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I hate NTFS and HPFS-partitioned phantom C-drives.....typically characteristic of Windows
2000, XP, and Vista......all of which turn the hard drive into a DOS-incompatible "network
drive."
They are almost as bad as Apple/Mac operating systems.
However, I do like Windows 7. "Mongo Only Pawn in Game of Life". A man does only what he has to do to survive.
Much prejudicial hype has been touted by Apple/Mac enthusiast rebels that Apple/Mac have
less problems with malware (i.e. viruses, trojans, and worms) than PCs using Microsoft's DOS
and Windows. In the past that has frequently been the case, but a combination of cooperation
from Microsoft and their myriad non-malicious customers and users seeking to alleviate
the problems has been quite successful. Malware can be written and employed to attack
Apple/Mac, but the infrequency of utilization generally makes that cybervandalism not worth
it.
Always be aware that faulty components and hardware failure might be the case of computer
mis-performance, that bad sectors could develop in hard drives, and that hard drive displays
are sometimes slow because routine defragmentation is needed.
A DOS-based folder small enough to put on a diskette containing Norton or (better yet) Trend
Micro's P-Cillin antivirus program run occasionally when in DOS mode is sometimes all that is
needed to discover and delete a Stealth, Ripper, or other virus. Many anti-spyware, firewall,
anti-virus programs clog up and muddy up computers, causing them to run slower.
Microsoft-supported XP and Vista are simplistically complex, have embedded strangely and
tolerantly but somewhat inconveniently laid out graphical environments (placement of icons),
and XP is easily vulnerable (even with the many downloaded patches)...hence, it can be useful
every so often to run the freeware program "Advanced Windows Care V2 Personal" to clean up and
repair XP if that is what operating system is on the computer.
XP has no Scandisk, thus prohibiting the possibility of quarantining bad sectors on hard
drives with Scandisk's "Thorough"-scan option; with non-controlled bad sectors residing on a
hard drive, one never knows when some programs will begin to not work properly or not work at
all. Vista is so rife and reeking with security guards that some programs cannot even run on
the professional versions.
There is no "Restart in DOS Mode" black-screen possible in 2000, XP, (and Vista?) - in which
2000, XP, and Vista could have been completely exited from and worked on from the outside in
case of Access Denied problems or cases when non-wanted programs downloaded and automatically
launched from the internet cannot even be removed with Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel.
Instead, one is always stuck in the 2000, XP, or Vista shell, even using Dos Prompt to display
the phantom C drive in black screen.
ln contrast, I love DOS-based partitions, which support DOS 6.22, Windows 3.0, Windows 3.11,
Windows 95, Windows 98SE, and Windows ME. All are easily manipulated, and can overcome each
other in cases of Access Denied scenarios.
Each have their advantages, depending on the specs of one's computer and its capabilities
pertaining to internal hardware.
If one wants to use newer dial-up modems, sound cards, PCI cards, video-adapter cards, wifi
adapters, etc. one should consider using at least Windows 95 with Internet Tools, but better
yet 98SE (with Internet Tools already embedded within the .cab files), and even more: ME.
Admittedly, 2000 and especially XP (and Vista?), which are much larger programs requiring
much more hard drive space than 98SE and ME (XP requires at least a Pentium 1 processor with
at least 128 MB RAM), internally contain more needed driver files for the newer hardware
cards within the newer computers and the newer peripherals such as up-to-date printers,
scanners, and so forth.
Even though XP can set up some networking wifi adapters more efficiently than 98SE and ME,
every computer serviceman should have a 3-1/2" diskette of the basic DOS 6.22 operating
system with DOS 6.22 utilities thereon, such utilities as fdisk.exe, sys.com, format.com,
setver.exe, himem.sys, and so forth, plus properly-coded config.sys and autoexec.bat files
thereon with mscdex.exe and oakcdrom.sys CD driver files to facilitate CD ROM operation.
