Introduction

Unlock the graphical potential of your virtual machine by installing Windows for Workgroups 3.11 on top of your existing DOS foundation. This tutorial builds directly upon our MS-DOS 6.22 Installation Guide, so please ensure your command line environment is ready before proceeding. Read on to configure the legendary Program Manager, optimize your system for 16-bit applications, and successfully boot into the windowed era of computing.

Prerequisites & System Requirements

Before starting your digital time machine, ensure you have the following software and resources ready.

1. Software & Media

  • Oracle VirtualBox: Ensure you have the latest version installed on your host computer.
  • MS-DOS 6.22 Installed – See our install guide here.
  • Windows 3.11 Installation Media:
    • Note: You must supply your own copy of Windows 3.11. This software is still under copyright and cannot be downloaded from this guide.
    • Format: You will need Raw Disk Images (.img or .ima) of the 3 setup disks.
    • Physical Owners: If you own the original 3.5″ floppies, you will need a USB Floppy Drive to convert them into image files using a tool like WinImage, as VirtualBox cannot reliably access physical floppy drives directly.

2. Virtual Hardware Specs

We will be configuring this Virtual Machine to the maximum specifications Windows 3.11 can natively handle without additional drivers or partitioning tricks. Please ensure your host machine can spare the following resources (which should be no problem for any modern computer!):

  • RAM: 256 MB
    Why? While Windows runs on much less, 256 MB is a safe “maximum.” It ensures plenty of Extended Memory (XMS) for demanding late-90s DOS and Windows games while avoiding compatibility bugs that occur when assigning too much RAM (over 256MB) to older software.
  • Hard Disk Space: 2 GB
    Why? MS-DOS 6.22 uses the FAT16 file system, which has a hard limit of 2 GB per partition. We will create a single 2 GB drive to maximize space without needing to slice it into multiple drive letters (D:, E:, etc.).

3. Recommended Extras

  • DOS Idle Utility (DOSIDLE.EXE): Highly recommended to prevent the virtual machine from using 100% of your host CPU.
  • Generic CD-ROM Driver Disk: An image file containing OAKCDROM.SYS and MSCDEX.EXE to enable CD support later.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Create New Virtual Machine

Begin by creating a new virtual machine by selecting New from the main menu of VirtualBox.