as replacements but it steadfastly refused 1Mb... Mebbe it'd take 512k if they existed... I never saw SIPPS anywhere else in the wild, but I do remember
256k SIMMS being given away at swapmeets.

Spec


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Intriguing.. I never had more than 1Mb in any of my 286s not sure any of the mobo's supported more.. I messed around with the super optioned one while messing around overclocking it. I don't know what flavour SIPPs
came in, but it wouldn't talk to 1Mb... and I couldn't get it to run
with DRAM and SIPPs at the same time...

Oh I understand your pain, 286s and memory config in general is quite a pain & varies so much between motherboards. My current motherboard supports SIMMs only & will take 4mb SIMMs which is not common - that was really just good luck on my part, nothing I could find on the net while researching this board prior to buying it indicated this would work.

Regarding my windows experience I first got it up and running on a 286 with 4mb of ram, maybe 2mb is the minimum? I recall seeing that on a forum somewhere.

... Computers run on smoke. They stop when it leaks out.

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"DOS.WIN30" file area: Windows 3.0 - 286 archive
and
"DOS.WIN31" file area
maybe it worth a check!

telnet://bbs.roonsbbs.hu:1212 <<=-

Well how could I possibly resist! I'll be over there soon.

... Falling in love is hard on the knees

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Mine came with 4x256k in it, I messed around with SIMMS in SIMM holders
as replacements but it steadfastly refused 1Mb... Mebbe it'd take 512k
if they existed... I never saw SIPPS anywhere else in the wild, but I do remember 256k SIMMS being given away at swapmeets.

Spec

SIPP is a bitch XD
i just upgrade the board to simm

--mary4 (Victoria Crenshaw) the 286 enthusiast

... I wish life had a scroll-back buffer.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
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Oh I understand your pain, 286s and memory config in general is quite a pain & varies so much between motherboards. My current motherboard supports SIMMs only & will take 4mb SIMMs which is not common - that was really just good luck on my part, nothing I could find on the net while researching this board prior to buying it indicated this would work.

yeah 4mb simms are not as common as smaller values

Regarding my windows experience I first got it up and running on a 286 with 4mb of ram, maybe 2mb is the minimum? I recall seeing that on a
forum somewhere.

nice

--mary4 (Victoria Crenshaw) the 286 enthusiast

... Redundant book title: DOS For Dummies

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SIPP is a bitch XD i just upgrade the board to simm

Thats ok if the holders will physically fit where the SIPP sockets were. And you could always test by just popping a SIMM in a loose holder and jamming
it into the SIPP socket. Overall no biggy in itself.

Spec


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Hey there,

Have been over a downloaded a few things like the after dark screen saver &
cpu use monitor as well as an early MS office version.

It great to have at least some stuff that works on Win 3.1 on this PC & seeing the after dark screen savers after all these years has been a pleasant nostalgia trip.

Would have messaged you directly on your BBS but it seems to be down or at least unreachable for me ATM.

... You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find Prince Charming.

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Have been over a downloaded a few things like the after dark screen saver & cpu use monitor as well as an early MS office version.

Not MS Works.. Used that until they finally killed it.... The handbrake of
the time used to play with After Dark but never really saw the attraction to something you wouldn't be sitting there looking at :)

Spec


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kirkspragg wrote to Roon <=-

Have been over a downloaded a few things like the after dark screen
saver & cpu use monitor as well as an early MS office version.

My name is in the credits screen for After Dark. :)



... Don't be frightened to display your talents
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Hello kirkspragg,

26 Apr 24 20:49, you wrote to me:

Have been over a downloaded a few things like the after dark screen
saver & cpu use monitor as well as an early MS office version.

great! :)

It great to have at least some stuff that works on Win 3.1 on this PC
& seeing the after dark screen savers after all these years has been a pleasant nostalgia trip.

