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How to Install Windows NT 3.1 in VirtualBox

Windows NT 3.1 is the first 32-bit version of Windows, and the first not to be based on MS-DOS. Because it is not compatible with modern hardware, and its interface will be quite unfamiliar to younger users, it can be difficult to set up and experience. This article explains how to configure VirtualBox and install Windows NT 3.1 in a virtual machine.

Part 1
Part 1 of 6:

Create the virtual machine

  1. 1
    Download and install VirtualBox , if you have not done so already.
  2. 2
    Click the "New" button. This will bring up the Create Virtual machine wizard.
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  3. 3
    Fill out the name and operating system type information. For Name: , something recognizable, like Windows NT 3.1 is a good idea. For Version: , choose Windows NT 3.x . Click Next .
  4. 4
    Select memory size. The default of 64 MB is the maximum Windows NT 3.1 can see and use without additional modifications (see Tips section). Windows NT 3.1 will run in as little as 12 MB. Click Next
  5. 5
    Create a hard disk image. Select Create a virtual hard disk now and click the Create button. Complete the next several steps with the provided information.
  6. 6
    Choose "Hard disk file type". Either leave it on the default of VDI , or choose VHD (see Tips )
  7. 7
    Choose "Storage on physical hard disk". Either will work, but Fixed size may be slightly faster
  8. 8
    Set "File location and size". The default location is probably fine, unless you have multiple drives in your computer. The default size of 1 GB is actually overkill for Windows NT 3.1. You can reduce it down to 150 MB or so if you are particularly space-conscious. Click the Create button to finish.
  9. 9
    Open the Settings window. Click the Settings button at the top of the main VirtualBox window (or press Ctrl-S).
  10. 10
    Click Storage in the Settings window (in the left-hand pane).
  11. 11
    Click the floppy disk icon labeled "Empty." Then, click the floppy icon at the far right, and select Choose a disk file . Select the Windows NT 3.1 boot floppy image.
  12. 12
    Click the CD icon labeled "Empty". Then, select either Choose a disk file (if using an ISO image), or Host Drive D: if you are using a real CD.
  13. 13
    (Optional) Click Network in the Settings window. Under Adapter 1 , change Attached to: to Bridged adapter . This will allow you to more easily access the VM from other computers on your network, if you so choose. Click OK to close the Settings window.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 6:

