Not too much to show off this time, but here are odd Windows things that have popped up this last year:

A PC World Windows 3.0 "test drive" surfaced.

You can download it over at WinworldPC: https://winworldpc.com/product/windows-3/30-testdrive

This is a stripped down, minimal install of Windows 3.0. It was given away for free with issues of PC World magazine.

It doesn't include much. Only a PC-World sideshow, a Standard Mode kernel, Program Manager, File Manager, Winhelp, control panel, and everyone's favorite: Solitaire.

It is crippled so that it will refuse to run regular Windows 3.0 applications. But that has never stopped me. :) As you can see above, it can indeed run some simple Windows 3.0 programs. To make the application run, you must insert the string "DEMOAPP" in to the EXE's application description header.

According to magazine advertisements, there were two versions, one specifically for EGA systems and another for VGA. Probably in order to fit everything one one disk. Unfortunately, the one that surfaced is the EGA-only version. The Setup program gets confused if you try to install it on a machine with VGA.

Here is the trick to get it to install on a machine or emulator with VGA. Edit the [display] section of the SETUP.INF and add the line:

"vga = 1:ega.drv, "EGA", "133,96,72", , 1:egalogo.lgo, , , , 1:egalogo.rle"

But it has Solitaire! So what else do you need? :)

Micrografx Windows Draw 1.04 for Windows 1.x turned up. I have added that to the Windows 1.x/2/x page.

Recently someone pointed out the Genius VHR video system. Windows 1.04 supports this device with a whopping portrait resolution of  736x1008!

If you have seen my previous Sick Windows tricks, you know I like odd resolutions and unusual devices.

There were a number of unusual mid 1980s video cards, some of which had support for Windows 1.x and other popular programs. Unfortunately, most of these cards, their driver software, and often proprietary monitors, have long since disappeared.

John Elliott, the person behind the patched Windows 1.x VGA driver, implemented partial Genius VHR support for PCE (but this has not been released).

There is some more information here: http://www.seasip.info/VintagePC/mdsi_genius.html

Among other issues, the original driver disk and support files have yet to be unearthed..

After some more research, it turns out there were a few more video cards that supported Windows 1.01. One even supported 256 color graphics.

I have compiled a list of what I have found so far:

The standard Windows 1.x drivers are:

•  IBM (or compatible) Color/Graphics Adapter or COMPAQ Personal Computer
•  Hercules Graphics Card (or compatible) with Monochrome Display
•  Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) with Monochrome Personal Computer Display
•  EGA with Enhanced Color Display (Black and White only)
•  EGA with Enhanced Color Display or Personal Computer Color Display
•  EGA (more than 64K) with Enhanced Color Display

• AT&T PC 6300 or PC 6300 PLUS Display Adapter
• AT&T Display Enhancement Board
• Micro Display Systems GENIUS Graphics Adapter

• IBM, Zenith, or compatible Color/Graphics Adapter

• Zenith Z-100 Color Display

• DEC Graphics Display

• HP Multimode with HP Monochrome or Color Display (B/W only)

• Video-7 Vega
• Vega Delux
• Wyse WY-700

The same readme mentions another video card:

•  The Persyst BoB/16 Video Card

The May 1987 PC Magazine shows photographs of Windows 1.x running on a few additional cards.

Specifically they show:

• The Vermont Microsystems's Image Manager 1024 (shown further above),
• The Wyse WY-700 again,
• The Sigma Designs LaserView,
• And The Moniterm Viking 1.

It appears the Wyse WY-700 was in production use with Windows 1.0x, but it is not clear if the other boards described in the PC Magazine article actually shipped their 1.x drivers.

For completeness, I will also again mention:
 

• Jon Elliott's Windows 1 VGA driver patch

And finally one more trick to wrap things up, 86-DOS 1.00 meets Windows 8.1!

Here are programs from Seattle Computer Products 86-DOS 1.00 running on 32-Bit Windows 8.1 in a DOS VDM. This is especially interesting because 86-DOS 1.00 was released before IBM PC-DOS 1.00.

And look, all these years later, there is Windows 8.1 Edlin!