#DEC Mouse & Windows 3.0
5 messages in this thread
Any idea how to get the DEC Mouse to work with Windows 3.0? I have asked
this question in the Microsoft forum, but I will repeat it here to be sure.
I have my DEC Mouse connected to my mouse port on my ethernet card and it
is set up for IRQ2. The Windows setup program does not provide for a DEC
Mouse. It does allow you to put in the vendor's disk which should contain
"other" mouse drivers, but when I do this, the setup program does not
recognize it. Help!
Mike,
I take it the mouse driver is from Windows 2.x. If so, it should work with
Windows 3.0, but only in real mode. Manual installation is the easiest
option. Copy the DEC mouse driver to your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory, open
your SYSTEM.INI file, look for a line reading mouse.drv=mouse.drv and
replace the entry on the right side of the equals sign with the filename of
the decmouse driver. Then be sure to strat Windows 3.0 only in real mode.
–Len
Len,
I have a question regarding Windows and games.
Let's suppose I wanted to purchase a graphics-based game designed for those
other computers. Am I correct that:
1. Even if I have Code Blue but not Windows there is no way this game will
run;
2. If I have Windows and the game is specifically designed for Windows,
that the game should run fine;
3. If I have Windows and the game is *not* designed for Windows, that
there's no way to tell ahead of time if it will run or not?
I do not have a specific game in mind, but my wife can't quite figure out
why there's all those games in the stores and they won't run on the
Rainbow. Thought I might be able to solve the problem with Windows. (BTW,
do you know if there are any games written for Windows?)
Also, I understand that even though Microsoft still says that a 286 is the
minimum recomended system for Windows, that they also have been
recommending a 386 since 3.0 was released. How is the RB version as far as
speed on a Turbow?
Thanks for your help.
— Brent
Hi Brent,
The rule on graphics-based software for the Rainbow is very simple: if it
wasn't written expressly for the Rainbow, then it must be a Windows
application or it won't run.
There are a few Windows-based games. Windows 3.0 includes Reversi and the
new Windows Solitaire. There are a several shareware and public-domain
games (check out what's available on the MSWIN forum), and one or two
commercial games. But to date the market for Windows apps has been a small
fraction of the huge DOS market. Low-cost software packages, such as games,
don't make big bucks in small markets. As the base of Windows users grows,
there'll undoubtedly be more Windows games. Even so, I wouldn't expect to
see many Windows-based games in the near future.
As for Windows' speed on the Turbowed Rainbow, the news is good. At least
a couple of users who alternate between IBM PS/2 Model 60s and Turbowed
Rainbows have said the speed of Windows is comparable on the two machines.
Sure, Microsoft recommends a fast 386. They have taken heat for years over
the fact that Windows apps run slower than DOS apps written directly for
the hardware. Since Windows 2.03 their response has been to advise users
to buy heavier iron. Yet they have taken care to ensure that Windows will
run on a plain old 8088. Windows developers are annoyed by this policy:
writing big apps that will fit in 200-300K is more costly and demanding
than writing for a Meg or more of memory and a fast 80386. Nonetheless,
Microsoft advises everyone to code for a machine with little more than
640K. So if you've got a big 386, Windows runs better than on a Turbowed
Rainbow. But if you've got a Turbowed Rainbow, you don't have to buy a big
386 to run PageMaker, Excel, Winword,etc,etc, at useful (if not
neck-breaking) speed. –Len
On the same subject, it seems the minimum iron would have to be the
equivalent of a Macintosh SE. And the recommended iron would be at least a
IIx-equivalent. So you have to give credit to Microsoft for a product that
runs on the equivalent of an Apple II!
A GUI product, that is.