how to install windows 95 in virtualbox

#1

josh_the_techie

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Posted 06 May 2011 - 07:49 AM

Hello! I recently obtained a Windows 95 CD. I want to install it on VirtualBox, but I can't get the CD to boot. I've tried installing FreeDOS and starting the install from there, but it hangs at the text "Copying Files...". I've also tried using an MS-DOS startup disk (image file) and when I format the virtual disk using FDISK, it tells me that Windows needs so many bytes on the drive. The disk is 10GB, which is really a lot for Windows 95. I'm really stumped on how to get this working. Any suggestions and help would be very appreciated.

Thanks!
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#2 Eyesee

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Posted 06 May 2011 - 12:39 PM

I have never done this myself, but info that I am finding says that 9x isnt really supported.
http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?t=244
http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/4249

"I can't get the CD to boot" 95 cd's are not bootable.
That was introduced with 98SE.

"I format the virtual disk using FDISK"
Format & fdisk are two different things. Fdisk doesnt format drives it partitons them.
Make sure that you format the drive as FAT16 or FAT32.
You cannot install 9x of an NTFS partition.

Edited by Eyesee, 06 May 2011 - 12:40 PM.

In the beginning there was the command line.

#3 josh_the_techie

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Posted 07 May 2011 - 07:38 AM

I have never done this myself, but info that I am finding says that 9x isnt really supported.
http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?t=244
http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/4249

"I can't get the CD to boot" 95 cd's are not bootable.
That was introduced with 98SE.

"I format the virtual disk using FDISK"
Format & fdisk are two different things. Fdisk doesnt format drives it partitons them.
Make sure that you format the drive as FAT16 or FAT32.
You cannot install 9x of an NTFS partition.

Okay...I went ahead and formated the disk, using the utility on the Windows 95 boot floppy. I then created a directory on the C: drive called WIN95, and copied the contents of the WIN95 folder on the CD to that directory on the C: drive. I also discovered that hardware virtualization, when enabled on the VM, causes Win95 to crash. After unchecking it, it booted fine and is now working. BTW...I installed it in Virtual PC 2007. Thanks for the help with formatting!

#4 Eyesee

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Posted 09 May 2011 - 11:59 AM

Glad to hear that you got it working.

"I then created a directory on the C: drive called WIN95, and copied the contents of the WIN95 folder on the CD to that directory on the C:"
This is particularly important and the correct way to install 95 (and 98 as far as I am concerned).
Never install 95 from the cd!
Glad you did it that way!

In the beginning there was the command line.

#5 gixxer1300r

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Posted 23 September 2011 - 09:17 AM

Back in the day I always did all of my win 95 installs right from C:\ using a DOS or Win 95 boot disk, it was not only the fast way to do it but the most sucessful as well.

#6 deibu

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Posted 08 October 2011 - 03:34 AM

Not sure about Win 95 (I lost my original CD w/ the Weezer video and all ), but w/ my old Win98SE disc, I've found it works much, much better w/ VMWare Player (the free one) than Virtualbox. VMWare has tools/extensions for pre-XP versions of Windows, while Virtualbox doesn't, so the virtual machine runs much more slowly in Virtualbox than in VMWare, and VMWare Player gives you mouse integration & much higher resolution (as high as Windows 98 would go).