Windows 2 for the Apricot PC/Xi

Windows 2 for the Apricot PC/Xi (and Word, and Excel, and so much more) by Nina Kalinina, December 27th, 2025 (rev. 1.01 2025-12-27) I bought my first Apricot PC about three years ago, when I realised I wanted an 8086-based computer. At the time, I knew nothing about it and simply bought it because it looked rad and the price was low. I had no idea that it was not IBM PC-compatible, and that there were very few programs available for it. I have been on a quest to get a modern-ish word processor and spreadsheet program for it ever since. Which eventually made me "port" Windows 2 on it. In this post, I will tell you the story of this port. As a side-quest, I also wrote an article explaining why Windows 2 is kind of awesome . Make sure to check it out, too, if you need more Windows 2 screenshots in your life. A photograph of a dark grey computer with a CRT monitor - an Apricot PC - running Windows 2 Please note that most of the images in this post were taken from a real green CRT, and thus their quality might vary. You can click the image to load it in full size. the Mastodon thread . If you own an Apricot PC, or want to try the port in an emulator, check out the project on sr.ht . You need an Apricot PC, PC/Xi or Xen with at least 512 kB of RAM. scroll down to the screenshot section . A few words about the Apricot PC/Xi If you want a personal computer today, your general choice is between a "PC" and a "Mac". Back in the 1980s, you would have to choose between dozens or even hundreds of computer architectures, and "PC" was not necessarily the most popular choice for a computer. One of the most promising market contenders, Victor 9000, also known as Sirius 1, was released in 1981. It gained popularity in Europe, creating a niche market for "Sirius-compatible" computers. Two years later, the British company ACT released its Sirius-compatible Apricot PC. A photograph of the main board of Apricot PC/Xi, in the process of being washed. Apricot PC is a delightful computer with a great design. Its heart is Intel 8086, the older sibling of the 8088 used in the IBM PC. It uses lovely 3.5" floppy disks; and it is the first Western computer to have a 3.5" drive - before Apple Macintosh. The screen is 9 inches, 800x400 pixels, with great image fidelity. The PC/Xi model comes with a 10 megabyte Winchester hard drive, British-made Rodime RO352, the first-ever 3.5" hard drive. A photograph of the computer's display showing multiple images at once: photographs of computer chips, schematics, and oscilloscope charts. The computer is simple enough to be understood by one person in its entirety (over the course of many months of studying). There are schematics, technical manuals, BIOS reference manuals, and example code available for it,...

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