is the third major release of
Microsoft Windows , and came out on
May 22 1990 . It became the first widely successful version of Windows (see
History Of Microsoft Windows ) and a powerful rival to
Apple Macintosh and the
Commodore Amiga on the
GUI front. It was succeeded by
Windows 3.1 .
Windows 3.0 succeeded
Windows 2.1x and included a significantly revamped user interface as well as technical improvements to make better use of the
Memory Management capabilities of
Intel 's
80286 and
80386 processors. Text-mode programs written for
MS-DOS could be run within a window (a feature previously available in a more limited form with Windows/386 2.1), making the system usable as a crude
Multitasking base for legacy programs. However, this was of limited use for the home market, where most games and entertainment programs continued to require raw DOS access.
The MS-DOS Executive file manager/program launcher was replaced with an icon-based
Program Manager and a list-based
File Manager , thereby simplifying the launching of applications. The MS-DOS Executive was still included as an alternative user interface program. The Control Panel, previously available as a standard-looking
Applet , was re-modeled after the one in
Mac OS . It centralized system settings, including limited control over the color scheme of the interface.
A number of simple applications were included, such as the text editor
Notepad and the word processor Write (both inherited from earlier versions of Windows), a macro recorder (new; later dropped), and a calculator (also inherited). The earlier
Reversi game was complemented with a
Card Game named
Solitaire .
Windows 3.0 was the last version of Windows to advertise 100% compatibility with older Windows applications.
Windows 3.0 was the only version of Windows that could be run in three different memory modes:
- ''Real mode'', intended for older computers with a CPU below Intel 80286 , and corresponding to its Real Mode ;
- ''Standard mode'', intended for computers with an 80286 processor, and corresponding to its Protected Mode ;
- ''386 Enhanced mode'', intended for newer computers with an Intel 80386 processor or above, and corresponding to its protected mode and Virtual 8086 Mode .
''386 Enhanced mode'' implemented all the benefits of Standard mode, plus 32-bit addressing and paging for faster memory access, plus
Virtual 8086 Mode for safer execution of MS-DOS programs: each of them now ran in a virtual machine. In the previous modes, multiple MS-DOS programs could only be run in full-screen, and only the program currently active was executing; but in 386 enhanced mode, they could be run simultaneously in separate windows.
The Multimedia Extensions were released in autumn
1991 to support
Sound Card s, as well as
CD-ROM drives, which were then becoming increasingly available. The Multimedia Extensions were released to
Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) , mainly CD-ROM drive and sound card manufacturers, and added basic
Multimedia support for audio input and output and a
CD audio player application to Windows 3.0. The Multimedia Extensions' new features were not available in Windows 3.0 real mode.
Windows 3.1x would later incorporate many of its features.
Microsoft developed a
Windows Sound System to complement these extensions.
This version of Windows was the first to be pre-installed on hard drives by PC-compatible manufacturers.
Zenith Data Systems had previously shipped all of its computers with Windows 1.0 or later 2.x on diskettes but committed early in the development of Windows 3.0 to shipping it pre-installed. Indeed, the Zenith division had pushed Microsoft hard to develop the graphical user interface because of Zenith's direct competition with
Apple in the college & university market.
