4 ms·

Article states that win 3.0 used 32-bit flat addressing mode, but when win 95 launched ms said win 3.0 didn’t (in 386 mode).

shakna 7mo ago
Pretty sure Enhanced Mode, that only came later in Windows 3.11 for Workgroup, is the one that supported the flat addressing mode.
- vasvir 7mo ago
  yep that's my recollection too
- joakleaf 7mo ago
  Enhanced mode was already in 3.0 (and I think allowed for flat addressing) However, Win32s was introduced in 3.11 which a subset of the Windows 32-bit API from NT. 3.11 also introduced 32-bit disk access and 32-bit drivers. Microsoft did 32-bit in steps -- it was confusing already back then.
  - dspillett 7mo ago
    > 3.11 also introduced 32-bit disk access and 32-bit drivers. IIRC a lot of it wasn't turned on by default due to hardware/driver compatability concerns, and there were articles all over the place about how to turn it on for extra performance. Essentially they used optimising tech-heads the world over as a giant beta-test group for parts of Win95's IO subsystem.
  - lizknope 7mo ago
    I remember I started my internship in June 1995. We were doing stuff with this brand new thing called the World Wide Web. They gave us a win3.1 computer and Spyglass Mosaic which required the Win32s susbsystem. http://www.win3x.org/win3board/viewtopic.php?t=4971&view=min http://www.win3x.org/win3board/viewtopic.php?t=4971&view=min The full time guys all had a Sun on their desk next to their PC. We also had to run an IBM 3270 terminal emulator and X server to connect to the Suns. It was all so unstable. I rememember a bunch of "Win32s error" popups. The other intern and I found a room full of decommissioned 486 machines, installed Linux and didn't tell anyone for a month. Everything worked great and then we started an assembly line of installing Linux on those old machines for all the older coworkers to take home.
    - bdhcuidbebe 7mo ago
      [dead]
this-is-why 7mo ago
It used segmented 32-bit mode. Flat mode doesn’t support virtual addressing which was accomplished with the descriptor tables (and the ES register) if I recall correctly. lol it’s been 33 years since I wrote windows drivers. Had to use masm to compile the 16-bit segments to thunk to the kernel

shakna 7mo ago

Pretty sure Enhanced Mode, that only came later in Windows 3.11 for Workgroup, is the one that supported the flat addressing mode.

vasvir 7mo ago
yep that's my recollection too
joakleaf 7mo ago
Enhanced mode was already in 3.0 (and I think allowed for flat addressing) However, Win32s was introduced in 3.11 which a subset of the Windows 32-bit API from NT. 3.11 also introduced 32-bit disk access and 32-bit drivers. Microsoft did 32-bit in steps -- it was confusing already back then.
- dspillett 7mo ago
  > 3.11 also introduced 32-bit disk access and 32-bit drivers. IIRC a lot of it wasn't turned on by default due to hardware/driver compatability concerns, and there were articles all over the place about how to turn it on for extra performance. Essentially they used optimising tech-heads the world over as a giant beta-test group for parts of Win95's IO subsystem.
- lizknope 7mo ago
  I remember I started my internship in June 1995. We were doing stuff with this brand new thing called the World Wide Web. They gave us a win3.1 computer and Spyglass Mosaic which required the Win32s susbsystem. http://www.win3x.org/win3board/viewtopic.php?t=4971&view=min http://www.win3x.org/win3board/viewtopic.php?t=4971&view=min The full time guys all had a Sun on their desk next to their PC. We also had to run an IBM 3270 terminal emulator and X server to connect to the Suns. It was all so unstable. I rememember a bunch of "Win32s error" popups. The other intern and I found a room full of decommissioned 486 machines, installed Linux and didn't tell anyone for a month. Everything worked great and then we started an assembly line of installing Linux on those old machines for all the older coworkers to take home.
  - bdhcuidbebe 7mo ago
    [dead]

this-is-why 7mo ago

It used segmented 32-bit mode. Flat mode doesn’t support virtual addressing which was accomplished with the descriptor tables (and the ES register) if I recall correctly. lol it’s been 33 years since I wrote windows drivers. Had to use masm to compile the 16-bit segments to thunk to the kernel