How to Bypass Windows 3.11 Startup Screen

This article explains the specific command line switch used to bypass the graphical startup logo in Microsoft Windows 3.11. By using this command at the MS-DOS prompt, users could shorten boot times, troubleshoot display issues, and load directly into the Program Manager interface without waiting for the splash screen to render.

To bypass the startup screen in Windows 3.11 (as well as Windows 3.1), the command line switch is a space followed by a colon (:).

How to Use the Switch

1. Exit to the MS-DOS prompt (or boot directly to DOS without running Windows automatically via AUTOEXEC.BAT).
2. Navigate to your Windows directory if it is not already in your system's PATH.
3. Type the following command and press Enter:

win :

Why It Works

When running the win command, Windows normally loads WIN.COM, which extracts and executes the startup logo routine (typically pulling data from files like VGALOGO.LGO and VGALOGO.RLE) before loading the core operating environment.

Passing a colon (:) as a parameter acts as an undocumented switch. In DOS conventions, a colon denotes a label or an empty parameter. In the context of WIN.COM, the loader interprets the colon as an instruction to skip the subroutines responsible for initializing the graphical video mode for the splash screen, causing the system to immediately load the Windows operating environment instead.