A tech enthusiast recently took on the intriguing challenge of running Windows 95 on a homebrew Nintendo 3DS port of DOSBox. Armed with the enhanced capabilities of the “New” 3DS, which boasts extra RAM and improved processing power, YouTuber MetraByte embarked on this ambitious venture. Despite the protracted load times, which were so lengthy that he left the gadget working overnight for its initial boot, the installation of the operating system itself took a mere five minutes. One unexpected hurdle was that mouse support, facilitated through DOSBox’s touch interface, was only operational after the OS was fully set up on the handheld device.
Interestingly, Windows 95 actually operates on the New Nintendo 3DS! This isn’t too surprising when you consider the original OS was designed to run with just 4MB of RAM, albeit for x86 computers, not emulated environments. Even with 256MB of RAM, which feels minuscule by modern standards, the New 3DS was quite capable in terms of memory, especially compared to the software of the Windows 95 era. However, running such an old system on modern Arm-based hardware through x86 emulation naturally results in a steep performance drop.
While the feat is technically possible, there’s little reason to attempt running Windows 95 on your New Nintendo 3DS. The sluggish installation process is only the beginning; once the OS is up, its usefulness is limited. For instance, MetraByte experienced numerous issues: MIDI audio playback was out of the question, and his preferred music studio app caused the 3DS to crash dramatically. While Windows 95 did manage to operate at a basic level, only the simplest software might have any success on it.
In all honesty, if you’re dabbling with DOSBox on a New 3DS, it’s wise to steer clear of Windows installations. Instead, you can dive into classic DOS games that should perform reasonably well given the 3DS’s relatively robust capabilities. Skipping the unnecessary overhead of an aging Windows OS can allow the New Nintendo 3DS to shine with vintage titles the way the system likely intended.
