virtualbox.org

Set up a Win 3.x VM with 1024*768 resolution

Overview

Below you find tips on how to:
- set up a Win 3.x VM with 1024*768 resolution and 256 colors
The guest is a DOS 6.22 VM with a basic (default) Win 3.x installation.

My host system is a typical WinXP machine with 1280*1024 display.
I used VirtualBox 1.4.0.

Prerequisites

What do you need (apart from having a basic DOS 6.22 / Win 3.x VM):
- preferably vgapatch com (from http://chitchat.at.infoseek.co.jp/vmware/ )
- next best thing is svgaptch (from http://www.japheth.de/ )
- svga.exe (for Win 3.1 only)

Installation for Windows 3.1

How to:
- make a temporary directory e.g. ’tmpsvga’
- run svga.exe in it
- run vgapatch p (or svgaptch -p)
- run windows setup from the DOS prompt (this may require a 'cd c:\windows' command first)
- select ’Other (Requires disk...)’ and point to temporary directory
- select Super VGA 1024*768 256 Small (small fonts is nicer but large fonts work equally well)
- finish and start windows.

Limitations:
- switching to/from full screen DOS applications doesn’t work; workaround (may or may not work): use PIF editor to change all these to windowed applications; it may improve what’s left of the screen anyway
- workaround (vgapatch only) use ctrl-alt-delete, hit return in the blue screen and there you are.
- workaround (vgapatch only) use alt+enter to swap and screen may return to normal
- Windows setup may return with an error: cannot copy vgalogo.lgo. If that happens: hit Return until it quits and rerun setup with the same choice.

Installation for Windows for Workgroups 3.11

Because WfW 3.11 already has the svga256.drv it is enough to patch it there...

How to:
- run windows setup from the DOS prompt (this may require a 'cd c:\windows' command first)
- select Super VGA 1024*768 256 Small (small fonts is nicer but large fonts work equally well)
- run vgapatch p (or svgaptch -p) in the windows\system directory with svga256.drv
- finish and start windows.

Limitations: see under Win 3.1


Enjoy !

PS dated 080121: some more limitations from when I originally wrote this post:
- WfW 3.11 and svgaptch: seems to have a problem with networking when using svgaptch’ed version (use win /n, if only to check this) => could try vgapatch. Issue is potentially memory related.. did not get this sorted out exactly
- WfW 3.11 and vgapatch: display looks wrong but can be restored with sending ctr-alt-delete and hitting return in the blue (garbled) screen

PS dated 080209: enhanced with a few small clarifications ('cd' commands hints)

http://www.vaxenrule.com/Shared%20Documents/amnhltm.zip

And this to reduce CPU Time when VM is not active.

Or (a matter of taste ?) an utility called WQGHLT.386 from Weiqi Gao. It can be found on the web:

http://www.weiqigao.com/blog/2006/02/20 ... lator.html

see my post http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?t=859 (oops - wrong forum).

PS dated 080121: just to be clear: amnhltm is for win9x, wqglht is for win3x.

when i use this method i am able to make my windows 3.11 screen 1024*786 but it streches it to double width making the left half of the screen out of reach.. can anybody tell me what i did wrong?

You can start with a bare bones standard DOS 6.22 (but add DOSIDLE); next, install bare bones WfW 3.11 (but add WQGHLT.386).
Now you can start fiddling with the display... remember you're working with patches and sometimes I found that memory setup (e.g. due to networking) changes display appearance.

i tried to the svga driver without having installed the network driver and it works!

but i need networking AND a 1024*786 screen.. how to achieve that?

ghr: In your WFW 3.1 instructions, you write:

- select Super VGA 1024*768 256 Small (small fonts is nicer but large fonts work equally well)
- run vgapatch p (or svgaptch -p) in the windows\system directory with svga256.drv
- finish and start windows.