With the fdisk.exe of DOS 6.22, and if the computer BIOS was already adjusted to boot up
with a diskette first and is cold-booted up with a DOS 6.22 operating-systems diskette, one
can bring up the black partition screen even on an XP (or Vista?) computer and delete the
Non-DOS 2000, XP, (and Vista?) NTFS and HPFS NT partitions, then re-partition with DOS-based
operating systems such as DOS 6.22 and upon that build Windows 3.11, 95, 98SE and ME.
If one upgrades from Windows 3.11 to 95 or to 98SE or to ME, some operating system CDs
require no presently-residing operating system on the hard drive, and some require the WIN95
35MB folder of files to upgrade to newer versions of Windows. To work with an operating
system CD that requires no presently-residing operating system already on the hard drive,
simply cold boot with a DOS 6.22, 95, or 98SE boot diskette containing the basic operating
system files and run Setup for the newer operating system from the activated CD-ROM drive
(usually the D drive).
If one wants to enter 128-bit encrypted bank websites for online viewing, one needs to have
at least Firefox 1.5 or Internet Explorer 6.0 working. In order to have Internet Explorer 6.0
functional on one's hard drive, one needs to already have Windows 98SE functioning on one's
computer. In order to have Windows 98SE functioning on one's computer, one needs at least a 66
MHz processor and an absolute minimum of 16 MB RAM with at least a 250 MB hard drive. Also,
memory-stick flash drives only work with Windows 98SE and ME, but not non-32-bit Windows 95
nor Windows 3.11.
Driver files for memory-stick flash (or jump) drives (and a sizable number of sound cards,
PCI cards, video-adapters cards, etc.) do not reside within any of the 121-MB-folder
c:\WIN98 .cab files of Windows 98SE, and so need to be downloaded from the internet or
inserted by diskette or CD ROM to be copied onto the hard drive. Windows ME, however, has
most all driver files for all flash drives.
Some useful freeware and shareware file search, slideshow, screen capture, games, math
programs, etc. not engrained within the older versions of Windows are downloadable for free
(for the particular version of Windows running) on the internet.
Specifically, free useful programs one might add to Windows 98SE and ME are: screenhunter
(v. 4.0) which is a good screen-capture program, msworks (v. 2.0a) containing Word and Excel
and is less than 1.2 MB and thus containable on one diskette, Belarc (to get detailed inner
specs on one's computer), Ddeepburner (easy-to-work CD burner program), Cleanup! (v. 3.1.2)
which is a simple but effective cookies and waste-files cleanup program, Filesearch (by
Candlelight Software), and Graphics VP Deluxe (v. 3.5) with both picture-resizer and
re-positioner plus slideshow utility. Good Bible-translations programs are those of Larry
Pierce of Timnathserah Ministries (such as his v. 7.00-C/WIN32), which can be Googled for
download location.
The disadvantage of Windows ME (which operating system does build up faster than 98SE) is
that its File Manager has no file-size indication in the lower-left Taskbar area....in
contrast to 98SE File Manager which does have file size indication there. Warning is given
in ME that loading and launching Windows Media Player 9.0 will destablize Windows. [Alternate
media player programs such as VLC Media Player are available]. Also, one cannot Restart in
DOS Mode with ME, though one can Restart in DOS Mode with 98SE. Restarting in DOS Mode is
necessary when running some antivirus programs, some of which programs give warning that if
they delete virus files from the DOS Prompt when Windows are running, Windows will be
adversely affected.
If one's computer has a memory of at least 8 MB RAM and at least a 80 MB hard drive, one can
launch and use Windows 95. However, Internet Tools (about 50-60 MB) needs to be added and
launched for many programs to operate. Less that 4 MB of RAM limits one to Windows 3.11 but
only if the computer has Enhanced Mode operating.
