Windows 1.0 Easter Egg Managed To Stay Hidden For Nearly 37 Years

Lucas Brooks, an avid Windows fan who digs through and analyzes its early iterations, recently shared his discovery of an easter egg that's been hiding in Windows 1.0 for nearly 37 years. PC Gamer reports: Brooks discovered the secret, a credits list of Windows developers and a "congratulations" message, buried in the data of a smiley face bitmap file that came with the OS. The data for the credits was encrypted, and according to Brooks, the tools he needed to extract the data didn't even exist at the time of the OS' release.

There's also a name in the credits all PC gamers will recognize: Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. Newell began his career at Microsoft after dropping out of Harvard, and contributed to the development of the first three iterations of Windows. He also led the team that ported Doom to Windows from DOS, a crucial step in the transition between the operating systems.

That's 'cos

[evanh]

it was vapourware until Win3.

Re:

[jfdavis668]

I used 2.11 so I could use Word and Excel. I was an original mac guy, but everything I used at work was PC based. Being used to these 2 products, I appreciated Windows. I also had Windows 1, but yes, that was useless. The only thing it was good for was playing Reverse.

Re:

[Salton Pepper]

and, because no one has booted Win 1.0 in the last 37 years (OK, maybe it was 36 years ago).

Instructions to pull the easter egg up

[puddingebola]

Instructions to pull the easter egg up: Select Game 2 or Game 3. Get the Bridge Find the maze north of the Black Castle. Look for the room that is flickering -- the flicker is due to the extra item hidden in the room related to the Easter egg. In the flickering maze, use the bridge to get to access the chamber in the bottom/middle of the room. Go to the lower right corner of the small chamber and you'll pick up a single pixel. Carry the pixel to the room just above the Catacombs, located exactly one screen down, and one screen right from the Yellow Castle. Note: The pixel will be invisible unless you rub along a southern border. Drop the pixel in this room with a barrier on the right side. Retrieve two more objects (Key, Sword, Chalice) and drop them in the room. Once there are three objects in the room including the pixel, you can walk through the rightmost wall to view the Easter egg.

Re:

[notsouseful]

Seeing a creimer post is like seeing the old lady walking out to the park bench with the loaf of bread. You know the trolls will be showing up for those sweet crumbs.

Re:

[Dan East]

So you copy pasted the instructions for accessing the easter egg in the Atari 2600 game Adventure? The point of that is what exactly?

https://www.ign.com/wikis/atar... [ign.com]

Re:

[Fly Swatter]

If you recognized which game or program this was for without having to do an internet search does it make you old? And if you did (not need to search) did it make you feel even older or just part of a club?

I wonder if the OP just did a general search for the oldest known Easter Egg or if they actually knew what it was before copying and pasting.

So have more people played Adventure than used Windows 1.0?

Re:

[dabadab]

This easter egg is prominently featured in "Ready Player One", a sci-fi novel released in 2011 that was/is wildly popular among nerds so I guess most people know this little bit of trivia from that book.

Re:

[arglebargle_xiv]

Everyone knows that to find the secret way in is to get Dick to bend the branch over there three times and then, hurrah!, the secret way in is revealed and it's time for lashings of ginger beer. None of this easter egg nonsense...

Re: Instructions to pull the easter egg up

[katrinamaria]

Adventure!

Who cares

[gweihir]

The more alarming fact is that this atrocity called "Windows" has now been around for 37 years.

Re:

[MarkVVV]

The more alarming fact is that this atrocity called "Windows" has now been around for 37 years.

Somewhat low UID: check
Complaining about Windows: check

Yeah, definitely one of those...

Re:

[jd]

It's not a question of whether someone complains about Windows, it's about whether they've high standards and apply them to ALL operating systems (even ones they normally love, and yes that will include Windows for some people) or whether they're just picking on a product to be picking on it.

I have no problems complaining about Windows defects. I also have no problems complaining about Linux defects, OpenBSD defects, Haiku defects, OpenIndiana defects, Plan9/Inferno defects, etc. The problem is with there b

Re:

[gweihir]

I don't know whether gweihir fits in that category or not.

Well, look for my complaints about systemd here. That should clear things up a bit. In principle I do not hate MS, but I am constantly disappointed in many products MS makes when I have to use them. I am not above recognizing some good things MS has done (or bought) either. For example MS Teams is somewhat unfinished in some aspects, but it is pretty reliable and gives pretty good videoconferencing results. I like it.

Re:

[GoJays]

Of course your groundbreaking replacement OS is just around the corner, right? I mean, we have been waiting for 36 years now.

Re:

[jd]

So we're only allowed to point out defects in a product if we, ourselves, have produced an alternative?

Quality control must be a riot where you work, did you have them all shot for not producing alternatives yet?

Re:

[gweihir]

Indeed. That "argument" was so abysmally stupid, I did not even think an answer was merited.

Re:

[EvilSS]

If your idea of pointing out a defect is "this atrocity called "Windows" has now been around for 37 years." then quality control at your work must really hate you.

Re:

[MarkVVV]

So we're only allowed to point out defects in a product if we, ourselves, have produced an alternative?

Quality control must be a riot where you work, did you have them all shot for not producing alternatives yet?

Can you honestly claim that was an attempt to "point out defects"?

Re:

[thegarbz]

No what's alarming is that despite all the posturing people still happily use it over the alternatives.

Re:

[gweihir]

No what's alarming is that despite all the posturing people still happily use it over the alternatives.

Yes, indeed.

The real question...

[Chumm]

The real question is why was someone booting up Win 1.0? Trying to find a windows build before the bloatware?