Running the installer

  1. 1
    Click the Start button. If you are prompted to choose a startup disc, press Cancel or close the window. The Windows NT 3.1 CD is not bootable, and you will need it several times, so you don't want it being ejected after a reboot.
  2. 2
    Hit ↵ Enter when prompted at the "Welcome to Setup" screen. Hit ↵ Enter again when prompted to select "'Express Setup.
  3. 3
    Press C when prompted to continue installation on an unused drive.
  4. 4
    Press ↵ Enter when prompted to select the unpartitioned space for installation.
  5. 5
    Select a file system type. Choose FAT for using a VHD image with modern Windows. Choose NTFS if you want to experiment with the POSIX subsystem.
  6. 6
    Press F to confirm that you want to format. Wait for the format to finish; it should only take a few seconds.
  7. 7
    Choose the installation directory. The default \winnt is fine, unless you want to attempt dual-booting with a later version of Windows. Setup will copy files from the CD.
  8. 8
    Eject the floppy disk and reboot when prompted. From the VM window, choose Devices ↓ Floppy Drives > Remove disk from virtual drive. Then, send the Ctrl + Alt + Delete signal to the VM, by pressing the Host key (usually the right Ctrl key) and Delete. The VM will reboot.
  9. 9
    Enter your name and company information. Company can be left blank, but Name is mandatory. Click Continue .
  10. 10
    Click Continue again to confirm your name and company.
  11. 11
    Choose a name for your computer. NTCOMPUTER , for example. Click Continue .
  12. 12
    Click Continue again to confirm the computer name.
  13. 13
    Choose a language (locale). The default is English (American) , but British, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand English are also available (as well as non-English languages). Click Continue.
  14. 14
    Set up Local Printer. Press Cancel here, unless you have a 30-year old serial printer connected to your host that you want to use.
  15. 15
    Manually set a network card. Setup will fail to detect a network card. This is normal, as Windows NT 3.1 does not include a driver for any cards that VirtualBox provides. Click Continue .
  16. 16
    Click Continue again when prompted about remote access.
  17. 17
    Choose "<Other> Requires disk from manufacturer" from the dropdown menu. Then press Continue .
  18. 18
    Insert the network drive floppy disk image. In the VM window, go to Devices > Floppy Drives > Choose a disk file. Select the AMD PCNET drivers disk image.
  19. 19
    Enter A: \WINNT into the Setup window at the "Insert diskette" prompt. Press OK.
  20. 20
    Press "OK" again to choose "AMD PCNET Family Ethernet Adapter."
  21. 21
    Click "Continue" when prompted by the PCNET card setup window. This detects the network card.
  22. 22
    Choose Workgroup / Domain settings. Unless you've set up Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server previously, this page can be ignored. Click "OK."
  23. 23
    Eject the driver floppy disk. Go to Devices ↓ Floppy Drives, and select "Remove disk from virtual drive".
  24. 24
    Set the Administrator password. You can leave it blank if you want to. Press Continue.
  25. 25
    Set the normal (local) user name and password. If you want to always log in as Administrator, press Cancel. Otherwise, choose a username and password, and click Continue.
  26. 26
    Set the date and time zone. This is probably unnecessary or counterproductive to change. Click OK.
  27. 27
    Create an emergency floppy. This is unnecessary, so we are going to skip it. Click OK .
  28. 28
    Click OK again when it reports an error.
  29. 29
    Press Cancel when prompted to retry.
  30. 30
    Eject the floppy disk and reboot. Remove the disk from the virtual drive using the Devices menu. Then click the Restart Computer button in Windows setup. Windows NT 3.1 should now boot.
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Part 3
Part 3 of 6:

Network setup

  1. 1
    Log in as an Administrator.
  2. 2
    Open the Control Panel in the Main window. You can do this by double-clicking the Control Panel icon.
  3. 3
    Double-click the Network icon.
  4. 4
    Click the Add Software button.
  5. 5
    Select TCP/IP Protocol from the dropdown menu. Then press Continue.
  6. 6
    Press Continue when prompted for the installation directory. Since CD hasn't been ejected / removed from the VM, the default location of D:\i386 should be correct.
  7. 7
    Press the OK button in the Network Settings window.
  8. 8
    Fill in the forms in the TCP/IP Configuration window:
    • Default Gateway : Usually the IP address of your router. If you elected to use the default NAT setting in VirtualBox instead, use 10.0.2.2
    • IP address : An unused IP address in the range your router normally issues IP addresses in. If using VirtualBox's NAT, try 10.0.2.15
    • Netmask : For home networks, this is almost always 255.255.255.0
  9. 9
    Click the Connectivity button.
  10. 10
    Select "DNS First, Then Hosts File."
  11. 11
    Add DNS servers. Under "Domain Name Service (DNS) Search Order", type in the IP address of one or more DNS servers in left-hand box, and then click the Add button. Then click OK at the bottom of the window.
  12. 12
    Click OK to close the "TCP/IP Configuration" window.
  13. 13
    Restart the VM. Press "Yes" when prompted to restart the VM.
  14. 14
    Log in to Windows.
  15. 15
    Open the Command Prompt. Double-click the Command Prompt icon in the Main window to open it.
  16. 16
    Test internet connectivity. Type in ping www.wikihow.com and hit ↵ Enter . You should see four pings being sent, and a message that all four were replied to. If you did not, check the settings in Windows, VirtualBox, and your router to make sure it is not being blocked.
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Part 4
Part 4 of 6:

