WW0550: Running Windows with DR-DOS

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.1, 3.11

Microsoft has an Application Note titled "Running Windows with DR-DOS" (WW0550), which contains instructions for running the Windows operating system version 3.1 with Digital Research DR-DOS.

You can obtain this Application Note from the following sources:

• Microsoft's World Wide Web Site on the Internet
• The Internet (Microsoft anonymous ftp server)
• Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)
• Microsoft FastTips Technical Library
• Microsoft Product Support Services

THE TEXT OF WW0550

    Microsoft Product Support Services Application Note (Text File)
                  WW0550: RUNNING WINDOWS WITH DR-DOS

                                                   Revision Date: 6/92
                                                      No Disk Included

 --------------------------------------------------------------------
| INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT AND ANY SOFTWARE THAT MAY    |
| ACCOMPANY THIS DOCUMENT (collectively referred to as an            |
| Application Note) IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY      |
| KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO    |
| THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A     |
| PARTICULAR PURPOSE. The user assumes the entire risk as to the     |
| accuracy and the use of this Application Note. This Application    |
| Note may be copied and distributed subject to the following        |
| conditions: 1) All text must be copied without modification and    |
| all pages must be included; 2) If software is included, all files  |
| on the disk(s) must be copied without modification [the MS-DOS(R)  |
| utility DISKCOPY is appropriate for this purpose]; 3) All          |
| components of this Application Note must be distributed together;  |
| and 4) This Application Note may not be distributed for profit.    |
|                                                                    |
| Copyright 1992 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.         |
| Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks and Windows is a    |
| trademark of Microsoft Corporation.                                |
| Digital Research is a registered trademark of Digital Research,    |
| Inc.                                                               |
 --------------------------------------------------------------------

  NOTE: Microsoft has tested the Microsoft Windows operating system on
  versions 3.1 or later of MS-DOS and PC-DOS. However, we cannot
  ensure the success of running Windows with DR-DOS from Digital
  Research(R). Digital Research has announced the availability of a
  software update for running Windows with DR-DOS. You may want to
  obtain this update as an alternative to the following procedure.
  However, Microsoft neither ensures the stability of nor endorses
  running Microsoft Windows version 3.1 on DR-DOS with or without
  Digital Research's software update.

   Standard Mode: Fault in MS-DOS Extender

Recovering Windows 3.0

The above message indicates a failed Windows 3.1 installation. If you receive this message when you try to upgrade from Windows 3.0 to Windows 3.1, you will be unable to start Windows. The following set of instructions allow you to return to a functional Windows 3.0 installation after a failed installation of Windows 3.1:

1. Restart your computer.

2. Change the current directory to the Windows directory. For example, if Windows is installed on drive C in the WINDOWS directory, type the following at the C:\> command prompt and press ENTER:

         cd windows
   

3. Rename all the .INI and .GRP files in the Windows directory to .INN and .GRN by typing the following at the command prompt and pressing ENTER after each line:

         rename *.ini *.inn
         rename *.grp *.grn
   

4. Delete the WINVER.EXE file from the Windows directory. This will allow Windows 3.0 to update all the Windows files. To delete this file, type the following at the command prompt:

         del winver.exe
   

5. Reinstall Windows 3.0 to the Windows directory with the previous configuration options (accept the previous configuration options that the Windows Setup program displays).

   Do not select any of the options in the graphics mode of Windows 3.0 Setup (that is, Printers, Setup Applications, Read Documents, and modify the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files).

   If you do not have enough disk space to install Microsoft Windows version 3.0, you will receive the message:

         Your System does not have enough free disk space. Windows
         requires a minimum of 6300000 bytes of free disk space for
         installation.
   

       Note: If you receive this message, see the section "If Disk Space
       Is Limited" later in this document.
   

6. Copy all the .INN and .GRN files to the same name with the original extensions (.INI and .GRP), by typing the following at the command prompt:

         copy *.inn *.ini
         copy *.grn *.grp
   

7. Copy the SYSINI.W31 and WININI.W31 files to SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI, respectively, by typing the following at the command prompt. The .W31 files are the backup .INI files that Windows 3.1 created during the failed upgrade to Windows 3.1.

         copy sysini.w31 system.ini
         copy winini.w31 win.ini
   

8. Delete the W8D40P2T.A4G file in the Windows directory by typing the following at the command prompt. This file is used by Windows 3.1 to start the graphics mode of Setup.

         del w8d40p2t.a4g
   

If Disk Space Is Limited

To set up Windows 3.0 on a system with limited hard disk space, you may need to temporarily adjust the Windows 3.0 SETUP.INF file. Before you reinstall Windows 3.0 (step 5 of the "Recovering Windows 3.0" procedure above), do the following:

1. Copy the SETUP.EXE and SETUP.INF files from Windows 3.0 Disk 1 to a separate directory on the hard disk. For example, if you insert Disk 1 in drive A and want to copy the files to the root directory, type the following at the command prompt:

         copy a:\setup.exe c:\
         copy a:\setup.inf c:\
   

2. Use a DOS-based editor, such as DR-DOS Editor, to edit the [DATA] section of this SETUP.INF file for Windows 3.0. When you open the file, the [DATA] section will read as follows:

         [DATA]
         neededspace386=6300000
         space386upgrade=2000
         neededspace286=4500000
         space286upgrade=1000
   

   Change the values for neededspace386= and neededspace286= as follows:

         neededspace386=1
         neededspace286=1
   

3. Run Windows Setup from the directory with the adjusted SETUP.INF file (in this example, the adjusted SETUP.INF file is in the root directory).

4. After Windows Setup is complete, copy the Windows 3.0 SETUP.INF file from Disk 1 to the Windows 3.0 SYSTEM subdirectory. For example, if you insert Disk 1 in drive A and your Windows directory is on drive C and is named WIN, type the following at the command prompt:

         copy a:\setup.inf c:\win\system
   

TO OBTAIN THIS APPLICATION NOTE

You can find WW0550.EXE (size: 18426 bytes) 
                       , a self-extracting file, on the following

• Microsoft's World Wide Web Site on the Internet

        On the www.microsoft.com home page, click the Support icon.
        Click Knowledge Base, and select the product.
        Enter kbfile WW0550.EXE (size: 18426 bytes) 
                               , and click GO!
        Open the article, and click the button to download the file.
  
  

• Internet (anonymous FTP)

        ftp ftp.microsoft.com
        Change to the Softlib/Mslfiles folder.
        Get WW0550.EXE (size: 18426 bytes) 
  

• Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)

        Dial (425) 936-6735 to connect to MSDL
        Download WW0550.EXE (size: 18426 bytes) 
  

   ARTICLE-ID: Q119591
   TITLE     : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online
               Services