Windows 95, 98SE, and ME operating systems are centralized in the registry (but not so with
Windows 3.11). To load and launch Windows 95, 98SE, and ME requires a CD-ROM drive, being that
the massive .cab files (somewhat like zip files) exceed megabyte capacity of 3-1/2" diskettes
(less than 1.37 MB each). Also, launch files for such newer operating systems must be launched
in a certain exact sequence.
In contrast, Windows 3.11 files are small enough to be on diskettes, and non-sequential
launching is possible (although original Windows 3.11 files can be launched in specific
sequence also). In other words, if one has a complete set of Windows files on several
diskettes for Windows 3.11, and a complete set of Windows/System files on several diskettes
for Windows 3.11, and copies such accordingly to the one Windows folder and the one
Windows/System folder, then reboots the computer, one can successfully bring up Windows 3.11
by typing in and entering Win after the DOS prompt in the black screen after having typed
and entered \cd to get into the Windows folder (in which folder the subfolder of
Windows/System resides).
Just as DOS 6.22 (with it's SCANDISK.EXE inclusion) was and is THE pinnacle of DOS operating system achievement (compared to earlier versions of DOS - such as 3.2, 5.0, 6.0, 6.20, 6.21, etc.) created by MICROSOFT during the last half of the twentieth century..... so Windows 3.11 was and is THE finest version of Windows ever produced by MICROSOFT (and, at the time of this writing, Windows 3.0, 3.1, 3.11, 95, 97, 98, 2000, ME and XP exist, besides the earliest versions of Windows).
1. Though a nice-looking easy-loading graphical Windows environment, one problem with
Windows 3.0 is that if one wants to delete files (like program files of other software) put
thereon, those files put thereon have to be deleted ONE at a TIME (that is:
groups of files cannot be quickly deleted, as they can with WINDOWS 3.11).
2. A similar problem with Windows 3.0 is that Diskette Spanning Transfer is not possible with
Windows 3.0 in contrast to Windows 3.11 (meaning that if the total number of files with their
associated byte sizes within a subdirectory on the C drive exceeds the capacity of one
1.44-Meg-capacity diskette, Windows 3.0 does NOT apportion (onto however
many diskettes it takes) transfer of all files within that particular subdirectory of
several files.
3. As indicated by their outside-cover Specifications, most software is not compatible with
Windows 3.0, and if one attempts to load and/or run such software, an error message of 'A
NEWER VERSION OF WINDOWS IS REQUIRED' is portrayed on the monitor screen.
4. Compared to Windows 3.11, Windows 3.0 is deficient pertaining to its Program manager
Run utility, which utility has no Browse option, thus requiring one to
type in the FULL Driveletter:\\directoryname\subdirectoryname\launchfilename into the
Command Field Box manually....to load and launch new programs.
5. Windows 3.0 does not recognize (and thus will not load) valid .ttf fonts,
which fonts it declares 'invalid.'
Pertaining to Windows 3.1, the SETUP.EXE file associated with it does NOT allow for a Super VGA driver option - which makes Windows 3.1 inadequate for realistic and pleasing display of internet and other .jpg and .gif photo files.
Problematic with the beyond-WIN311 versions of Windows (e.g. Windows 95, 98, and so on) is
that:
(1) they require installation from a CD-ROM using a CD-ROM drive
(something old 386 and 486 computers with 8 MB RAM and 33-133 MHz processors frequently do not
have, but instead often contain the ancient 5-1/4 inch diskette drives instead of a CD-ROM
drive). Windows 95 files cannot [for all practical purposes] be loaded from 80 or more
3-1/2 diskettes because of the longer-than-8-character filenames required for Windows 95
loading and launching (the endings of which 9-or-more character filenames are represented on
diskettes by merely a tilde and 1 indication (~1).....whatever that might stand for).
