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Help needed: Win 3.11 enhanced mode on an old Thinkpad x61

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First post, by Diomedes

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Hello

I'm trying to get DOS + Win 3.11 working on my thinkpad x61 (1.8Ghz C2D, 2GB RAM). DOS is fine but Windows will not start in 386 enhanced mode (windows standard mode DOES work but is obviously too limiting).

I have tried multiple versions of DOS, 7.1 and 8.0 (which I would prefer for FAT32), but also 6.22 and it still won't run. In DOS 6.22 running the WIN command just crashes back to a (broken) command prompt and must be rebooted. In DOS 8.0, it returns the error message "Insufficient memory or address space to initialise Windows in 386 enhanced mode)...[etc]"

I thought it might be related to having too much RAM (2GB installed). However, in DOS 6.22 with HIMEM loaded in config.sys, MEM reports 64mb extended memory, as does windows standard mode. In DOS 8.0 using its integrated memory manager, MEM reports the full 2gb and windows standard mode shows 512mb. (I can't remember what happened with DOS 7.1 and its version of HIMEM, but it also didn't allow enhanced mode to run).

I have tried the VxD AHCI driver but it didn't work (causes windows to hang at the splash screen).

I might have just assumed hardware compatibility issues, but there seem to be multiple YouTubers who've gotten windows 3.11 working in various newer hardware.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Reply 1 of 9, by Cyberdyne

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Try HIMEM.SYS from Windows installation directory.

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 2 of 9, by Diomedes

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Have just tried that (with DOS 6.22 and C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM in config.sys) but no luck - it still crashes back to command prompt.

Reply 3 of 9, by Cosmic

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Could it be due to the C2D being 64-bit? I checked ThinkWiki and these were the common CPUs for the X61, I believe they're all 64-bit:

Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T7100 (1.80 GHz)
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T7250 (2.00 GHz)
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T7300 (2.00 GHz)
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T7500 (2.20 GHz)
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T8100 (2.10 GHz)
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T8300 (2.40 GHz)
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T9300 (2.50 GHz)

I've never run DOS/Win3.11 on a 64-bit platform so thought I would pose the question. My T60 initially came with a 32-bit Yonah chip which I upgraded to a 64-bit T2700 chip, so I know some Thinkpads of this era were 32-bit, and those would have much better support for 16-bit code like Win3.11.

UMC UM8498: DX2-66 SX955 WB | 32MB FPM | GD5426 VLB | Win3.1/95
MVP3: 600MHz K6-III+ | 256MB SDRAM | MX440 AGP | 98SE/NT4
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Reply 4 of 9, by Diomedes

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Yes, my x61 has got the T7100. As far as I know they should be backwards compatible with 16-bit code though?

People on YouTube seem to have gotten win 3.x working on even more modern machines, and I am able to run windows 3.1 in standard mode.

Reply 5 of 9, by Falcosoft

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Diomedes wrote on 2025-01-09, 18:25:

Yes, my x61 has got the T7100. As far as I know they should be backwards compatible with 16-bit code though?

People on YouTube seem to have gotten win 3.x working on even more modern machines, and I am able to run windows 3.1 in standard mode.

All modern x64 processors are still compatible with (16-bit) x86 so this is definitely not the problem. I have a similar symptom to yours on my Thinkpad T430 (with a more modern Ivy Bridge i7-3632qm) if AHCI mode is enabled in BIOS. If I switch off AHCI (AFAIR it's called compatibility mode in BIOS) then Win 3.11 works perfectly. So you should try this first.

Website, Youtube
Falcosoft Soundfont Midi Player + Munt VSTi + BassMidi VSTi
VST Midi Driver Midi Mapper
x86 microarchitecture benchmark (MandelX)

Reply 6 of 9, by Diomedes

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Thanks, but SATA controller mode was already set to Compatibility instead of AHCI. So it's not that.

Are you running 3.1x in the T430 with an SSD and normal configuration, ie. several gig of RAM etc?

Reply 7 of 9, by Falcosoft

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Diomedes wrote on 2025-01-09, 21:35:

Thanks, but SATA controller mode was already set to Compatibility instead of AHCI. So it's not that.

Are you running 3.1x in the T430 with an SSD and normal configuration, ie. several gig of RAM etc?

Yes, it runs with 16GB RAM and 512GB Samsung EVO 860 SSD.

Website, Youtube
Falcosoft Soundfont Midi Player + Munt VSTi + BassMidi VSTi
VST Midi Driver Midi Mapper
x86 microarchitecture benchmark (MandelX)

Reply 8 of 9, by Falcosoft

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Some additional notes: I use a 2GB FAT32 partition to host DOS 7/ Wfw 3.11 and so I had to apply the io.sys patch explained here:
Making Windows 3.11 work in DOS7.10 (patches inside)
I also use the patched svga driver:
http://vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?fileid=1914&menustate=0

Website, Youtube
Falcosoft Soundfont Midi Player + Munt VSTi + BassMidi VSTi
VST Midi Driver Midi Mapper
x86 microarchitecture benchmark (MandelX)

Reply 9 of 9, by Diomedes

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Thanks, I can try dos 7.1 again. Currently I have:

1) Dos 8.1 and win 3.1 in a fat32 partition on the SSD. I can boot to windows in standard mode with the w3xstart start patch thing. I can't remember if I patched IO.sys.

2) Dos 6.22 and win 3.1 on a FAT formatted usb drive. Also can boot to windows in standard mode only.

I tried with dos 7.1 a while ago and think I had same issue.

So it makes me think it's not DOS version related.

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