Enable sound

  1. 1
    Log in as an Administrator.
  2. 2
    Open the Control Panel in the Main window. You can do this by double-clicking the Control Panel icon.
  3. 3
    Open Drivers. Double-click the Drivers icon to open the Drivers window.
  4. 4
    Click the Add button.
  5. 5
    Double-click on "Creative Labs Sound Blaster 1.X".
  6. 6
    Change the IRQ setting to "5." Press "OK" to accept the IRQ and address settings.
  7. 7
    Press "OK" when informed that the driver has been installed.
  8. 8
    Press "OK" when warned that no MIDI Synthesizer could be loaded.
  9. 9
    Choose "Restart Now" when prompted to reboot the VM.
  10. 10
    Log into Windows.You should hear a sound play on a successful login.
  11. 11
    Open the File Manager.
  12. 12
    Click on the "WINNT" folder in the left-hand pane.
  13. 13
    Click on the .WAV files to play them. The .MID files will not play, as VirtualBox does not current emulate a synthesizer.
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Part 5
Part 5 of 6:

Update to Service Pack 3

  1. 1
    Download the Windows Service Pack 3 ISO .
  2. 2
    Mount the ISO in VirtualBox
  3. 3
    Log into Windows NT 3.1 as an Administrator
  4. 4
    Open the Command Prompt
  5. 5
    Enter D: \update
  6. 6
    Press OK to install the update
  7. 7
    Unmount the ISO image, and then click the Reboot button
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Part 6
Part 6 of 6:

Higher-resolution graphics

  1. 1
    Download the floppy disk image for the VirtualBox VBEMP drivers.
  2. 2
    Log into Windows NT 3.1 as an administrator
  3. 3
    Mount the floppy disk image in VirtualBox.
  4. 4
    Open Windows NT Setup. You can do this by double-clicking the "Windows NT Setup" icon in the Main window.
  5. 5
    Select "Change System Settings" from the Options menu.
  6. 6
    Change Display to "Other (requires a disk from the manufacturer)".
  7. 7
    Press "OK" when prompted to insert a diskette.
  8. 8
    Choose the resolution and color depth you want. 1024x768, True Color is a safe option. Press OK.
  9. 9
    Press the Close button in the System Settings window.
  10. 10
    Press Continue when prompted again for a floppy.
  11. 11
    Close the Windows NT Setup Window.
  12. 12
    Unmount the floppy image from VirtualBox.
  13. 13
    Restart the computer. Go to File > Shutdown in Program Manager, and check the box marked "Restart when shutdown is complete"
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Expert Q&A

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      Tips

      • Windows 8 and Windows 10 have the ability to mount VHD images as devices built-in. Right-click the VHD file, and select Open with > File Explorer. You can also attach them by opening Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc) and selecting Action > Attach VHD.
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      • A FAT file system created by Windows NT 3.1 is still readable by Windows 10. An NTFS file system is, ironically, not readable.
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      • The partition will always be formatted as FAT initially. If you chose NTFS, it will be converted to NTFS automatically during the first normal boot, after setup completes.
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      Show More Tips
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      Warnings

      • Windows NT 3.1 is still owned by Microsoft. While copies of it have been openly distributed on the internet for many years, with no attempt to remove them, it is still technically a civil offense to download or install it without a license. Do so at your own discretion.
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      • The link to the floppy image for the video driver bundles a needed file, framebuf.dll . If you download the floppy from the original site, you will need to copy it or the compressed version, framebuf.dl_ , from your installation CD or the Service Pack 3 update to the floppy image
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      Things You'll Need

      • VirtualBox
      • A disk image of a Windows NT 3.1 boot floppy
      • An ISO image or CD of the Windows NT 3.1 installation files
      • A disk image of a floppy with the AMD PCNET drivers
      • VBEMP VirtualBox driver disk image
      • Basic information about your local network (gateway IP and broadcast address)

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      References

      1. AMD PCNET driver disk image (on github.com)
      2. SP3 update ISO
      3. VirtualBox generic video driver (on github.com)
      4. VBEMP NT Project - Original video driver website

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