Diskettes have internal moving parts and are subject to magnetic erasure - and thus more
fragile and subject to disk failures as contrasted with CD-ROMs. Assuming the BIOS of a
computer correctly matches, recognizes, and indicates the actual disk drive and video card
types within a computer without mismatch, having been partitioned with FDISK and then having a
DOS6.22 operating system loaded therein, formatted with FORMAT.COM, and both CONFIG.SYS and
AUTOEXEC.BAT placed in the root directory (along perhaps with WINA20.386), Windows 3.11 files
can rather quickly be loaded onto the hard drive from the A or B drive into their respective
C:\WINDOWS and C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectories (typed using md while yet in DOS) and
launched (after re-starting the computer) with no OEM number registry info required for
loading nor launching -- provided that the computer has a DOS 6.22 (or equivalent) 16-bit
(not 32-bit) operating system transferred onto the hard drive using the SYS.COM file from an
DOS 6.22 operating-system (OS) diskette, and that both a properly-coded AUTOEXEC.BAT file and
CONFIG.SYS file have been copied onto the root directory (C drive) from the A or B diskette
drive
(2) they take up a HUGE amount of hard-disk (i.e. fixed-disk) space in terms of
megabyte capacity. Windows 3.11 takes up less than 25 MB, whereas even Windows 95 requires
over 100 MB to load, launch, and run.
(3) the startup/setup files MUST be loaded SEQUENTIALLY in ORDER with NONE missing....
or there will occur a HIMEM.SYS MISSING error message or Registry error happening when trying
to launch and run Windows 95 or newer.
In stark contrast, Windows 3.11 files can be respectively loaded from the black-screen
C:\prompt in DOS [6.22] into one md-created C:\WINDOWS directory and one
md-created C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory in ANY order, then launched [AFTER
re-starting computer] by typing in win at the C:\WINDOWS/ prompt....then run OK.
To elaborate, the following C:\ directory Windows 3.11 files (though shown below in alphabetical order for your convenience, and including some Internet Explorer 3.02 and Adobe Acrobat files here and there) can be loaded into the C:\WINDOWS directory in ANY order, then launched after re-starting or re-booting computer!, and successfully run - with no HIMEM.SYS MISSING or other error messages:
Additional files showing up in the WINDOWS directory or WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory are supplemental files accumulated (as from software programs) -- whether useful or useless, good or bad. One particularly useful WINDOWS\SYSTEM file to have is VBRUN300.DLL for certain WINDOWS 3.11-compatible programs this webauthor has affectionately renamed WindowsCapture, WinfileSplit, WinfileSearch, MemoryMonitor, QuikPic and so forth [not all of which require VBRUN300.DLL, incidently. More info about acquiring downloadable 16-bit Windows-3.11-compatible zipfiled software given below!].
Harmful files are viruses, worms, trojans, etc. and should simply be deleted when discovered, with no need for an always-on-to-muddy-up-and-slow-down-the-system antivirus program to constantly reside on the hard srive (whether Norton, McAfee, Trend Micro's P-Cillin, or whatever). This is NOT to say that occasionally running Trend Micro's P-Cillin anti-virus program on the C-drive [even FROM the C-drive and not from slow-loading cold-start diskette!] is not a good idea to delete any hidden viruses of whatever type.
(4) they use file and directory/subdirectory alphanumeric names larger than 8
characters - conflicting with the established up-to-8-characters-only limitation - making
MANUAL md and other directory and directory/subdirectory construction and rd
deconstruction from DOS difficult if not impossible.
