Windows 3.0 build 33

Windows 3.0 build 33 is a build of Windows 3.0 that was uploaded on 23 September 2022, along with some disks of its software development kit. The build was also mentioned in an internal Microsoft e-mail from August 1989, where it is noted that the build was slow due to extensive debugging hooks.

This is the last available build to use MS-DOS Executive as the default shell, as the next available build, build 55 already uses the newer Program Manager. However, references to the new shell can already found in the available copy, and it is likely that it was merely omitted for this release in order to hide as much of the new user interface as possible. It is also the last known build of Windows 3.0 to feature a debug watermark before returning in debug compiles of Windows 3.1.

starts the build in real (referred to as "286r" in the watermark) mode (using the kernel ) with a Windows 2.x-style boot screen that animates, with a Windows 3.0 logo in the font used for the Microsoft logo of the era, with text where the version information was in Windows 1.0 and 2.x reading "We Believe in Magic!".

starts the build in standard mode (referred to as "286p" mode) and uses the kernel. ( or   also works) starts the build in 386 mode (referred to as 386p, and using  ), but it is unknown exactly what systems it supports yet.

Installation
This build does not ship with a setup application, so the contents of the floppy disks should be manually copied to.

Using MS-DOS 3.31 is recommended.

To get 386p mode working, add  to. It is also recommended to add  to.

The display driver is set to VGA by default. In order to use the proper display driver, edit the display.drv line in  from   to:
 * for Video 7 VGA
 * for 8514/A
 * for CGA
 * for EGA
 * for Hercules
 * for Compaq

Operating modes
Unlike build 14, which only supported what became the Standard Mode, this build can run in all three modes known from the final version, although slightly different names are used for them:
 * Real Mode is known as 286r mode,
 * Standard Mode is known as 286p mode,
 * 386 Enhanced Mode is known as 386p mode.

Furthermore, the kernel executables for the two protected modes use names different from later builds, as the Standard Mode kernel is  and the 386 Enhanced Mode Kernel is. By build 55, they would be renamed to   and , respectively. The real mode kernel executable is, same as in the final version.

Remnants referring to applications not included
While there is no setup application for this build, a leftover  information file can be found within the disks' contents.

The contents of  indicate that the Setup identifies as "Microsoft Windows/386 Version 3.00", and also supports installing a Windows runtime a la earlier versions of Windows.

The list of files installed by Setup include  and , as well as several utilities that were apparently removed from the pre-release SDK distribution (such as an early version of Solitaire and an unknown version of Terminal and Calculator).

As this build contains the new Control Panel (replacing the older one from Windows 1.x/2.x), the most probable reason for these applications not being included is to hide as much of the new UI as possible from developers outside of Microsoft at this point (as this build was provided to developers under a very strict NDA according to contemporary accounts to test their applications under 286/386 protected mode Windows). Microsoft did something similar a few years later; in early 1993 a Milestone 3 build of Windows 95 was sent out to 40 software developers with Cabinet removed. . It is also possible the applications were too unstable and buggy to send out to developers.

Bugs
This build is quite early and rough and exhibits numerous bugs:


 * The placement of the text on every single Button control is misaligned and is above where it should be.
 * Under rare circumstances, the kernel may attempt to launch the nonexistent Program Manager instead of the MS-DOS Executive during startup.
 * Running the kernel when Windows is already running crashes the OS with an endless series of "Cannot read device AUX" error boxes, using an early version of the Windows 3.x "white box" error message box.
 * As the Microsoft employee using this build in August 1989 commented, the build is indeed slow due to extensive debugging hooks.
 * Trying to use a DOS window in display modes other than VGA seems to crash the OS.
 * Some icons in Control Panel look a bit broken under the 8514/A display mode.

Programs

 * Windows Help crashes the entire OS. An initial look indicates that the file may be corrupted around the 0x200 to 0x1000 range.
 * The Task Manager is not present and attempts to launch it will fail.
 * Calendar may crash the entire OS when in 386 mode.