Differences Between Retail and Debug versions of Windows 3.1 (86171)

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The retail version of Windows 3.1 can be transformed into the debug version by using files that are provided with the Windows 3.1 Software Development Kit (SDK).

NOTE: Windows will be slower when the debug version is installed.

The debug version of Windows consists of the following files:

   KRNL286  SYM      4308 03-23-92   3:10a
   KRNL386  SYM      4340 03-23-92   3:10a
   MMSYSTEM SYM      5428 03-23-92   3:10a
   GDI      SYM      6004 03-23-92   3:10a
   USER     SYM     11620 03-23-92   3:10a
   MMSYSTEM DLL     66656 03-23-92   3:10a
   KRNL286  EXE    110550 03-23-92   3:10a
   KRNL386  EXE    116132 03-23-92   3:10a
   GDI      EXE    275261 03-23-92   3:10a
   USER     EXE    338406 03-23-92   3:10a

The .SYM files are symbol files that contain symbolic information that the SDK utility programs, CodeView (CVW.EXE), and Windows 80386 Debugger (WDEB386.EXE) use to locate program modules, global data in an executable, and other debugging information. The .SYM files can remain in the Windows \SYSTEM directory (they do not affect the performance of Windows when the retail Windows 3.1 system files are being used). The .DLL and .EXE files are special debugging versions of the normal files that replace the corresponding retail Windows files in the Windows \SYSTEM directory.

Below is a list of the normal files that must be present in the Windows \SYSTEM directory to run the retail version of Windows 3.1:

   GDI      EXE    220800 03-10-92   3:10a
   KRNL286  EXE     71730 03-10-92   3:10a
   KRNL386  EXE     75490 03-10-92   3:10a
   USER     EXE    264016 03-30-92  10:49a
   MMSYSTEM DLL     61648 03-10-92   3:10a

Identifying Debug Windows

If the debug version of Windows is running, a message specific to the debug mode (standard or enhanced) is displayed in the bottom-right corner of the Windows desktop. These messages appear as follows:

ENHANCED MODE DEBUG Windows 3.1

-or-

STANDARD MODE DEBUG Windows 3.1

How to Switch Between Debug and Retail Windows

There are two batch files, D2N.BAT and N2D.BAT, that are provided with the SDK that allow you to switch between the retail and debug versions of Windows 3.1. These files are normally found in the WINDEV\BIN directory. N2D.BAT is used to convert retail Windows into debug Windows. D2N.BAT is used to convert debug Windows to retail Windows.

Changes Made to SYSTEM.INI

The following lines are added to the SYSTEM.INI file when the SDK is installed:

   DEVICE=C:\WINDEV\BIN\VCV.386
   DEVICE=C:\WINDEV\BIN\WINDEBUG.386