Questions tagged [ms-dos]
MS-DOS, the Microsoft Disk Operating System, and its OEM-branded versions. Use [dos] instead for the x86 DOS family in general.
184
questions
17
votes
1answer
2k views
Did the original MS-DOS Quake not have a menu item for “freemouse”, and if so, why?
I know that Quake (the 1996 MS-DOS game) is a "full 3D" engine, and always had some kind of "mouse support".
However, even the original Wolfenstein 3D from 1992 also had mouse ...
7
votes
1answer
315 views
Monitor can't display boot/DOS video mode making dual boot impossible
I have an HP ZR24w monitor connected via HDMI input to a newer custom machine running Win7, and via VGA input to an older Micron machine running Win98SE. I use the monitor's "source" setting ...
5
votes
1answer
181 views
How to output a blank line from a batch file - Atari Portfolio
I'm am trying to make a batch script on the Atari Portfolio which uses DIP-DOS 2.11 (pretty similar to MS-DOS 2.11). I need to put a blank line in my file and it won't work. I have tried echo., echo/, ...
14
votes
1answer
731 views
Why can MS-DOS not read partitions starting at logical sector 0?
When creating a FAT file system, mtools and newer versions of mkfs.fat write a stub MBR partition table to the boot sector. This makes the file system accessible when written directly to media that ...
4
votes
1answer
347 views
Which MS DOS program implemented the “Methinks it is like a weasel” evolutionary algorithm?
In the late 1980s I had a set of 3.5" floppy disks which contained some games like Sleuth, Centipede, Space War, and Sopwith. Also present was a program that I think was called "weasel",...
3
votes
2answers
190 views
PS/2 Keyboard not working on Windows 95 and MS-DOS
I received a Packard Bell Multimedia 550 and it came with Windows 95. The problem is that keyboard input was not coming through. Before it attempts to boot into Windows 95, it shows the safemode ...
9
votes
1answer
643 views
What's the easiest way to change from MS-DOS 6.22 to DR-DOS?
I am trying to find a way to do task-switching/swapping (not necessarily multi-tasking) in a DOS environment. I have tried DesqView under DOS 6.22 but I don't have any real success.
I hear that DR-DOS ...
14
votes
3answers
2k views
Why did SMARTDRV have to be started with /x when DOS started?
In the default autoexec.bat for DOS 6.22, you see these lines:
C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE /X
@ECHO OFF
PROMPT $P$G
PATH C:\DOS
SET TEMP = C:\DOS
According to this source, /X disables write-behind caching. ...
14
votes
1answer
406 views
Is there a way to cut idle CPU usage under Multitasking MS-DOS 4.0?
The operating system variously known as ‘Multitasking MS-DOS 4.0’ or ‘European MS-DOS’, to avoid confusion with the better-known single-tasking MS-DOS 4.0, has the mildly irritating flaw that it doesn’...
2
votes
1answer
258 views
Microsoft C 6, far pointer, cast to int, warning C4047
Trying to access one byte in memory using segment/offset, like this
union REGS in, out;
struct SEGS segs;
int v;
char _far* p;
...
int86x(...,&in,&out,&segs);
p = (segs.es << 16) + ...
30
votes
3answers
3k views
How can I play QBasic Nibbles on a modern machine?
MS-DOS versions 5 and 6 come bundled with the QBasic interpreter and a handful of example programs written in that BASIC dialect. One of the programs is Nibbles, a variant of the well-known Snake game....
5
votes
2answers
516 views
How 3Dfx Voodoo 1 Emulator works
reading of this question brings up 3Dfx Voodoo 1 Emulator in my memories. I always wandered how did it work so good time as any to ask...
My memory is hazy on the details so I might miss remember ...
4
votes
1answer
252 views
Use a USB mouse for DOS games
I have a Thinkpad T41 on which I installed Windows 98 SE.
I installed an old DOS game, and was wondering if I could get a USB mouse to work with it ? (the PC doesn't have a PS/2 port)
At the moment, ...
5
votes
2answers
204 views
How to get Terminate running in DOSEMU on recent machines? [duplicate]
When trying to run http://www.terminate.com/ under http://www.dosemu.org/, I get Runtime Error 200.
I know that this is a well known issue with software compiled with Turbo / Borland Pascal and using ...
25
votes
5answers
3k views
What really is a sound card driver in MS-DOS?
To my knowledge, neither MS-DOS nor BIOS offers any kind of API for sound cards. Therefore the concept of a "driver" is absent, as we know it today. Apart from accessories and sample files ...
-1
votes
1answer
287 views
How were console games ported to DOS?
Many popular DOS games were ported from video game consoles:
Earthworm Jim
Mega Man
The Lion King
The Lost Vikings
Turrican 2
Rayman
Oscar
Zool
Video game consoles generally have wildly different ...
23
votes
3answers
12k views
Why was “C:” chosen for the first hard drive partition?
I was reading this answer, as the question came to my mind: why does C: indicate the first hard drive partition?
The usage dates back to CP/M (as noted in a comment), was embraced by MS-DOS, and ...
2
votes
1answer
382 views
How to remove Virus:DOS/V_Sign from a DOS 6.22 system
Fresh install of dos 6.22, unfortunately there appears to be a virus in MBR, each time I get Virus:DOS/V_Sign when re-using floppy from this machine. I can't connect HDD to modern PC, any idea how I ...
12
votes
1answer
813 views
Difference between INT 0x20 and INT 0x21 (0x4C)?
Checking the MS-DOS interrupt list we see INT 0x20 "Terminate the program" (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS_API) but if we check the same page we see INT 0x21 with function 0x4C will &...
