How to install Windows 3.11 to VirtualBox on Ubuntu

Why? Because it is funny

Find your old Windows 3.11 floppies and start the fun.

I had my Windows 3.11 copied to CD-R. So I had 8 directories DISK1, DISK2, …, DISK8. Let’s copy them to floppy images.

First create an empty floppy image:

qemu-img create -f raw empty.img 1474560

Use your MS-DOS 6.22 virtual machine to format this floppy image (to be sure it will work with MS-DOS).

“Eject” the formatted floppy from virtual machine. Make 8 copies of it. Mount the first image and copy DISK1 files to it.

sudo mount -o loop disk1.img /mnt
sudo cp DISK1/* /mnt/
sudo umount /mnt

Repeat for all 8 floppy images.

Add all floppy images to VirtualBox’s Virtual Media Manager.

Start your MS-DOS 6.22 virtual machine.

If you use dosidle, then be sure to stop it while running Windows Setup.

“Insert” disk1.img into virtual FDD. Type:

a:

“enter”

setup

“enter”.

Press “enter”.

Press “enter”.

“Insert” disk2.img into virtual FDD, press “enter”.

Wait.

Enter something, click “Continue”.

Click “Continue”.

“Insert” disk3.img into virtual FDD, click “Continue”.

“Insert” disk4.img into virtual FDD, click “Continue”.

“Insert” disk5.img into virtual FDD, click “Continue”.

“Insert” disk6.img into virtual FDD, click “Continue”.

Click “Install”.

Click “Continue” (we will install and configure network later…).

Click “OK”.

Click “Skip tutorial”.

Click “Restart Computer”.

Turn off and on the virtual machine.

Type:

win

“enter”.

That’s it! Your Windows 3.11 for workgroups is running now