Image Credit:teachernz/Wikimedia Commons
Before Windows, there was MS-DOS.
But what is MS-DOS?
Why did old computers have it, and what happened to it when Windows came along?
Image Credit:teachernz/Wikimedia Commons
And does anyone still use MS-DOS?
What Is MS-DOS?
An acronym of Microsoft Disk Operating System, MS-DOS is also known as Microsoft DOS.
Image Credit: Ruben de Rijcke/Wikimedia Commons
Additionally, DOS commands would let you install and then run software.
Typically, this would be spreadsheets and word processors; sometimes, it would be games or art packages.
When the PC first arrived, however, the DOSa command line interfacewas how you interacted with the rig.
As of Windows 10, there is no requirement for an MS-DOS boot disk.
Computers no longer ship with floppy drives!
For this, it turned to Microsoft to develop PC-DOS.
Many old PCs would boot with the phrase PC-DOS displayed on thePOST screen.
But over time, this changed, because IBM stopped being the only producer of PCs.
Columbia Data Products was able to reverse engineer the PCs BIOS, and Compaq followed soon after.
Once this happened, any manufacturer could develop its own BIOS.
Taking advantage of this, Microsoft released MS-DOS to IBMs competitors in the PC market.
So, PC-DOS and MS-DOS were both produced by Microsoft.
As IBMs share of the PC marketwhich it essentially createdshrank, so did use of PC-DOS.
MS-DOS and Windows
MS-DOS gave Microsoft a foothold in the early PC industry.
Microsoft had already released its office tools for MS-DOS, and in 1987 issued Windows 1.0.
As Windows grew with each version, usage of MS-DOS declined.
No longer did the PC boot into MS-DOS; instead, it booted into Windows.
Windows 95 and 98 maintained an MS-DOS mode that could be switched to from the GUI.
This accommodated legacy software as well as contemporary titles, many of which were released without Windows support.
What Is an Emergency Boot Disk?
Windows 95 and later (all the way to Windows 8.1) could create an emergency boot disk.
This included core MS-DOS files which facilitated re-installation of Windows.
So, as long as you had the installation media, Windows could be reinstalled.
Until Windows XP, the operating system relied on the boot disk for installation.
How the Command Prompt Replaced the MS-DOS Prompt
You may be familiar with the Windows Command Prompt.
This is a black box for command line interfacing with a Windows PC or laptop.
(you might open it by pressingWIN+Rand then enteringcmdand clickingOK.)
Eventually, as MS-DOS legacy support was finally stripped from Windows, so the Command Prompt became prominent.
In turn, this has been superseded by Windows PowerShell.
Well, you dont need an old computer to experience MS-DOS.
Since 2002, emulation of the MS-DOS environment has been possible with DOSBox.
Its possible torun old software on a modern PC(i.e.
MS-DOS titles released between 1981 and 2001) with DOSBox.
While the DOSBox project was initially aimed at running all DOS software, it is mostly used for gaming.
Our guide toplaying retro games on DOSBoxwill show you how to do this.
It is listed as having adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct.
This is an important development as Microsoft historically a closed source exponent.
Permission is given to fork and experiment with MS-DOS, although note that this is an early version.
The last release of MS-DOS was 8.0 on Windows Me.
So, what if you wanted to download MS-DOS and install it on an old computer?
Need an OS for an Old PC?
Trying to run current software would be pointless, as things have changed.
However, there is 20 years worth of software that will run on this machine.
But there is a problem: an unbootable HDD means it’s crucial that you reinstall the operating system.
Thats where FreeDOS comes in.
Distributed under the GNU General Public License, FreeDOS is open source software.
If your old PC or laptop has a CD-ROM drive, FreeDOS can be installed.
There is also the option to us a boot disk if necessary.
For more modern systems, FreeDOS can be installed from a USB drive.
FreeDOS can also be downloaded to a PC and run in a virtual machine.
It runs just like MS-DOS, as it is essentially a replacement for it.
Without MS-DOS, the PC would not have taken off; there would be no Microsoft Windows.
That we can still use MS-DOSeither using the open source release, DOSBox, or FreeDOSis a gift.
So many great applications and games can be revisited on systems running MS-DOS and its variants.
