Reference number: CHWIN3X

Basic Microsoft Windows 3.x troubleshooting.

Issue:

Basic Microsoft Windows 3.x troubleshooting.

Additional information:

This document has been created as a location of general steps that can be taken to help you with problems you may be experiencing with Microsoft Windows 3.x that are either general problems and/or problems not documented elsewhere in the Computer Hope database.

Below are some reasons why a user may follow the steps in this document.

1. Unknown or undocumented problem with computer running Microsoft Windows 3.x.
2. Performance issues with the computer, for example, the computer running slowly.
3. Users who wish to run maintenance on the computer or potentially speed up the computer.
4. Users looking for steps to help resolve an issue or that may help in locating the cause of an issue.

Users may find explicit documented questions and answers on our Windows 3.x Q&A page. Additional information about Windows 3.x can also be found on our Windows 3.x main page.

Solutions:

Error messages encountered during boot before Windows loads

Before following the below steps please make sure that the error you are encountering is not already documented on Computer Hope by performing a quick search for the error and by looking through our Windows 3.x Q&A page.

1. Ensure that your computer BIOS settings are correctly configured to the hardware that is installed in your computer. Improper settings in the BIOS may cause various types of errors when first booting an IBM compatible computer. These errors often occur as the computer is first booting and may stop the load process of the computer.
2. Errors that are encountered during boot are commonly due to a misconfiguration with your autoexec.bat or config.sys. We recommend that you edit your autoexec.bat and/or config.sys and look for any abnormalities. Additional information and help with the autoexec.bat and config.sys can be found on our autoexec.bat / config.sys page. 

Error messages while Windows is loading

Errors that occur while Windows 3.x is loading and/or prevent Windows from loading are often caused by issues in the win.ini and/or the system.ini. These issues can often be resolved by restoring a backup of the win.ini and the system.ini. Below are steps that can be taken to restore a backup of these files.

1. Exit to a MS-DOS prompt. Information about how to do this can be found on document CHDOS.
2. At the MS-DOS prompt, type: cd\windows and press enter.
3. from the C:\Windows> prompt, type dir system.* and dir win.* this will enable to you see if any backups of the system.ini or win.ini are available, and if so, what they are named. You should be looking for a system and win file that end with either ---, bac, or bak. If this file is present then continue with the remainder of the steps. Unfortunately, if this file is not found you will be unable to proceed with this recommendation.
4. If you were able to locate a backup file, type ren system.ini system.ch and ren win.ini win.ch to rename the current system.ini and win.ini files.
5. Finally, type copy system.??? system.ini and copy win.??? win.ini where ??? is the name of the backup extension you were able to locate.
6. If your computer has a virus protection program installed, make sure it is up to date and that no viruses are being detected. If your computer does not have a virus protection program you may wish to consider installing a program to make sure no viruses are causing your problems. Information about updating your antivirus program can be found on document CH000533 and information about what antivirus programs are available can be found on document CH000514. 

Other error messages

If you are experiencing other error messages it is likely these errors are being caused by the software programs you are running and/or a hardware device you are attempting to utilize. It is recommended you see the basic troubleshooting section for your hardware device or software program.

Computer running slowly

1. Make sure your autoexec.bat and config.sys are optimized. Changing the way programs load into memory, removing lines that are not necessary, and changing the order of lines in your config.sys can all help with improving the speed of your computer. See our autoexec.bat / config.sys page for additional information.
2. Close any programs that are running in the background, information about doing this can be found in document CHTSR.
3. Make sure your computer has at least 50MB of free hard disk drive space. If your computer has less than 50MB free, it may cause the computer to operate more slowly.
4. Run Microsoft Scandisk and Defrag on the computer. Additional information and help with these commands can be found on our scandisk page and our defrag page.
5. Delete all the temporary files and any scandisk error files. From the MS- DOS prompt C:\> type del *.tmp to delete all temporary files, also type del *.chk. Once the files have been deleted, type cd\dos to get into the DOS directory and delete the *.tmp and *.chk files like was done earlier. Finally, type cd\windows to get into the Windows directory and delete the *.tmp and *.chk files like was done earlier.
6. If you have not already restored a backup copy of your system.ini and win.ini, it is recommend you restore an older version of these files. See the above "Error messages while Windows is loading" section for steps on how to do this.
7. Ensure your computer has the latest drivers for the hardware devices installed in your computer.

Issue with hardware device

If you are having difficulties with a hardware device, please see our basic troubleshooting section for steps that can be taken to help resolve your hardware issues.

Other

If you are still running into errors or unable to resolve your issue, please search our web page, check our on-line help section, and check our Q&A section for additional help and/or recommendations. If after checking these locations you are still unable to resolve your issue, feel free to contact our support team.