I want to know how to install Windows 3.11 on my new computer. Last time I tried it said not enough memory. I think thats because it doesn't recogize a Gig, is there anyway to get 3.11 to recognize a gig of memory. And if there isn't a way can you tell me the limit 3.11 can run on.

If you install MS-DOS5/6 first on a FAT16 max 2GB partition, it will only see 64MB memory however much you have, then you can install W3.11. FYI W3.11 is a GUI for MS-DOS.

Installing XP will auto create a dual boot, but FAT32/NTFS is not recognized by MS-DOS5/6. When installing XP from CD you will be able to create partitions beyond the FAT16 partition.

you can't install win 3.1 from the dos prompt in win xp.i recomend that you install wengiers msd0s 7.10 in a different primary partition, then boot from that partition into plain dos, and do the installation of win 3.1 into the partition containing the dos system files.
you can get wengiers msdos 7.10 disks from the following links
http://dos.qiee.com/msdos71/dos71_1.zip
http://dos.qiee.com/msdos71/dos71_2.zip
you will also need a good boot manager.you can get one from http://www.boot-us.com/bootus216e.exe

p.s. i am not an expert like the other guys around here. but this is what i did. and it is working fine.

Quite aside from where to get the files and how to install, you need to think carefully about drivers. Remember that Windows 3.11 was replaced in 1995 by Win95. That is 10 years ago. Somehere around 7 years ago, most vendors stopped writing Windows 3.11 drivers for their new hardware. That means that your reaonably new PC likely has really basic hardware in it, like your video card and your sound card, that there are no Windows 3.11 drivers for.

I recently managed to get WFWG 3.11 running on my old 1999 vintage Dell XPS-R450, and even that was a struggle. After a great deal of searching, I finally found a video driver for it, but that was all. I have never found a sound driver, and several other devices will simply never work, because no drivers were written.

So, consider the hardware in your machine, and at a bare minimum, locate Win 3.11 drivers for it before you bother to install.

Another option is to run it under a virtual machine. There, you overcome the compatibility of drivers, and you don't need to set up partitions.

If you don't know what a virtual machine is, it is a software application that runs in Windows that emulates another PC with options of your choice. ISO files serve as CD ROM drives (sometimes the physical CDROM is used, depending on the Virtual PC software that's used), and .FLP files serve as the floppy drive (or the physical drive) It's good for running old OSes, old games, and so on, without modifying your existing partitions and setup.

You can use Virtual Machines such as:

Bochs: This one is quite slow, but configurable. Uses a configuration script, in which you specify how much RAM you want to allocate, and so on.

Quemu: Simpler to use, and somewhat faster than Bochs. This one does not use a configuration script. You set the options via the command prompt.

Or you could get a commercial Virtual Machine such as VMWare Workstation 5. It is much better than the free versions.

A simple search on google will point you to the sights of the above Virtual Machines and how to download them. It is just a suggestion to think about.

I believe in the Big Bang. God said it, and BANG it happened!

RWD1996: it's QEMU, not Quemu.

Gadgeteer123: as RWD1996 says, you can use a virtual machine to run Win3.11 under XP - and this is probably the better way on a new computer because it can emulate hardware which you'll be able to find drivers for (e.g. QEMU and Bochs can emulate a Cirrus Logic 5446 graphics card and a Sound Blaster 16). Trying to run it 'for real' will likely leave you stuck with 16-colour VGA graphics and no sound!

If you have a copy of DOS and can handle installing it from disk images onto a virtual hard disk, then I highly reccomend QEMU; it's fast, it's complete and it's free - and it can also run many other operating systems.

Another commercial option is Microsoft Virtual PC (formerly Connectix Virtual PC... can they write *anything* themselves?!). Like VMWare, this 'virtualises' the processor and runs what code it can directly, which is faster than emulating a complete processor (like QEMU and Bochs do) - but not quite as compatible. A free 30-day trial version can be downloaded somewhere on Microsoft's web site.

If you want to keep things simple, try DOSBox, an emulator mainly designed for games, which includes a built-in DOS and can directly access your real hard disk(s) - but this can only run Windows 3.1 in 'standard mode' (type WIN /S) which is a bit limited... and I think this mode might have been removed in 3.11 :)

nimbus186, whatever it was, that's what I meant. I just had 1 extra letter in 'Qemu'. I don't see why everyone is so picky on here about correct spelling, lol.

Sorry RWD1996... now I read that again, it does look like nit-picking. Actually I just thought it was important to correct the spelling to make sure the original poster could find it on the Web.

It's ok, nimbus. Don't worry about it. I'm not mad, lol.