Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!unido!gmdzi!strobl From: strobl@gmdzi.UUCP (Wolfgang Strobl) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware Subject: Re: Windows 3.0 is pre-emptive? (was: Sound Blaster with Windows) Message-ID: <3212@gmdzi.UUCP> Date: 17 Aug 90 18:51:10 GMT References: <12061@netcom.UUCP> Organization: GMD, Sankt Augustin, F. R. Germany Lines: 18 ergo@netcom.UUCP (Isaac Rabinovitch) writes: > ... But I'm a little >puzzled as to how this could be happening under Windows. If it were >happening under DesqView or another pre-emptive multitasker, it'd make >sense. But it's my understanding that Windows is non-premptive -- >that is, a task switch only occurs when a task relinquishes control. >Perhaps W3.0 added pre-emption? Windows/286 (up to version 2.11) is non-preemptive. Windows/386 and now Windows 3.0 in enhanced mode (i.e. on a 386 with 2 MB or more) do preemptive multitasking, for old DOS applications. All the running Windows applications run in one single VM and do cooperative, nopreemptive multitasking, there. For each DOS application Win 3 starts yet another VM and does preemptive multitasking among the running VM's. Wolfgang Strobl #include