Nintendo 3DS Emulates Windows 95 with DOSBox, But Boot Time Takes Hours

A tech enthusiast recently embarked on a quirky adventure, challenging the possibilities of a homebrew Nintendo 3DS port of DOSBox by attempting to run Windows 95 on it. Using the enhanced “New” 3DS, with its extra RAM and processing power, TechTuber MetraByte managed to successfully install the DOSBox port. From there, he was able to layer Windows 95 on top of the DOSBox instance. However, it was no small feat—load times stretched significantly, forcing MetraByte to leave the handheld device running overnight just to get Windows 95 to boot for the first time. Interestingly, the OS installation itself only took around five minutes. Despite these challenges, mouse input via touch only began functioning well after Windows 95 had completely loaded onto the hardware.

The promising thing about all this is that Windows 95 can indeed run on the New Nintendo 3DS. This might not be shocking for those familiar with Windows 95’s original requirements—it was designed to operate with a mere 4MB of RAM on x86 systems, which is far from the emulation scenario here. Today’s standards would scoff at the New Nintendo 3DS’s 256MB RAM, but for software from back then, it was quite a luxurious spec sheet. Yet, the performance isn’t what one might hope for, as DOSBox must also emulate x86 architecture on the Arm-based hardware of the console, leading to noticeable performance hits.

Practically speaking, while you can get Windows 95 up and running on a New Nintendo 3DS, the significant effort may not be worth it. The process involves a lengthy and slow installation, and even when you do reach the Windows interface, it remains largely unusable. For example, MetraByte showed that even basic MIDI playback wasn’t feasible, and when he tried to use his preferred music studio software, the system simply crashed with a blue screen. Nevertheless, the operating system functioned to some degree, suggesting that perhaps only the simplest software might operate smoothly.

In reality, if you’re using DOSBox on a New Nintendo 3DS, loading up Windows might not be the wisest choice. Instead, older DOS games would be a much better fit, offering a smoother experience. After all, the New Nintendo 3DS does have decent power for its time, and you’re likely to have a far more enjoyable experience without the heavy lift of running Windows 95 atop everything else.