Questions tagged [ms-dos]
For questions regarding MS-DOS, the Microsoft Disk Operating System, and its batch scripting language. Do not use this tag for questions about DOS batch languages in general.
6
votes
4answers
333 views
Set screen resolution in DOS-only PC
I replaced a failed CRT display with a LCD panel with a VGA controller board. There is no problem with the display when the PC boots up. However, if I switch the display off then I get an 'Out of ...
5
votes
1answer
236 views
XT IDE causes BASIC not to load properly on IBM 5155
I recently picked up an XT IDE. It works fine for the most part, but when I tried to load BASIC samples from the original IBM DOS 1.1 floppy(I was booting from it), the system hung up, only showing a ...
6
votes
1answer
152 views
Where to find QICStream software for reading old QIC-150 tape?
I'm trying to restore a backup from an old QIC-150 tape. While I'm able to read the raw data from the tape (using linux), I can't recognize the binary format of the data (the tape is not mine). There ...
14
votes
3answers
941 views
What order were files/directories output in dir?
In the version of command.com included with MS-DOS, DIR seems to print files in a random order, but if one runs multiple DIR commands, they all print the files in the same order. This order does not ...
14
votes
2answers
3k views
Did MS DOS itself ever use blinking text?
I know that it was possible to create blinking text, but did the operating system itself (I mean, in output from functions of command.com and similar executables) ever make use of blink formatting?
...
25
votes
3answers
4k views
Why wasn't DOSKEY integrated with COMMAND.COM?
Why did Microsoft make DOSKEY a separate command, instead of integrating it with COMMAND.COM?
I don't think DOSKEY uses a lot of RAM or was useless in the '80s... Maybe there was another reason not ...
4
votes
2answers
213 views
DOS/4DOS Prompt with animated characters?
I have a vivid memory of a guy I knew back in the day who had a custom prompt with a small character animation.
The way I remember it there was a sequence like |,/,--,\,| in the prompt.
This wasn't ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
DOS, create pipe for stdin/stdout of command.com(or 4dos.com) in C or Batch?
I'm working on a retro project and was trying to create a pipe of stdin/out/err in DOS, but I can't find any functions to to this?
For instance the pipe() command from unistd.h isn't present in ...
9
votes
5answers
247 views
Alternatives for TurboVision on DOS
TurboVision was a library by Borland for developing TUI's (Text User Interfaces). It was included with their C++ and Pascal compilers.
Were there any other TUI libraries that supported multiple ...
6
votes
1answer
269 views
What's the fastest way to ignore keypresses?
I'm writing a game for the IBM PC (running MS-DOS), complete with fancy cutscenes. Unfortunately, though, the keys pressed during those fancy cutscenes are carried out once the fancy cutscene has ...
5
votes
1answer
311 views
DOS networking (Ethernet)
Would like to use a Linksys "Etherfast PCMPC100" PCMCIA network card under DOS 5.0, for file transfer. Am planning to use the "XFS" package to share directories with Linux.
Have found an archive file ...
-1
votes
2answers
212 views
Why can't BIOS be accessed in 64bit mode on Intel/AMD chips? [closed]
I was interested in a possible rewrite of dos to dos 64bit. In my research I found several references that state all current motherboard BIOS interrupts are not accessible from 64bit Long or 64bit ...
3
votes
3answers
223 views
Gotek drives for MS-DOS (plus few more constraints)
I have installed two gotek device instead of two old unworking floppy disk drives (in particular on an Olivetti PCS 86).
And the result is something like this:
(The one on the right should the the A:...
6
votes
0answers
177 views
qemu emulating MS-DOS cannot access CD-ROM
I am using qemu-system-i386 on a Windows 10 PC to emulate an MS-DOS system. I have installed MS-DOS 6.22 successfully from disk images from original Microsoft media.
I am starting qemu using this ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
Did CP/M support custom hardware using device drivers?
MS DOS Ver 1.0 did not have OS support for device drivers. DOS ver2 added support for device drivers in the config.sys file during boot with the "DEVICE=[path][filename][parameters]".
Did CP/M have ...
3
votes
2answers
270 views
Figuring out size of Device Drivers and where they are loaded in High Memory
I'm setting up a 486 PC (aiming for around 1994 or so) and I have the following device drivers set up in DOS 6.22:
HIMEM.SYS
EMM386.EXE
ANSI.SYS
SBIDE.SYS
CTMOUSE.EXE
SMARTDRV.EXE
DOSKEY.COM
MSCDEX....
