Category Archives: OS/2

Microsoft OS/2 1.0 user documentation

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Michal Necasek

In late 1987, Microsoft shipped a set of OS/2 1.0 user documentation as part of the OS/2 SDK. The set included the Setup Guide, Beginning User’s Guide (a tutorial style document), and User’s Reference. The manuals were similar in style … Continue reading →

Posted in Documentation, OS/2 | 3 Comments

OS/2 Warp installation pitfalls

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Michal Necasek

Recently I had an opportunity to install and update various versions of OS/2 (Warp 3 and later) in virtual machines. In the process I ran into several subtle and not so subtle issues which may be worth recording, complete with … Continue reading →

Posted in OS/2, Virtualization | 12 Comments

OS/2 2.0 Comdex Fall ’91

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Michal Necasek

In October 1991, IBM brought an OS/2 2.0 pre-release (build 6.167) to the Fall Comdex in Las Vegas. This was a semi-official release of 32-bit OS/2, effectively a beta version, although it wasn’t called a beta. At the same Comdex, … Continue reading →

Posted in NT, OS/2 | 16 Comments

Installing OS/2 1.x in a VirtualBox VM

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Michal Necasek

Installing 16-bit OS/2 in a virtual machine ranges between “tricky” and “impossible”, depending on the version of OS/2 and virtualization software used. In VirtualBox 4.0.8, things have moved further away from “impossible” and closer towards merely “tricky”. Version 4.0.8 fixed problems with floppy … Continue reading →

Posted in OS/2, VirtualBox | 29 Comments

Display Drivers, OS/2 and 16-bit Windows

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Michal Necasek

Not surprisingly, the display driver model of Windows 1.x/2.x/3.x and OS/2 1.x/2.x was quite similar. This was in sharp contrast to the drivers for just about every other device; while disks or network adapters already had existing drivers in DOS, … Continue reading →

Posted in OS/2, Windows | Leave a comment

Windows Presentation Manager

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Michal Necasek

Any programmer even passingly familiar with the Windows and Presentation Manager APIs is aware that there are significant similarities. When other windowing APIs, such as X11 or Mac OS, are taken into consideration, Windows and the Presentation Manager look like … Continue reading →

Posted in OS/2, Windows | 13 Comments

Installing OS/2 Warp in a Virtual Machine

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Michal Necasek

Installing OS/2 Warp in a virtual machine isn’t difficult, but there are a few pitfalls. The issues are easy to work around, but sometimes quite difficult to diagnose, especially for users not intimately familiar with OS/2. In general, the problems … Continue reading →

Posted in OS/2, VirtualBox, Virtualization | 46 Comments

MS OS/2 Patents

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Michal Necasek

When Microsoft OS/2 1.3 boots up, it prints a prominent message “U.S. Patent No. 4779187; 4825358”. What are those patents? As it turns out, it’s really just one invention, which for reasons perhaps clear to a patent lawyer was essentially … Continue reading →

Posted in OS/2 | 3 Comments

Why OS/2 is Hard to Virtualize

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Michal Necasek

For a number of reasons, OS/2 is surprisingly difficult to virtualize, much more so than DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows NT, Windows 95, or many variants of UNIX. Most of these reasons have to do with OS/2’s architecture and history. To … Continue reading →

Posted in OS/2, Virtualization | 6 Comments

NT and OS/2

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Michal Necasek

OS/2 and Windows NT have an interesting and checkered common history. Until late 1990, the operating system eventually released as Windows NT was known as NT OS/2. Despite its name, NT had very little in common with OS/2 as it … Continue reading →

Posted in NT, OS/2 | 8 Comments