• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Question Regarding Windows 3.x

A

applesseed

Senior member
I've tried searching Google and doesn't give me much info.

I've got an old Kenitec laptop and I want to remove programs like Juno, America Online, and other programs - how do I do that? Yeah - the laptop is using Windows 3.1
 
Hm, I am not sure, but I don't think there was an install/uninstall manager. I think that was introduced in Win95.

Open up WINFILE.EXE It'll let you browse the files and contents of the HDD. I think you should be safe to just delete them manually, assuming there's no uninstaller associated with the program.

ie: To remove AOL, just delete the folder. Kinda like Apple's OSX. 😛
 
you were required to manually delete the folders, files, and autoexec.bat and config.sys entries in order to uninstall a program.
 
Originally posted by: daniel49
you were required to manually delete the folders, files, and autoexec.bat and config.sys entries in order to uninstall a program.
Click to expand...

There may also be entries in win.ini and system.ini
 
Beat me to it. Some applications liked to put entried in win.ini and system.ini. That was always fun to track down. Uninstallers were a great invention!
 
There's a reason why there was a huge market for uninstaller and system cleaner applications back in the early 1990s! 🙂
 
Suh-weet! Thanks, Bond - it is time to dig up some floppies cuz that's the only way i can transfer files - oh wait... my desktop doesn't have floppy drive. I guess I gotta use 900baud dial-up to download instead. Eh... I'll think of something. In the meantime... anyone wanna see the pic?
 
Originally posted by: WPFossil
Originally posted by: daniel49
you were required to manually delete the folders, files, and autoexec.bat and config.sys entries in order to uninstall a program.
Click to expand...

There may also be entries in win.ini and system.ini
Click to expand...
I forgot about that. I remember deleting stuff and these messages coming up on the screen saying a file is missing, right after the splash screen but before the GUI loaded. Just a matter of writing those entries down and removing them from win.ini or system.ini.
 
so without having to download the uninstaller...

what's the manually step-by-step process?

delete the files, autoexec.bat and config.sys first and then the win and system *.ini?

what's the proper way to remove. someone give me an example like... removing AOL? what's the first step, second, third...etc?
 
http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost/dos/utilw31.asp

This looks to be a good uninstaller program. As for manual deletion, well, that depends on the complexity of the program. I'd be willing to bet that AOL for Win3.1 can be removed safely by just deleting the folder and shortcuts within the progam manager.

To test this theory, just rename the AOL folder in DOS or in Windows. Then reboot. If your system starts, you're set. If it doesn't, boot with a floppy and rename it to the original folder name.
 
There is no definitive way of uninstalling programs in 3.1. Sure, you can delete the directory, but like any other version of Windows, there are files scattered all over the place. If I remember correctly, 3.X even used a registry or something similar. Add the usual Windows and Windows\System folders and you will be lucky if you can run the computer without any errors after the deletion. There were uninstallers available, but they only work well when they are used initially to track the setup. Obviously, that is not the case here. I do agree that if you decide to remove files, you should instead rename them just in case they happen to be needed elsewhere.
 
Win 3.x did not have a registry. It relied on individual ini files for storing settings for programs. The registry was introduced with Win95.
 
Originally posted by: Trippin315
Hold a strong magnet over the HDD That should take care of the unwanted program.
Click to expand...

won't that wipe away everything in the HDD? I don't have the 3.x software setup. If that's the case... I'm wondering if I can put Linux or Unix or whatever OS
 
Originally posted by: applesseed
Originally posted by: Trippin315
Hold a strong magnet over the HDD That should take care of the unwanted program.
Click to expand...

won't that wipe away everything in the HDD? I don't have the 3.x software setup. If that's the case... I'm wondering if I can put Linux or Unix or whatever OS
Click to expand...

Man, I hope you're kidding...if you're not, I suggest stop what you're doing right now and pick up some A+ tech books. 🙂
 
You should be able to run Linux on that, assuming it has decent ram for its time (8 megs would do, 16 would be nicer, 32 would be downright decadent). Anything higher than 286 can manage it. I would be very, very sure to stick to lightweight apps only; but it would be more usable than Win3.1. Incidentally, the keyboard on that sucker looks really really nice, almost like a destop, is it?
 
Uninstallers worked by keeping a log of changes when an app was installed. There are no logs at this point, so it would be pretty useless. Delete the directory of the program you want to get rid of. Open the autoexec.bat and config.sys files one at a time in a text editor (even the DOS edit app will work). Find any entries that look like they might belong to the deleted app. Instead of deleting the entries, put the letters rem and a space in front of the line. This is called "commenting out" lines. It is good because if you accidently remove something you really needed, just remove the rem and space to restore it. You can comment out lines in the win.ini and system.ini by adding an apostrophe and a space at the beginning of the line.

There is no registry in win 3.x. Talk about uninstallers, I remember when few programs had an INSTALLER. Make directory, copy files, manually add entries to the autoexec.bat and config.sys files; including irqs, dma channels, and i/o port values to match the jumpers on your hardware. Used to be fun just setting up games. Different drivers for every screen res lol.

Linux may run fine in a command line mode on the rig, but a current GUI might choke it.
 
Originally posted by: daniel49
you were required to manually delete the folders, files, and autoexec.bat and config.sys entries in order to uninstall a program.
Click to expand...

thats my guess... i'd say delete manually and then maybe try to find an old school registry cleaner to tidy it up... if theres even a registry in win3.x 😛
 
There is a registry in 3.x, but not used to the extent of those in later versions of windows. IIRC, it only contained file associations. Just open regedit.exe in Win 3.x and you'll see what I mean (the entire registry is viewable in one screen without scrolling). Everything else was contained in .ini files, so no need to play with the registry (except that File Manager will say the helper app is missing or something like that 😛).

Just thinking about what I just said, I realised that those file associations are stored in either win.ini or system.ini (and that's where regedit gets it's info from).
 
windows 3.1 actually did have quite a few shell programs out that did keep up with uninstallations. Gave it a win9x feel. Some were actually kind of cool and similar to xp shells i have used.

If you can find original copies of your win.ini and system.ini you can always make batch programs to make copies for comparison. I would always have several copies. (batch progs are so much fun when u can use ALL the old DOS commands)
 
Originally posted by: RelaxTheMind
windows 3.1 actually did have quite a few shell programs out that did keep up with uninstallations. Gave it a win9x feel. Some were actually kind of cool and similar to xp shells i have used.
Click to expand...


Like this?

Calmira II
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top