4
votes
2answers
442 views
How to convert .ttf to .fnt for use with M10_SCR.COM DOS font driver
I have a DOS program M10_SCR.COM that loads as a TSR and allows the use of fonts. It works with its own basic built-in fonts, so now I am trying to convert .ttf fonts into .fnt so I have more fonts to ...
19
votes
5answers
7k views
Will PC-DOS run faster on 4 or 8 core modern machines?
When I run PC-DOS on my 4 core AMD Phenom chip, does it take advantage of the extra parallel CPU's? If not, is there a way to coax DOS to use all available CPU's or does this require specific ...
3
votes
3answers
203 views
How to image a RLL or MFM hard disk on an XT class PC
I have an old XT clone which is fitted with a Seagate ST-238R RLL hard disk and an ST11R hard disk controller card.
I have recently revived this old machine and it all appears to be working still.
I'...
1
vote
2answers
198 views
Can DOS 6.22 recognize more than 504MB when the BIOS only supports CHS?
My CMOS setup correctly recognizes the geometry of the drive, (but does not support LBA). And FDISK in DOS 6.22 only recognizes 504MB. FDISK even shows the size of the primary partition as roughly ...
0
votes
2answers
284 views
Does anyone have an x86 EGA draw pixel routine?
So far, I have gotten by with using the BIOS draw-pixel routine here: http://stanislavs.org/helppc/int_10-c.html
This works of course, but I can't imagine that commercial games used this BIOS call as ...
2
votes
2answers
358 views
USB ports for a 486 laptop (pccard 16bits)
I have an old laptop 486 with PhoenixBIOS which supports PC card 16bits( PCMCIA II/III).
I am thinking about the possibility of adding a pccard 16bits with USB ports, mainly to read usbsticks or ...
11
votes
2answers
449 views
How to use the “darker” CGA palette using x86 Assembly?
For those of you retro developers out there, I am having a hard time figuring out how exactly to select the "darker" color palette in 320x200 CGA mode. Here's what I have so far:
setup_cga_graphics:
...
10
votes
4answers
566 views
For fast scrolling DOS games, when was Mode13h preferred over Mode X?
Back in the DOS days of gaming (more specifically, 80286 - 80486 era), developers typically needed to choose between using the chunky and easier Mode 13h or the more complex "Mode X" that provided ...
1
vote
1answer
326 views
Minimal DOS long filename driver
Am trying to run Latex + Emacs under DOS 5.0, and would currently seem to need long filenames. I have tried the DOSLFN driver but it prevents Emacs from running. I have 4 MB RAM in total.
Is there ...
37
votes
2answers
6k views
Did IBM encourage Bill Gates to retain the rights over PC-DOS?
As is well-known, Microsoft's negotiations with IBM to deliver PC-DOS 1.0 with the original IBM PC resulted in:
IBM licensing the OS from Microsoft, as opposed to purchasing it outright.
Microsoft ...
33
votes
8answers
4k views
How to put a delay in AUTOEXEC.BAT
I have this MS-DOS 6.22 machine which maps a network drive to a SAMBA share on a Raspberry PI. The PI is powered by a USB lead from the DOS machine, so the two power up together.
The mapping starts ...
12
votes
1answer
2k views
Where was the DOS cdd utility from?
I distinctly remember, on the computer I had in the 90's, being able to type cdd D:\bla\bla in the MS-DOS command prompt, to change both the current directory and drive (avoiding having to type D: ...
4
votes
3answers
372 views
Allocate 64KB in Watcom C 16-bit DOS
I'm trying to allocate a 64KB buffer in Watcom C 16-bit DOS. I'm using the "compact" memory model as it states [1] that the code segment is limited to 64KB through a near pointer (just offset) but ...
17
votes
1answer
1k views
When was QDOS changed to MSDOS?
So a while back, I heard that MSDOS was originally named QDOS (Quick and Dirty Operating System), and that it was later changed is MSDOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System). This was probably a ...
2
votes
2answers
219 views
MS-DOS, save data from COM1: to file and display on console at the same time
I have a MS-DOS 3.22 laptop that will receive simple text data over serial COM1.
I can make it save to file by doing TYPE COM1 >> data.log and I can make it show the data on the console with ...
1
vote
3answers
178 views
Was parsing or operating systems the first user of dollar sign as end of string/input?
According to the question Why did DOS use dollar-terminated strings? DOS uses dollar-terminated strings, inherited from CP/M which used them because DEC also used dollar as the string terminator.
...
3
votes
2answers
231 views
What 286 chipsets support UMBs?
I read in some forums that some 286 boards support UMBs and thus can load drivers and TSRs into the upper 384 KiB of conventional memory.