(5) they are configured so that they themselves, not DOS, function as
automatically-launching operating and shutdown systems after computer-power-switch turn-on and
in place of MANUAL computer-power-switch turn-off. (Sort of like having AUTOEXEC.BAT coded so
that the computer is forced to load directly to Windows, rather than sometimes-conveniently
staying in black-screen C-prompt DOS in which DOS one can freely manipulate files and
directories/subdirectories without being in a Windows environment)
(6) they have files larger than 1.4 MB, and therefore are not containable (unless
zipped into compression) on up-to-1.4-MB 3-1/2-inch diskettes...requiring 100MB-250MB IOMEGA
or CD-ROM media. (The cannot-be-contained-on-a-diskette 3.0 MB win386.swp file seen on some
already-built-up screens of File Manager in Windows 3.11 does NOT have to be copied, because
it is AUTOMATICALLY constructed when Windows 3.11 launches)
(7) because Windows 95 and newer versions launch automatically from computer power-on,
and thus the MS-DOS C-drive prompt is embedded in the Windows 95 environment, files of Windows
95 and newer cannot be erased from that MS-DOS C prompt...showing an ACCESS DENIED
message if one attempts to MANUALLY erase them from the C prompt. (Windows 95 and newer files
...including all ACCESS DENIED files....can, of course, be erased by formatting the
hard drive using FORMAT or partitioning the hard disk using FDISK, but both of these
techniques erase ALL the data off the hard drive).
(8) they are WAY too complex - consisting in part of subdirectories of subdirectories
of subdirectories of subdirectories, etc. Such makes the newer versions of Windows
extremely difficult and tedious to erase the files of using DOS commands in the
C-prompt black screen (in situations where the Windows files become hopelessly corrupted with
Registry problems or viruses, or when installing a simpler version of Windows is desired).
In stark and quite pleasant contrast, ALL the files of Windows 3.11 (a DOS shell - in
essence - contained in ONLY ONE directory and ONLY ONE subdirectory) are EASILY
and QUICKLY erased with NO non-erasable residue files! THAT makes Windows 3.11 I>extremely
easy to QUICKLY rebuild if desired.
(9) a lot of still-quite-useful software (including earlier versions of NETSCAPE,
such as their 2.02 and 3.0 or even 4.08 editions, and relatively-fast Internet Explorer
3.02; a quite-adequate version of MS Works sized less than 1.4 MB - thus containable on
ONE 1.44M diskette; QUITE-sufficient Write word-processing programs (simpler,
and not frustrating users with the tab/indent jumpiness of newer versions of Word for
Windows); certain Bible software; and much more, is compatible with Windows 3.11.....so
there is NO advantage in running such on and being encumbered with the newer versions of
Windows. [Admittedly, a number of software designers have - unfortunately, but perhaps in
the ongoing financial interest of computer-related corporate greed, licensing and
copyright-related strong-arming from Redmond Washington, and economic inflation - made their
programs compatible not for Windows 3.11 but only Windows 95 and newer].
Some claim that the newer versions of Windows load faster, execute programs faster, have
greater search for and install wizard capacities (pertaining to setting up modems, printers,
scanners, and so on), and are more compatible with the newer internet browser versions.
Indeed, the newer drivers for the newer peripherals are contained in the newer versions of
Windows, facilitating easier install of modems, printers, scanners, etc. And, the newer
versions of Internet Explorer (like 5.5 at the time of this writing) and Netscape (such as 4.5,
4.7 and 6.0) are structured for the newer versions of Windows. However, given the latest speed
and specifications increase in the latest computers (with RAM specs way past 128MB, processors
in the gigabit range, and hard drives touting 20, 30, 40 and higher gigabit capacities), the
speed of Windows 3.11 would obviously increase tremendously with such supercomputer types.
This webauthor has found -- through trial-and-error hard-knocks experience -- that the newer
versions of Windows are much more susceptible to all sorts of malfunctioning problems and
thus impose serious shortcomings.
Moreover, dinosaur-ancient 386 and 486 computers - maxing out at 120-200 MB hard drives,
33-133 MHz processors, and 8 MB RAM - simply cannot handle the massive system requirements
of Windows 98 and newer.
Thankfully, non-registered hand-me-down files of Windows 3.11 are practically (but not quite)
in public domain which do NOT require the OEM registration identification necessities of
Windows 95 and newer to load and launch.
his mopheaded wife Melissa, plus the brilliant, hardworking, and insightful MICROSOFT
software design engineers who invented and distributed such a refreshingly simply yet
phenomenally efficient, dependable, and elegant Windows program one can take apart and put
back together as applicable and convenient for edifying and socially-beneficial purposes.
