WINDOWS 3.0. INSIDE SCRATCH. Yep. The actual thing. :D This project emulates a PC using Scratch blocks and boots a real installation of Microsoft Windows 3.0 from a virtual hard disk. This is NOT a fake Windows desktop. This is NOT an animation. This is NOT a bunch of sprites pretending to be an operating system. The emulator is actually executing Windows! >>> RUN IT HERE <<< https://experiments.turbowarp.org/pointerlock/1383134605 IMPORTANT: Use the TurboWarp Pointer Lock experiment linked above. The project is designed for: 640 x 480 stage 60 FPS Turbo Mode High Quality Pen Pointer Lock TurboWarp stores settings such as 60 FPS, Turbo Mode, and High Quality Pen as project/runtime configuration, which this project uses for the emulator. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="0"} >>> HOW TO START <<< 1. Open the link above. 2. Press the green flag. 3. Click inside the stage to capture your mouse. 4. Wait for DOS to boot. 5. At the DOS prompt, type: CD \WINDOWS Press Enter. Then type: WIN /R Press Enter again. And now... >>> WELCOME TO WINDOWS 3.0 <<< Windows 3.0 was introduced on May 22, 1990 and was a MASSIVE jump over Windows 2.x. It introduced the new Program Manager and File Manager shell, replacing MS-DOS Executive. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="1"} This project currently runs Windows in REAL MODE because the emulator is targeting an 8086/80186-style CPU environment. You can: - Move the real Windows mouse cursor - Open Program Manager - Launch programs - Use Notepad - Type with the keyboard - Open Control Panel - Change Windows colors - Move and resize windows - Use File Manager - Explore old Windows applications - Write to the virtual hard disk Windows 3.0 also added major graphics improvements such as color palette management, device-independent bitmaps, improved icons/cursors, and a much more polished interface. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="2"} >>> YES, THE MOUSE IS REAL TOO <<< The mouse is not a Scratch cursor sprite pasted over the screen. The emulator sends PS/2-style mouse packets into Windows, and Windows draws and controls its OWN mouse pointer. Press Esc to release your mouse from pointer lock. Click the stage again to capture it. >>> WHAT IS BEING EMULATED? <<< This project includes things such as: - x86 CPU execution - RAM - BIOS behavior - Interrupts - PIC handling - Keyboard input - PS/2 mouse input - Virtual hard disk - VGA graphics - VGA palettes and DAC colors - Windows graphics modes - Disk reads and writes Windows 3.0's color palette system was especially fun to emulate because Windows can dynamically reprogram VGA palette entries. That feature was actually part of Windows 3.0's graphics improvements. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="3"} >>> A WARNING <<< This is a PC emulator written in Scratch. Yes. Scratch. So do not expect modern-PC speed. :D Windows may take a while to boot, especially while drawing large parts of the screen. The emulator has been heavily optimized, but it is still executing an entire old PC environment using Scratch blocks. If you find a crash or graphical bug, please comment what you were doing when it happened. Specific steps are WAY more useful than just saying "it broke". >>> WHY WINDOWS 3.0? <<< Windows 3.0 is where Windows started looking much more like the system people recognize today. Program Manager. File Manager. Control Panel. Overlapping windows. Icons everywhere. 16-color VGA graphics. And now all of that is somehow running inside Scratch. Have fun! :D
