Nintendo 3DS Can Operate Windows 95 Through DOSBox — Though It Takes Hours to Start Up

A tech enthusiast recently embarked on an ambitious experiment: running Windows 95 on a homebrew version of DOSBox ported to a Nintendo 3DS. Using the enhanced “New” 3DS model, which boasts extra RAM and processing horsepower, TechTuber MetraByte managed to pull this off. The journey began with successfully installing DOSBox on the device, and from there, loading the Windows 95 operating system onto that DOSBox instance. Booting Windows 95 proved to be an exercise in patience, with extensive load times prompting MetraByte to leave the 3DS running overnight during the initial startup. Interestingly, setting up the OS itself took just around five minutes, but the challenge of getting mouse input to work through DOSBox’s touch support wasn’t resolved until well after the OS was up and running on the system.

Taking a moment to appreciate the positive outcome: yes, it’s true, Windows 95 does indeed operate on the New Nintendo 3DS. Given that Windows 95 originally required a minimum of just 4MB of RAM on x86 machines, this might not seem too astounding; however, the New 3DS’s 256MB of RAM, though modest by modern standards, is more than adequate for the software of that period. Yet, the complexity arises from the need for DOSBox to not only utilize the system’s memory but also emulate x86 architecture on the New 3DS’s ARM-based hardware, introducing significant performance hurdles.

While this technical feat is possible, it’s hardly practical. The entire setup and initial boot process is painstakingly slow, and even when it finally loads, the functionality is severely limited. During MetraByte’s trials, essential functions like playing basic MIDI audio files fell flat, with attempts to operate his preferred music studio software resulting in dreaded blue screen crashes. Still, the OS did manage to run, albeit barely, allowing for some speculation that perhaps the simplest of software could still function.

In all reality, if you’re dabbling with DOSBox on the New Nintendo 3DS, funneling your efforts into setting up Windows probably isn’t the best route. Instead, diving into the plethora of older DOS games would provide a much more rewarding and seamless experience. The powerful New 3DS, when not burdened by the weight of an entire operating system like Windows 95, should handle these classic titles with ease.

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