Creating Windows for Workgroups 3.11 installer with embedded updates \ VOGONS

Creating Windows for Workgroups 3.11 installer with embedded updates

Topic actions

Post a reply

First post, by GigAHerZ

Posted on 2023-12-04, 11:18

GigAHerZ Offline

Rank Oldbie

Rank: Oldbie
Posts: 982
Joined: 2018-12-17, 15:35
Location: Estonia

There are quite a bit of updates for Windows for Workgroups 3.11 in the internet. Most of them are about replacing some files in windows or windows/system folder, but some add additional files.

I've already found compatible compress.exe that can be expanded by the expand.exe by windows installer. I've also found "system.sr_" that expands to "system.src" that is being used for "system.ini" file. (same story with "win.ini")
What i haven't found yet is some kind of "list of files to be installed". I expect somewhere to be a list of source files (with underscores as last letter in extension) and their destination folder. (like windows or windows/system)

Maybe you could help me on this? Some updates may introduce new files and i would like to "embed" them into installer as well.

My current list of updates i plan to embed into updated installer:

1calc.exe - WW1138
2rmm.d32 - WG0973
3serial.386 - WG1001
4vserver.386 - Q136418
5vshare.386 - WW1000
6ndis2sup.386 - WG0971
7ibmtok.386 - WG0988
8elnk3.386 - WG0990
9ne2000.386 - WG0991
10efaxpump.dll, faxcover.dll, faxopt.dll - WG0992
11nwlink.386 - WG1027
12awfaxio.dll - WG1126
13
14WFWFILES.TXT - Q122389
15net.exe
16net.msg
17
18ndis.386
19netapi.dll
20nwblink.386
21vnetsup.386
22vredir.386

+ default svga driver update, syshook, monoumb, ...

If i have missed any "essential" update for win 3.11, please let me know!

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - And i intend to get every last bit out of it even after loading every damn driver!

Reply 1 of 10, by Disruptor

Posted on 2023-12-04, 15:40

Disruptor Offline

Rank Oldbie

Rank: Oldbie
Posts: 1464
Joined: 2018-03-22, 18:31
Location: European Union

What's about the WINFILE.EXE update, to display year numbers >= 2000 ?

Reply 2 of 10, by elszgensa

Posted on 2023-12-04, 16:09

elszgensa Offline

Rank Member

Rank: Member
Posts: 368
Joined: 2023-01-08, 15:35

Eh, could just keep the machine frozen in time in the 90s and not worry about that. But if you want to drag it kicking and screaming into the new millennium then you might also want the € symbol font update.

Reply 3 of 10, by konc

Posted on 2023-12-04, 16:29

konc Offline

Rank l33t

Rank: l33t
Posts: 2250
Joined: 2013-01-14, 15:09
Location: Greece

I know that's not what you asked, but honestly I would go the "service pack" way with this. Instead of changing the original installer I'd build a new one that does the updates.

Reply 4 of 10, by ntalaec

Posted on 2023-12-04, 17:23

ntalaec Offline

Rank Newbie

Rank: Newbie
Posts: 70
Joined: 2019-01-03, 18:25

There is some information in the Microsoft windows 3.1 resource kit book
https://archive.org/details/microsoftwi00micr

Reply 5 of 10, by GigAHerZ

Posted on 2023-12-04, 20:55

GigAHerZ Offline

Rank Oldbie

Rank: Oldbie
Posts: 982
Joined: 2018-12-17, 15:35
Location: Estonia

konc wrote on 2023-12-04, 16:29:

I know that's not what you asked, but honestly I would go the "service pack" way with this. Instead of changing the original installer I'd build a new one that does the updates.

Unless there is some easy and nice tool for dos to modify .ini file contents, it might be somewhat difficult. Though, have not searched for such utility, TBH...

EDIT: Found something: https://www.horstmuc.de/div.htm#inifile
Looks promising.

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - And i intend to get every last bit out of it even after loading every damn driver!

Reply 6 of 10, by Cyberdyne

Posted on 2023-12-04, 21:40

Cyberdyne Offline

Rank Oldbie

Rank: Oldbie
Posts: 900
Joined: 2011-09-18, 18:45
Location: Estonia, Tallinn

Windows 3.11 fwg is such an universal installation. Meaning portable and machine independent. Well if you have a standard AT class 386 to fuc...g Core2Quad. That I have just made a complete installation with all updates and settings. Just with standard VGA and no sound and network driver. Just zip or rar it up and use that. And add machine specific drivers later. Hey Windows 3.1x is even runnable from CD-ROM. Or you can add files to setup.inf.

I am aroused about any X86 motherboard that has full functional ISA slot. I think i have problem. Not really into that original (Turbo) XT,286,386 and CGA/EGA stuff. So just a DOS nut.
PS. If I upload RAR, it is a 16-bit DOS RAR Version 2.50.

Reply 7 of 10, by Jo22

Posted on 2023-12-05, 11:10

Jo22 Offline

Rank l33t++

Rank: l33t++
Posts: 9637
Joined: 2009-12-13, 07:06
Location: Europe

I like the idea. WfW 3.11 was being supported up until 2008, so technically, there should quite be some updates available for it. 🙂

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 8 of 10, by GigAHerZ

Posted on 2023-12-05, 14:59

GigAHerZ Offline

Rank Oldbie

Rank: Oldbie
Posts: 982
Joined: 2018-12-17, 15:35
Location: Estonia

Currently working on the idea of "Service Pack".
I have 19 update packages, which each will have capability to install and uninstall. Mostly it is replacing files, but some updates patch existing files or change lines in *.ini files.

If i would find some easy text mode UI with checkboxes, i could create a nice view to choose, which updates you want to install... Suggestions?

Quick picture of current WIP service pack folder - total size is around 2MB right now. (the 7z.exe will not be part of package, i use the unzip.exe from Info-ZIP)

Attachments

Filename

w311sp1.png

File size

39.64 KiB

Views

834 views

File license

CC-BY-4.0

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - And i intend to get every last bit out of it even after loading every damn driver!

Reply 9 of 10, by doshea

Posted on 2023-12-16, 23:35

doshea Offline

Rank Member

Rank: Member
Posts: 425
Joined: 2009-05-22, 09:37
Location: Australia

ntalaec wrote on 2023-12-04, 17:23:

There is some information in the Microsoft windows 3.1 resource kit book
https://archive.org/details/microsoftwi00micr

The Resource Kit book is also available on TechNet CDs as part of the big library of technical documentation.

I think what the original poster was originally looking for is described to some extent in: Chapter 2 The Windows Setup Information Files -> Modifying .INF Files for Custom Installations -> Modifying .INF Files to Install Custom Applications. Some headings from that section:
"Copying Additional Files to a User's Directory" - this means the WINDOWS directory apparently
"To specify an additional disk that Setup can prompt for:" (as in you can add more floppies to the set)
"To copy additional files to a user's system:" - this talks about how to get files into sub-directories of WINDOWS

Chapter 2 The Windows Setup Information Files -> SETUP.INF: The Setup Information File -> Copy-Files Section seems to be more of a specification of the syntax of that section.

Reply 10 of 10, by npl

Posted on 2023-12-29, 23:47

npl Offline

Rank Newbie

Rank: Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: 2018-05-23, 05:10

Another way is performing a network share install of WFW311 (setup /a) and then replacing the files directly within the network share. Makes re-installs very easy too.

Go to top of page Go to top of page

Back to Software

Main menu

Common searches