Recently, much publicity has been given to the senseless terroristic cyber-genocidal vandalism
of virus-concocting hackers exploting script-exposed source-code deficiencies and
vulnerabilities of Microsoft and their PCs incurred by massive-user internet web browsing,
networking, and e-mail. Can UNIX-based MAC OS X source code and device drivers be malcoded
and make their way into singular open ports of MAC users? CAN such worms, trojans, and
whatever be forced into MACs despite built-in active-default firewalls? The reader may find
the following as-of-this-time-working hotlink below interesting:
A final note:
When one purchases or first acquires a computer, one should - if one wants to load Windows 3.11 thereon - make sure that a [true] DOS or dual operating system which includes [true] DOS has been selected for the BIOS of the computer....not a Windows 95 or newer-ONLY operating system. [Perhaps one can help to insure that by loading a DOS 6.22 (or equivalent) operating system using SYS.COM through the A or B diskette drive BEFORE switching a new computer on. Otherwise, if Windows 95 initially launches FIRST, and AFTERWARDS a different operating system and windows versions is imposed on the computer, the system will probably hang incessantly now and then [again: IF Windows 95 or newer Windows version takes FIRST precedent on the new computer.
In summary, I realize that Microsoft would not make much money limiting OS sales to DOS 6.22 with WINDOWS 3.11...even though a price of $200 or $300 for such would be better than nothing. Certainly, WINDOWS 3.11 would be much larger if the ever-increasingly myriad device driver files for all the new printer, modem, scanner, and other peripherals were added. And Microsoft would have to convince software manufacturers and programmers to allow specifications for such software and peripherals to accomodate again to WINDOWS 3.11 instead of restricting such to WINDOWS 95 and the newer versions of Windows. Such could be done, obviously, and it would unify the computing world tremendously.
There is both freeware and shareware zipfiled software on the Internet available for downloading. Zipfile names indicated below might have been changed from original sources. All zipfiles listed below were singularly loadable onto ONE 3-1/2 inch diskette (thus each within 1.4 Meg of byte size). Use the hotlinks below to get your copies of them. When opening them, some will indicate a VBRUN300.DLL and/or THREED.VBX file is needed. Don't be discouraged. Keep the program, download those two common files from an internet source, and load them into your c:\windows\system subdirectory. Sources and file names can be searched in using the keyword search boxes of Google or some other search engine. Some zipfiled software programs will automatically contain and load in either or both of those two files.
If you now have enough disk space on your hard drive (and such is limited on 386 and 486
computers, and I never compress hard drives myself because complications of all sorts would
occur if I did compress), click back to the main Program Manager desktop screen with the
group icons thereon. Each of the zipfiles, of which were unzipped and selectively placed
into their respective subdirectories of some arbitrarily-named main subdirectory on the C
drive, contains a self-executable .exe file (usually the one having the largest byte size of
the .exe variety, and usually named install.exe or setup.exe). Thus, and for one program at
a time, drop down from FILE when in Program Manager to the RUN option and click thereon.
BROWSE in the popup box for the self-executable .exe file of whatever unzipped program you
want to load, select it, then run it (not opening any other windows yourself).
Legality-related time-limit statements for anonymously-downloaded, disk-saved, deletable on
hard drive, reloadable-from-disk shareware programs are difficult if not impossible to
enforce. Some shareware programs thus limit features of their program more than other more
benevolently-philanthropic shareware programs. Nag screens reminding one to register go with
the territory, and one should neither steal program code nor ignore that the hardworking
author of the shareware program deserves not only name authorship and copyright integrity of
freeware authors, but also the recognition, free advertisement, and associated monetary
rewards due him. Some programs have structure quirks and inefficiencies within them, making
them less desirable than other programs.