Would have messaged you directly on your BBS but it seems to be down
or at least unreachable for me ATM.

yes i had some problems in the past months with the firewall machine, but today i fed up and bought a new one and started a fresh install. now it should be rock solid :)

Regards,
--
dp

telnet://bbs.roonsbbs.hu:1212 <<=-

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Not MS Works.. Used that until they finally killed it.... The handbrake

Used the DOS version back in the day, remember writing most of my primary school assignments with works.

The DOS version of works was actually pretty functional. I remember moving to the windows version some time later and it not being quite as good for some reason... but that is so long ago that I can't remember why!

... YKYHW: You can't get away from the screen.

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Re: Re: Cool things to run on Win 3.1 running on a 286
By: Spectre to kirkspragg on Sat Apr 27 2024 08:49 pm

of the time used to play with After Dark but never really saw the attraction to something you wouldn't be sitting there looking at :)

It's not that you'd be sitting there looking at it all the time. It was just something fun to glance at sometimes while preventing PC monitor burn-in.

Nightfox
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Have been over a downloaded a few things like the after dark screen
saver & cpu use monitor as well as an early MS office version.

My name is in the credits screen for After Dark. :)

You're the guy that stuck a fork in the flying toaster? ;)


Chris/akacastor


--- Maximus 3.01
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yes i had some problems in the past months with the firewall machine,
but today i fed up and bought a new one and started a fresh install. now it should be rock solid :)

Glad to hear its up I'm sure you users appreciate your efforts! Keeping online systems up and running doesn't just happen by itself after all.

Have been over & had a quick poke through the dos files selection... there is quite a lot there, gonna need to reserve some time one evening to have a good look.

... Speed kills! Switch to Windows

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of the time used to play with After Dark but never really saw the attraction to something you wouldn't be sitting there looking at :)

It's not that you'd be sitting there looking at it all the time. It was just something fun to glance at sometimes while preventing PC monitor burn-in.

Or perhaps for giving you something more interesting to look at while you wait for you Ymodem batch download to finish.....

... I am Shakespere of Borg, Prepare to be, or prepare not to be

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My name is in the credits screen for After Dark. :)

You're the guy that stuck a fork in the flying toaster? ;)

Those are the hazards of software testing. ;)

... New Opcode #18: BBW - Branch Both Ways

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AKAcastor wrote to Poindexter Fortran <=-

You're the guy that stuck a fork in the flying toaster? ;)

No, I had the toaster on top of my file server.

Those were fun times - Berkeley Systems had a slide going between
floors and a toaster museum in the lobby. We were a block away from the
first Peet's coffee store, and we probably went through 20 pounds a
week.

My server room shared space with the QA room. My main file server
crashed and I had to run disk utilities on it which took hours. On the
other side of the room, we were beta-testing Star Trek: The Screen
Saver on a couple of dozen PCs, and I got to hear a couple of dozen
copies of AD, tribbles shrilling, transporter sounds and the theme song
in my head for the next couple of days. And, "Fascinating...".



... Idealism without purpose is the ENEMY of PROGRESS.
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The DOS version of works was actually pretty functional. I remember moving to the windows version some time later and it not being quite as good for some reason... but that is so long ago that I can't remember why!

Didn't know there was a DOS version to be honest. Only used the windoze version, I found it reminiscent of using Appleworks. I seem to recall a time where there was a break between Works being obsoleted and Office arriving
where all the applications were seperate entities.. one of the reasons we
stuck with works until Office refused to import the documents.

Spec


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Didn't know there was a DOS version to be honest. Only used the windoze version, I found it reminiscent of using Appleworks. I seem to recall a time where there was a break between Works being obsoleted and Office arriving where all the applications were seperate entities.. one of the reasons we stuck with works until Office refused to import the documents.

I believe there were several dos versions & even a version for Microsofts brief foray in the unix wold Xenix - so I guess Xenix did get some love from them. I do remember the lack of interoperability with office being a real
pain though.

... The wages of sin are Death, but the work's pretty good!

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