Windows 3.x

What Does Windows 3.x Mean?

Windows 3.x refers to the third version of Microsoft Windows. It was not actually a full-blown operating system but was a 16-bit GUI program that ran on top of MS-DOS. Windows 3.x quickly became the first-ever widely accepted version of Windows. It consisted of two versions: Windows 3.0 and Windows 3.1x.

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Techopedia Explains Windows 3.x

Windows 3.x was the predecessor of Windows 2.x; unlike MS-DOS, it had multitasking (non-preemptive) capabilities, which means that it could run multiple programs concurrently, as well as run more than one instance of the same program simultaneously. Windows 3.0 was launched in 1990; it was then followed by Windows 3.1, Windows 3.11 (Windows for Workgroups) and Windows 3.2 (basically the Chinese version of 3.1), which were released between 1992 and 1995. Windows 3.x included a variety of programs including File Manager, Notepad, Paintbrush, Solitaire, etc. Windows Media Player was first introduced in Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions, which was released in 1991.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…