I have windows 3.1!!

twister

Howdy
I just got my first PC. It's a Packard Bell with Windows 3.1 on it. I have no mouse or keyboard yet so i havent played much. But i thought i'd ask a few questions now anyways.

1) Where will i find the specs on memory, hd space, and cd speed?

2) How do you install an OS on a PC? I think you need a boot disk or something. I want to install 98, 00, or XP

Before ya'll get worried. I got the PC for free and I'm just planing to play Rollercoaster Tycoon on it. VPC isn't the best so I thought i'd try it on a PC.

Thanks
Twister
 
find the exact spec of the packard bell and then search on google, i'm sure you'll find something.


You should be able to boot from cdrom in order to install a windows OS on the thing. 98 or 95 is probably your best bet, i'd go 98 and see how it runs. It all depends on the specs of the machine.
 
Ouch!

That is a bit old if it came with windows 3.1 installed. One bit of info is that the cdrom is most likely not ATAPI and the BIOS probably could not handle an ATAPI boot anyway so you will need a boot disk to install a new os. There is lots of garbage which you need in the config.sys file to load the cd-rom drivers and make them visible to DOS.

But before you go down that road look at the hardware specs of the machine in question since is most certainly underpowered. I installed Win 95 once on my father-in-laws computer and it was impossible to use. His was an Olvetti and just like a Packard Bell all of the chips are soldered onto the mainboard so there is no hope of upgrading.

One lucky thing though is that I remember that it ran Slackware Linux O.K. ;)

-Eric
 
Seeing as it's a packard bell, and they have been long long long gone, your "slow" virtual pc is probably faster then it is. You could probably get win95 on it, but thats about as far as I'd venture. You're looking at a machine that was made in probably 93 or 94 as it is. Someone got a bargain by you taking it off their hands, now they dont' have to pay to have it disposed of :)

Brian
 
Well i got it working and it blows. So i'm going back to the friend to see if he has anything better. It's a woppin' 50 MHz!!

Wow.

Twister
 
You should be able to play minesweeper on it though - not all is lost! It may not be pokey enough for hearts though.

:p

R.
 
We used Windoze 3.1 on our PCs at work until 1999, when they bought new Dells because of the Y2K scare. Win3.1 ran just fine (for playing Minesweeper and Klondike).
:p
 
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