Description

Windows 1.01 was the first public release of the Windows operating system, released on November 20, 1985. It requires running the MS-DOS environment on the system because it runs as an application on top of the Microsoft DOS (MS-DOS) operating system. Windows 1.01 does not have an OS like DOS, it is a MS-DOS application that comes with a graphical user interface. As soon as you boot the operating system, you can see the graphical user interface (GUI), not DOS command line. Users can use the mouse and keyboard to use the software. The home (desktop) screen shows you MS-DOS executive file manager, which lists several programs such as CALC.EXE (calculator), PAINT.EXE (paint), COMMAND.COM (DOS command line) etc.

Specification

System requirements

• MS-DOS 2.0.
• 256 KB RAM.
• Two floppy disk drives or an hard drive.

Instructions for running in VirtualBox (application)

1. Unzip the download file and get the 'Windows 1.01.ima' file.
2. Open Virtualbox, and create a new virtual machine.
3. Type the name of whatever you want, select 'Type' to 'Microsoft Windows', and select the lowest version like Windows 3.0.
4. Select the default value for RAM and hard disk size, and create a virtual machine.
5. Start the virtual machine and select 'Start' when you are prompted to select the startup disk.
6. Navigate to Devices> Floppy Drives> Choose disk image from the menu bar, and select 'Windows 1.01.ima' file.
7. Restart the virtual machine and you will be able to see the Windows 1.01 boot screen.