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Windows 3.1

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For the version of Microsoft Windows built on the Windows NT kernel, see Windows NT 3.1.
Windows 3.1x
A typical Windows 3.1x workspace
DeveloperMicrosoft
OS familyMicrosoft Windows
Source modelClosed source
Released to
manufacturing		18 March 1992
Latest release3.2 / 1994[1]
Kernel typeSee article
LicenseMicrosoft EULA
Support status
Unsupported as of 1 November 2008[2]

Windows 3.1x is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers. The series began with Windows 3.1, which was vended first during March 1992 as a successor to Windows 3.0. Further editions were released between 1992 and 1994 until the series was superseded by Windows 95.

Editions

Base version

Windows 3.1 (originally codenamed Janus, of which two betas were published), released on April, 1992, includes a TrueType font system (and a set of highly legible fonts already installed), which effectively made Windows a serious desktop publishing platform for the first time. Similar functionality was available for Windows 3.0 through the Adobe Type Manager (ATM) font system from Adobe.

Windows 3.1 was designed to have high backward compatibility with older Windows platforms. As with Windows 3.0, version 3.1 had File Manager and Program Manager, but unlike all previous versions, Windows 3.1 and later support 32-bit disk access, can't run in real mode, and included Minesweeper instead of Reversi (though Reversi was included in some copies).

File:Windows 3.1 start.png
Windows 3.1 start up screen
File:Windows 3.1.png
Windows 3.1 desktop showing a customized color theme

Versions with special font support

A special version named Windows 3.1 for Central and Eastern Europe was released that allowed the use of Cyrillic and had fonts with diacritical marks characteristic of Central and Eastern European languages. Microsoft, which introduced its own codepage ('Windows-1250') and supported its use in violation of many countries' ISO standards (e.g., the official Polish codepage is ISO-8859-2, which was ignored by Microsoft but is supported by contemporary Internet Explorer versions). Similarly, Microsoft also released Windows 3.1J with support for the Japanese language, which shipped 1.46 million copies in its first year on the market (1993) in Japan.[3]

Windows 3.11

On December 31, 1993, Microsoft released an update for Windows 3.1 that (aside from installing new files) changes the Windows version displayed in "About" dialog boxes to 3.11. Thus, Windows 3.11 isn't a standalone version of Windows, but rather a software update from Windows 3.1, much like modern Windows service packs. For those who did not own Windows 3.1, full disk sets of Windows 3.11 were available at the time.

Windows 3.2

In 1994, Microsoft released a Simplified Chinese version of Windows for the Chinese market. The updated system identified itself as Windows 3.2. The update was limited to this language version, as it fixed only issues related to the complex writing system of the Chinese language.[4]

Windows 3.2 was generally sold by computer manufacturers with a ten-disk version of MS-DOS that also had Simplified Chinese characters in basic output and some translated utilities.

Modular Windows

Modular Windows is a special version of Windows 3.1, designed to run on the Tandy Video Information System.

Windows for Workgroups

Windows for Workgroups is an extension that allowed users to share their resources and to request those of others without a centralized authentication server. It used the SMB protocol over NetBIOS.

Windows for Workgroups 3.1

Windows for Workgroups 3.1 (originally codenamed Winball and later Sparta), released in October 1992, features native networking support. Windows for Workgroups 3.1 is an extended version of Windows 3.1 that comes with SMB file sharing support via the NetBIOS based NBF and/or IPX network transport protocols, includes the Hearts card game, and introduced VSHARE.386, the Virtual Device Driver version of the SHARE.EXE Terminate and Stay Resident program.

Windows for Workgroups 3.11

Advanced network capabilities of Windows for Workgroups 3.11

Windows for Workgroups 3.11 (originally codenamed Snowball) was released on 11 August 1993,[5] and shipped in November 1993.[6] It supported 32-bit file access, full 32-bit network redirectors, and the VCACHE.386 file cache, shared between them. The standard execution mode of the Windows kernel was discontinued in Windows for Workgroups 3.11.