However, it's impossible to get a prompt during the setup, and if I interrupt it, go patch the file in windows\system, then start the setup again it will be overwritten. Do you mean to patch svga256.drv on the install disk itself? Because I don't think it's possible either because of compression.

UPDATE:
Ok I figured it out. Here's how I would put it for WFW 3.11 to make it a bit clearer:

- run windows setup from the DOS prompt
- For "Display", select "Super VGA" (any) and continue setup.
- The setup will crash. This is necessary to get the svga256.drv file
- Make a backup of \windows\system\svga256.drv
- Restart Setup and this time use default options and finish the installation
- run vgapatch p (or svgaptch -p) in the directory where you made a backup of svga256.drv to patch it.
- Start windows.
- Go to Main and launch "Windows Setup". Go to options -> change system settings, and select Super VGA 1024*768 256 Small (small fonts is nicer but large fonts work equally well), and OK.
- Specify the directory where the patched svga256.drv is located

cheers

Hi naju - I am guessing about what went wrong; perhaps you mistook setup for the Windows INITIAL setup which is not what I had in mind. Prerequisite (before following my recipe) is that you already have WinfW 3.11 installed (using defaults or "Express" setup). Next run Win setup from the DOS prompt (also from the right directory, typ. c:\windows) where you ONLY change the video driver; next patch it. Once done you can start Win.

ahh indeed. I didn't know you could run the setup after installation. That is much simpler Thanks for clearing that up.

Your setuo does not work. Neither patch method of SVGA256.DRV gives the desired result. It is always AFTER the startup jingle where the mouse pointer gets as double as large as normally and it's sticking on the right edge of the screen - the screen is "too wide":



I am using Windows for Workgroups 3.11, AMD Network drivers for WfW (pci_ndis3), AMD network card emulation (Fast II and Fast III - both with the same result), Microsoft TCP/IP 32b.

That screen happens always _AFTER_ the startup sound. BEFORE the sound, the mouse pointer is at the middle of the screen witch itself is 1024x768 pixels in size - like it should.

I tried various CONFIG.SYS settings but still no go.

WITHOUT NETWORK (using win /n) it works without a problem!

What I'm going to suggest now isn't really a "fix" per sé but it's a workaround that will get rid of the glitch right after Windows 3.11 loads. Create an empty batch file (name it blank.bat to keep it simple) and create a link to this empty batch file in the "Startup Group." You'll see the glitched graphics until the network has loaded, then the batchfile will execute and upon termination you should return to a corrected, non-glitchy GUI. Again, not a fix but definitively better than nothing.

BeniD82

Good !, that also works at my end and brings the number of workarounds to TWO. The last one is nicer (setup once, works many times). Looks as if returning to a DOS screen once is enough to restore the SVGA display (that's what happens in both cases).

OK, there seem to be 2 workarounds for the problem, and both don't work here...

both the suggestions lead to a black screen, and all I can do is restart de VM...
is someone else with the same problem?

Hello,

Both suggested tweaks doesn't work here, but I found a suitable source for at least a tweak to 800*576 (16 colors) which runs without any problems in standard vga-mode. Download this tweak <tweak3.zip> from the URL below and follow the setup instructions on the read.txt.

http://garbo.uwasa.fi/windows/drivers.html

Also from here a setup for 1024*768 (16 colors), but only for Win 3.0. I can't get it at work in WfW 3.11, because of missing setup files; mostly fonts (*.fo_ files) who are not available in WfW 3.11. I ended at <helve.fon>. If anybody has a suggestion, then be welcome. Look for <wizard.zip>.

Cheers,

Ton Lindemann

Same here. Neither patch works; both stick the screen out of reach.

BTW, Pascal Gienger, could you tell me how you succeed with the 32-Bit Disk Access please? I followed the steps in your blog post here (http://southbrain.com/south/2009/04/win ... rs-of.html), and WFW311 prompts me that "there is a conflict with another virtual device" and locked up.