A tech enthusiast decided to put a twist on the homebrew Nintendo 3DS port of DOSBox by attempting to run Windows 95 on it. Armed with a “New” 3DS, which boasts enhanced RAM and processing capabilities, TechTuber MetraByte set out to see if this 90s operating system could function on modern portable hardware. The journey wasn’t without its quirks, as the installation took its sweet time—so much so that it necessitated an overnight boot on its first attempt. Surprisingly, the OS installer zipped through its task in about five minutes. However, it took quite a while before proper mouse support via the touchscreen caught up post-launch.
Interestingly, MetraByte shared the adventure through a YouTube video intriguingly titled “Installing Windows 95 on a 3DS and Trying to Make Music with it.” The whole setup, despite its ambitious aim of harking back to a bygone era of operating systems, was a challenge. To its credit, Windows 95 did indeed boot on the New Nintendo 3DS. Given Windows 95 was originally built to operate with just 4MB of RAM—albeit for x86 machines—this project was fascinating. The New 3DS can harness 256MB of RAM, which is significantly more than Windows 95 ever needed. Yet, the real hurdle was the x86 emulation on the New 3DS’s ARM architecture, which severely hampered performance.
So, what’s the verdict? Well, it’s clear you can get Windows 95 to chug along on the New Nintendo 3DS, but the real question is: should you? The process is long, and the results are limited. When MetraByte tried playing around with music software, the device ended up bluescreening, and even simple MIDI playback was out of reach. Essentially, Windows 95 had limited functionality at best.
In practical terms, if you’re delving into DOSBox on a New Nintendo 3DS, you might want to skip the Windows OS experiment. Instead, dive into classic DOS games, which are more likely to run smoothly given the hardware’s capabilities. The New 3DS can handle these retro gems without the extra burden of an outdated operating system slowing it down.
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