A Winsock package was required to support TCP/IP networking in Windows 3.x. Usually third-party packages were used, but in August 1994 Microsoft released an add-on package (codenamed Wolverine) that provided limited TCP/IP support in Windows for Workgroups 3.11.

Limited compatibility with the (then-new) 32-bit Windows API used by Windows NT was provided by another add-on package, Win32s. There was a rumor that Microsoft didn't want to increment any mainstream Windows 3.1x version to something like "Windows 3.2" because it could be scrambled with the Win32 API or otherwise distract consumers from upgrading to some 'real 32-bit OS' like the then-upcoming Windows 95 was.

Windows 3.x was superseded by the release Windows 95 in August of 1995.

On 9 July 2008, it was announced that as of 1 November 2008, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 for the embedded devices channel would no longer be made available for OEM distribution.[7]

Applications

Windows 3.1x introduced new possibilities for applications, especially multimedia applications. During this era, Microsoft developed a new range of software that was implemented on this operating system, called Microsoft Home, Microsoft Bob being one of the programs.

Program Manager

Program Manager was included in all versions of Windows from version 3.0 until Windows XP Service Pack 1. A non-operable icon library named progman.exe is included in Windows XP Service Pack 2, and the file was removed entirely from Windows Vista.

If Program Manager is started under Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later, it does not appear to run, but when a .grp file created for Windows 3.1 is processed, it converts the .grp file contents to a Start Menu folder.

Internet Explorer

Microsoft released versions of Internet Explorer from 2.0 up to the first release of Internet Explorer 5.0 for Windows 3.1.

Internet Explorer for
Windows 3.1 Versions 		2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0
3.0a
2.01 3.01
  3.02a
2.1

Promotion and reception

Microsoft began a television advertising campaign for the first time on March 1, 1992. The advertisements, developed by Ogilvy & Mather, were designed to introduce a broader audience to Windows.[8] Windows 3.1 was shipped worldwide on April 6, 1992, and reached three million sales two months later.[9] The year of Windows 3.1's release was successful for Microsoft, who were named the "Most Innovative Company Operating in the U.S." by Forbes Magazine, while Windows became the most widely-used GUI-based operating system.[10]

Controversy

DR-DOS compatibility

Main article: AARD code

The installer to the beta release used code that checked whether it was running on Microsoft-licensed DOS or another DOS operating system (such as DR-DOS). The code ran several functional tests that succeeded on MS-DOS and PC-DOS, but resulted in a technical support message on competing operating systems. If the system was not MS-DOS, the installer would fail. Digital Research, who owned DR-DOS, released a patch within weeks to allow the installer to continue. Microsoft disabled, but did not remove, this warning message for the final release of Windows 3.1. When Caldera Systems bought the DR-DOS from Novell, they brought a lawsuit against Microsoft over the AARD code, which was later settled.[11][12]

Legacy

Windows 3.1 found a niche market as an embedded operating system after becoming obsolete in the PC world. Up until Microsoft discontinued 3.1 in November 2008, both Virgin Atlantic and Qantas employed it for some of the onboard entertainment systems on long-distance jets. It also sees continued use as an embedded OS in retail cash tills.[2]

Notes

  1. ^ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/32905
  2. ^ a b Ward, Mark (2008-11-05). "The end of an era - Windows 3.x". BBC. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  3. ^ Virginia Kouyoumdjian (August 1994). "DOS/V, Windows, Prices, and the Future". Computing Japan.
  4. ^ http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;129451
  5. ^ Windows Timeline, GUIdebook
  6. ^ Windows history, PC Museum
  7. ^ Coyne, John (2008-07-09). "It's the End for 3.11!!". John Coyne's Embedded Blog. MSDN Blogs. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  8. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/19961017232356/library.microsoft.com/msinfo/mshist/1992.htm
  9. ^ http://www.salespromo.co.uk/article/90
  10. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/19961017232408/library.microsoft.com/msinfo/mshist/1993.htm
  11. ^ Goodin, Dan (1999-04-28). "Microsoft emails focus on DR-DOS threat". CNET News. Retrieved 2008-08-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ BBC News BUSINESS | Caldera vs Microsoft - the settlement

References

Microsoft Knowledge Base

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