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Getting Windows 3.1X to work on a Gateway Solo 2500 laptop

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First post, by Damian9303

Posted on 
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Never heard of anyone that was able to get such an old version of Windows working on a machine with a Pentium II or Pentium II-based processor (besides the Pentium MMX variety, some configurations also came with a first-gen Celeron clocked at either 233MHz or 333MHz), so I thought this would be a cool experiment considering how far back a proper 486 laptop with a decent display would set me at. Keep in mind that I've tested every driver listed here and can confirm each of them to be working, all spanning across the many components inside:

Just for the fun of it, it shall be noted that file transferring via infrared communication can be made possible through installation of the IrMonitor and LapLink programs which are included in Gateway's own Notebook Application CD, a backup image of which is available on the Internet Archive through the following link: https://archive.org/details/notebook-applicat … 7501943-10-1997 Additionally, the installation instructions alongside setup directories can be found in the README.TXT located on the root directory, however may also be found below for easy viewing:

WINAPPS \ IRMONI Note: If your system uses Windows 95 or NT, DO NOT attempt to reinstall any of the programs in the WINAPPS dire […]
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WINAPPS \ IRMONI
Note: If your system uses Windows 95 or NT, DO NOT attempt to reinstall any of the programs in the WINAPPS directory. The WINAPPS directory is only useful to systems with Windows 3.11 as the operating system.

The WINAPPS/IRMONI directory contains the drivers for remote video function. This option must be installed to use the LapLink function.
1. Power up the system.
2. Type:
win
and press Enter to load Windows if the system doesn't automatically load it.
3. Place the Application CD into the CD-ROM module.
4. Click File, then Run... from the Program Manager. The Run screen appears.
5. Type:
d:\WINAPPS\irmoni\setup
in the command line provided, then press Enter. A welcome screen appears.
6. Click on the Next > button to continue. The Select Infrared Hardware screen appears.
7. Click on Generic built-in infrared on laptop or desktop, then click on the Next > button. The Select Maximum Communication Speed screen appears.
8. Click on 115Kbps, then click on the Next > button. The Select Physical IR Port screen appears.
9. Click on COM2, then click on the Next > button. The Select Virtual IR Ports screen appears.
10. Click on COM4 and LPT3, then click on the Next > button. The Computer Name screen appears.
11. Type in a name for your system on the line provided (make sure that the name is the same in the LapLink function), then click on the Next > button. The Destination Location screen appears.
12. Click on the Next > button to accept the destination drive and directory defaults. The Setup screen appears and begins copying the files.
13. Click on the No button when the system prompts you to add an infrared printer. The Setup screen appears and finishes copying files. The SYSTEMIR screen appears.
14. Click on the OK button to modify the SYSTEM.INI file. An Information screen appears.
15. Read the screen carefully, then click on the OK button. The Restarting Windows screen appears.
16. Click on the circle next to Yes, I want to restart Windows now, then click on the OK button to complete installation.

WINAPPS \ LAPLINK
Note: If your system uses Windows 95 or NT, DO NOT attempt to reinstall any of the programs in the WINAPPS directory. The WINAPPS directory is only useful to systems with Windows 3.11 as the operating system.

The WINAPPS/LAPLINK directory contains the drivers for the LapLink function. The IR drivers from WINAPPS\IRMONI must be loaded first.

1. Power up the system.
2. Type:
win
and press Enter to load Windows if the system doesn't automatically load it.
3. Place the Application CD into the CD-ROM module.
4. Click File, then Run... from the Program Manager. The Run screen appears.
5. Type:
d:\WINAPPS\laplink\disk1\setup
in the command line provided, then press Enter. A welcome screen appears.
6. Click on the Continue button. The Location screen appears.
7. Click on the Continue button to accept the destination drive and directory default. The Computer Name screen appears.
8. Type in a name for your system on the line provided (make sure that the name is the same in the IRMONI function), then click on the Continue button.
9. Click on the circle next to AirShare, then click on the Continue button. Your Name and Company screen appears.
10. Type in the correct information on the lines provided, then click on the Continue button. The Serial Number screen appears.
11. Type:
Gateway 2000
on the line provided, then click on the Continue button. The Setup Complete screen appears.
12. Read the screen carefully, then click on the Restart Now button to complete installation.

For a much more simpler solution, the QuickBeam IR program can come in handy in place of LapLink; a copy of which can be found within the following driver package for an HP Omnibook inside the “win95/quikbeam” directory: https://www.driverguide.com/driver/detail.php … driverid=488382

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