Windows 3.1

Basic Information
Type(s)	Operating System
Developer(s)	Microsoft Corporation
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Corporation
Status(es)	UnsupportedStatus:Unsupported
Series	Microsoft Windows
Predecessor	Windows 3.00a
Successor	Windows 3.11, Windows for Workgroups 3.1
Architecture(s)	80286, IA-32
Platform(s)	MS-DOS
International Release
N/A April 6, 1992
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Windows 3.1 (codenamed Sparta) is a graphical operating system released by Microsoft Corporation in April 1992. Support officially ended on December 31, 2001. Its business counterpart was Windows for Workgroups 3.1.

Features

Windows 3.1 featured many changes over its predecessor Windows 3.00a, such as:

• Windows 3.1 cannot be run in Real Mode, effectively dropping support for Intel 8086 and 8088 processors; Windows 3.1 requires a minimum of an Intel 80286 CPU.
• Virtual Memory, a technique for swapping between RAM and disk space that increases the number of applications that can be run simultaneously.
• Data sharing by applications using Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) and Object Linking and Embedding (OLE)
• TrueType Fonts, which are displayed in WYSIWYG fashion and can be scaled to any size. This made Windows 3.1 a viable platform for desktop publishing.
• Network-aware File Manager and Print Manager utilities, which enables access to shared network drives and printers. The File Manager itself was significantly improved over the one shipped with Windows 3.0.
• While Windows 3.1 could access a theoretical 4 GB of RAM in 386 Enhanced Mode, the practical upper limit for system memory was 256 MB.