#Mostrecent version of ms dos archive#
#Mostrecent version of ms dos code#
#Mostrecent version of ms dos Pc#

But such a list would be an ongoing task, relying on often vauge old articles, occasional sightings on eBay, and bits from the community.MS-DOS ( Micro soft Disk Operating System) is an operating system for x86 based personal computers. I'm starting to assemble a preliminary list of DOS 1.x/2.x/3.x versions, and I may post that later.

#Mostrecent version of ms dos archive#

Which is why it is important to document and archive these where possible.

#Mostrecent version of ms dos Pc#

Many of these would be completely unable to run or lose functionality with a vanilla MS-DOS, IBM PC dos, or another vendor's DOS. The GRiD Compass, and Victor 9000 are examples of this. Some very early 'MS-DOS' systems were entirely unique 8086/8088 architectures designed prior to the IBM PC and designed to run CP/M or other OSes, with a custom port of MS-DOS thrown on to provide compatiblity with programs that limited themselves to DOS I/O calls. For example, the NEC APC ran MS-DOS from 8-inch floppy disks, the Zenith Z-100 used S-100 bus hardware architecture instead of ISA, and the Sanyo MBC-55 didn't have an MDA/CGA compatible text mode so direct screen writes would fail. In many cases the differences went way beyond BIOS compatiblity. In essence, a 286 machine is running on different BIOSes for different vendors. PC-DOS and the IBM were the main subjects covered in things like PC-Magazine, etc. Os2fan2 wrote:It's hardly supprising that MS-DOS did not release a generic version until 3.2, and that the OEM versions varied from machine to machine.

So while you will find a lot of OEM versions to DOS 5, by the arrival of DOS 6, it was pretty much on the run. Even IBM Make IBM Compatibles in the end (PS/1, Aptiva, Thinkcentre). This is an enormous saving, since you did not have to compile IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS for your box.Įventually, because of the simple weight of software, IBM Compatibles won the day. This means they could run programs and games written for the IBM PC, and run a generic MS-DOS for the IBM to boot. Sort of like you now buy games for the xbox or for the playstation or whatever.Īround the time of DOS 3.2, and the 386 chip, Compaq and a few others reverse-engineered the IBM BIOS, and made 'IBM Compatibles'. So when you went to buy games in the 1980s, they had this little sticker on it 'Tandy 1000' or whatever, or 'IBM Compatible'. The DOS is variously compiled between IBM and Microsoft (IBM actually compile their own code: it's not MS binaries they use!). So IBM made these wonderful machines, and paid lots of money to developers to make proggies for it. IBM had to outsource everything in the PC, except one or two bits.

#Mostrecent version of ms dos code#

Anything that relies purely on the 286 chip will run on any machine, but the BIOS code (basic input-output services), looks after the video calls, and a few other odds and ends. The bulk of DOS calls are reflected down to either the 286 chip, or to the BIOS. It's hardly supprising that MS-DOS did not release a generic version until 3.2, and that the OEM versions varied from machine to machine.