Re:

[Waffle Iron]

The real question is why was someone booting up Win 1.0? Trying to find a windows build before the bloatware?

Everything has to be judged within its context.

On the machines of its time, Windows 1.0 was already bloatware.

Gabe worked at M$? that alone describes why Duke..

[Grog6]

The best thing M$ ever releases was the 3dtext screensaver, that would use the Magic file for input.
I still use it, it will run on any 32bit windows. version.

then and now

[Reiyuki]

With bloated code nowadays you could probably hide an entire operating system inside a modern Windows operating system

Re:

[jd]

Given modern sector sizes and the fact that, on average, half the sector will be dead space on all but a handful of filing systems, you could probably hide an entire operating system inside the wasted disk space.

TBH, I wonder why there isn't a Virus OS that does precisely that - load and save code blocks out of such dead space. It's not technically in a file, so virus scanners that only look at file content wouldn't see any of the code, and a virus writer would only ever need to rewrite the loader after tha

Re:

[lucasnate1]

Viruses by Equation Group wrote themselves directly to hard drive firmware, that's an even stronger version of what you suggest.

Re:

[jd]

Ouch!

Re:

[tlhIngan]

Given modern sector sizes and the fact that, on average, half the sector will be dead space on all but a handful of filing systems, you could probably hide an entire operating system inside the wasted disk space.

TBH, I wonder why there isn't a Virus OS that does precisely that - load and save code blocks out of such dead space. It's not technically in a file, so virus scanners that only look at file content wouldn't see any of the code, and a virus writer would only ever need to rewrite the loader after tha

Details.

[Gravis Zero]

originally from: https://pastebin.com/raw/FruE3... [pastebin.com]

Encryption/Obfuscation

Windows 1.x - 2.x
Chained XOR. To decrypt, XOR the nth byte with the key, XOR the key with that decrypted byte and repeat until the EOF mark is hit. Initial key is the integer 77.

Windows 3.0
Same as the above, except for the addition of a length word (stop decrypting once that number of bytes are decrypted). Same Initial key of 77.

Key is 8 bits long so it can be easily brute forced, however finding the encrypted data is much harder than cracking the key. The key is in the decryption code.

Windows 1.0

Very well hidden. Encrypted data located at the end of bitmap 1, even if the bitmap gets found (http://toastytech.com/guis/misc.html) the encrypted data won't. Functions given very misleading names and symbols for Easter egg data stripped.

Double click on the ListBox to get smiley face background.

1.xx
Keystrokes: Unknown... at least for now.
Decrypted: https://pastebin.com/raw/UMXGj... [pastebin.com]
Info: Not easy to reverse/understand. Patch 2 bytes instead.

1.01 - 1.03
Keystrokes: Alt down, Esc down, Alt up, Esc up, Esc, Esc, Backspace
Decrypted: https://pastebin.com/raw/MDhyF... [pastebin.com]

1.04
Keystrokes: Alt down, Esc down, Alt up, Esc up, Esc, Esc, Backspace
Decrypted: https://pastebin.com/raw/b83GH... [pastebin.com]

Windows 2.x

Almost the same as Windows 1.x. The strings may have been too long so Microsoft's encryption tool failed to encrypt all bytes of it, leaving the first few bytes cut off.

2.01 (386)
Keystrokes: F1, F5, F9, F4, Backspace
Decrypted: https://pastebin.com/raw/tDq26... [pastebin.com]

2.03
Keystrokes: F1, F5, F9, F4, Backspace
Decrypted: https://pastebin.com/raw/Tf3EM... [pastebin.com]

2.03 (386)
Keystrokes: F1, F5, F9, F4, Backspace
Decrypted: https://pastebin.com/raw/CUMMY... [pastebin.com]

2.10 - 2.11 (286/386)
Keystrokes: F1, F5, F9, F4, Backspace
Decrypted: https://pastebin.com/raw/Qd77U... [pastebin.com]

Windows 3.x

In build 55 the data might've been plaintext in resource 1 of the type "crstrs" (credit strings). That resource is not in build 55's user.exe itself unfortunately. Later builds store the encrypted data inside the "BITNAP" resource 1. It can be found very easily and the attempt to trick people into thinking that it's "BITMAP" failed.

3.0 build 55
Keystrokes: F8, F4, F8, F4, Backspace
Decrypted: N/A
Info: Code for Easter egg is there but no data ("crstrs" 1) sadly.

3.0 RC2 - RC6
Keystrokes: W, I, N, 3, F3 down, Backspace
Decrypted: https://pastebin.com/raw/ZwesM... [pastebin.com]

3.0
Keystrokes: W, I, N, 3, F3 down, Backspace
Decrypted: https://pastebin.com/raw/44xRb... [pastebin.com]

Re:

[Rhipf]

Semantics.
Did you travel from Detroit to Seattle or did you come to Seattle from Detroit?

Re:

[Rhipf]

Did you add the eggs to the batter or did you the batter get eggs added to it?
Did you transfer your data from computer X to computer Y or did you transfer the data to computer Y from computer X.

Inverse forms work in multiple situations.

Gabe Newell

[King_TJ]

Funny thing about Gabe .... Despite working for Microsoft and being a part of the first few releases of Windows? He wound up professing a preference for the Mac.

I remember when I did a pre-order for the very first Macbook Pro that was going to offer an Intel CPU and an aluminum body. Mine arrived completely DOA, which was quite frustrating given the long wait to receive it and the supply shortages meaning it was unclear how long it would take Apple to replace it. I went on a Mac forum to vent about it an