What chipsets support this and do I need special drivers?
11
votes
7answers
5k views
Is there a reason why MS-DOS didn't use more English words for commands?
When using diskpart, I can list all the drives by typing LIST DISK or to select a specific drive I can type select disk 1.
Is there a reason why MS-DOS didn't use more English words to do tasks, for ...
55
votes
3answers
10k views
Why did DOS use dollar-terminated strings?
According to a few tutorials I am seeing, DOS used dollar-terminated strings to write to the terminal. This seems to also be documented here on INT 21H.
AH = 09h - WRITE STRING TO STANDARD OUTPUT
...
14
votes
1answer
3k views
Name this PC DOS Combat Flight Simulator
I'm trying to remember the name of a PC DOS Combat Flight Simulator that I played around 1991/92. I can give the following details:
It was named after a US fighter plane that would have been in ...
3
votes
2answers
430 views
Can DOS boot to a hard drive other than HDA1?
I would like to experiment with DOS and would like to create a bootable partition on my hard drive (SDA) SATA device.
I created a 1G FAT32 formatted partition on my SATA hard drive (SDA) and tried ...
5
votes
1answer
779 views
Copying disk images to Commodore 64 floppy disks
For some time now I have been on a mission to get back into playing games on a Commodore 64. I have bought an original Commodore 64C. I got hold of a original 1541 disk drive. I also got hold of a ...
11
votes
2answers
756 views
Why did MS-DOS choose percent symbol to designate variable?
I couldn't find anything but is there any reason for choosing % over $ like in *nix shells?
26
votes
3answers
7k views
Were 9.2 file names possible in MS-DOS?
In MS-DOS (and FAT16), you could only have 8.3 file names (like QUESTION.TXT) with only single-case letters and numbers (and a few symbols). The MS-DOS Editor also defaulted to 8.3 - typing edit ...
6
votes
1answer
418 views
“Your program is testing for optimal display performance” for older Windows/DOS games
I remember seeing the following a lot when I was younger, and recently saw it again in a DOSbox setting:
For those that haven't seen it, the squiggly red lines shift and undulate quite a bit, and ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
How do I create a boot menu to select between Windows and DOS?
I was not a PC user before Windows 98. But I remember one of my friends was using a boot menu in his 486 machine to select between Windows/DOS.
The menu was like:
1. EMS
2. XMS
3. Windows
If we ...
7
votes
4answers
456 views
An old DOS application that allowed to create cards, posters, invitations, etc
I remember an old (90's) program, run in DOS, that allowed its user to create posters, invitations, cards, etc. It had mouse support and its own GUI with windows, bars, fields, etc.
The work started ...
2
votes
4answers
504 views
Smart computing into MS-DOS? Is it possible?
The building I work in has an MS-DOS computer that runs the building's air system. My boss has asked me to make it so that he can use smart devices to make adjustments remotely.
How much would need ...
14
votes
4answers
2k views
What are my options for multitasking in MS-DOS 5.0 on an 80186 with EMS?
I've got an HP 200LX, which runs DOS 5.0 from ROM, and I'm using EMM200 to provide some EMS from the C: RAM disk (it uses the memory controller to directly map the "disk" blocks into memory, and thus ...
16
votes
2answers
642 views
What are these tiny TSRs doing?
I've been puzzled by this for a while now. The (very old) game Phantasie comes with three small TSRs that are run prior to running the main game executable. This is the content of the file PH.BAT, ...
1
vote
2answers
208 views
Mysterious things happening to stack when running a debug session
When I run a debug session using Freedos and debug.exe, I get a session like the following. I've added a description of what I saw as annotation on the image. Each step, I've printed out the stack ...
47
votes
2answers
10k views
Why is Windows using CRLF and Unix just LF when Unix is the older system?
Windows and MS-DOS use for new lines the control characters CR-LF (carriage return, line feed), while unix uses just LF.
As far as I know CR-LF made sense for systems controlling an real teletyper, ...
8
votes
2answers
297 views
What DOS software can I test a QIC-02 tape drive with?
I got a Wangtek 5150EQ tape drive that connects to a dumb (made of a bunch of 74-series logic chips) 8-bit ISA tape controller card. The controller card has a bunch of DIP switches which I used to ...
1
vote
1answer
319 views
Can I install DOS version 6.22 straight from IBM BASIC?
I accidently deleted my previous version of DOS on my IBM model 8525. I was messing around with it, not knowing much of DOS, and now I'm back to using "IBM BASIC". Would I be able to install DOS 6.22 ...