3
votes
1answer
250 views
Does there exist a MPU-401 to OPL3 TSR for MS-DOS?
There are a few games for MS-DOS with music only through MPU-401, like the platformer Abuse and the RPG Avalon.
Is there a TSR available that intercepts MPU-401 port accesses and transforms them into ...
6
votes
1answer
460 views
SSH for DOS / Win 3.1
Is there an SSH client for DOS 6.22 or Windows 3.1 that supports certificates and could be used to connect to AWS or Azure instances, or any other server for that matter? I have another laptop ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Why does changing a DOS/Windows EXE cause it to not run? [closed]
If I hex-edit an EXE for DOS or Windows, by adding or removing some text for example, it will no longer run.
If I just change a single char around to a different one, it may run.
Is this some anti-...
10
votes
3answers
613 views
How can I boot or extract files from an IBM PS/1 with a DoubleSpace-compressed hard drive?
I’m trying to boot an old IBM PS/1, mostly with the intention to read out its hard disk. I realized quickly that the original floppy disk drive was broken, so I replaced it with a Gotek floppy ...
2
votes
2answers
219 views
Why isn't this invocation of XMS function Move EMB 0Bh in Turbo C correct?
Following on from my last question, I cannot get Move Extended Memory Block (Function 0Bh) working in Turbo C 2.01.
The following main.c contains only the minimum functions: get the XMS driver pointer,...
8
votes
2answers
649 views
How can I malloc() a block that's guaranteed to lie within a single DMA segment in Turbo C 2.01?
I'm following root42's videos about DOS programming using Turbo C 2.01. I've written my own Soundblaster 1.xx driver following the Creative Labs documentation, and I'm confused about memory allocation....
9
votes
3answers
2k views
What did the SELECT command do in DOS?
The introduction to Greg Harvey’s DOS for Dummies: Quick Reference (also subtitled Command Reference in the first edition) contains this passage:
This book not only gives you the lowdown on each and ...
3
votes
1answer
358 views
Does anyone have information about the nj32disk.sys driver?
I'm currently trying to use the nj32disk.sys driver to use my USB stick as a virtual hard drive. The problem is that the driver acts like a floppy disk. My question is: Is there a documentation about ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
Disassembling Windows IO.SYS
Under the question How did Windows ME "cripple" DOS?, Ross Ridge's answer showed a section of his disassembly.
I would like to know, a) what disassembler was used and b) what adjustment or ...
5
votes
1answer
425 views
Which were the best selling early MS-DOS PCs apart from the IBM PC?? [closed]
The IBM PC in 1981 was rapidly followed by a rich ecosystem of computers with x86 CPUs running MS-DOS, not all of which were compatible at the hardware level.
There is a list of some early MS-DOS ...
12
votes
3answers
2k views
What was the second most common incompatibility in MS-DOS machines? [closed]
When the IBM PC was released, it did not take long for people to figure out that there would be a big market for compatible machines.
The first wave relied on MS-DOS as the compatibility layer. The ...
4
votes
1answer
268 views
Are there any copies of ICL MS-DOS 4.1 available for emulation?
The first PC I ever owned was the ICL DRS PWS 300 as described in this press release. It was originally supplied with a copy of multitasking MS-DOS 4.1 (and Windows 1.0, which isn't mentioned in the ...
32
votes
4answers
5k views
Why was 'echo on' chosen as the default setting within batch scripts in MS-DOS?
In my experience, just about every single MS-DOS (and thus Windows cmd) batch file starts with the line @echo off, to silently switch off echoing of the commands in the batch file to the console. This ...
5
votes
1answer
288 views
What is the format of the static libraries shipping with legacy Microsoft C for DOS?
I have installed Microsoft C 5.10 on DOS 6.22. It created a 'LIB' directory with static libraries to link against. Now I need to extract the symbols and the code for the functions from them, but can't ...
5
votes
2answers
693 views
Is there any virtual hard disk driver over serial port?
NOTE: I'm not looking for a way to transfer files from Linux to DOS over Serial cable
Is there any MS-DOS driver to enable a new hard-disk drive (let's say D:), using a disk image on another computer ...
4
votes
1answer
581 views
What is the memory layout in MS-DOS
I know that when an .COM file is loaded, DOS loads its contents into memory, sets the segment registers (CS, DS and SS) to point to the 64KB segment and then performs a jmp to the starting address. ...
17
votes
1answer
3k views
How did large .COM files work?
An MS-DOS .com file is just raw code/data without header, thus no linking information, and was limited to be loaded into just one segment (64kB). That's the reason corrupted binaries would print "...
6
votes
2answers
943 views
Are .COM executable binaries real mode or protected mode?
Windows and DOS binary executable files with the .EXE extension have an MZ header in them and nowadays also a PE header.
But before these there used to also be .COM binary executable files and they ...
2
votes
1answer
733 views
Looking for a strange DOS database GUI that ran on 286+
I have recently been getting into older apps from when I was a kid; one of these was this strange DOS shipping(?) database GUI that ran on at least a 286, but looked like Windows 3.1; however when you ...
6
votes
4answers
566 views
C/C++ UI library similar to Visual Basic for DOS
I'm looking for a UI library that offers a similar "experience" to that provided by Microsoft's infamous, Visual Basic for DOS RAD environment.
I mean, it's such a compelling environment, ...
18
votes
2answers
2k views
How does Windows 9x determine which disk drivers correspond to which BIOS disks/DOS drive letters?
Windows 9x can employ two kinds of disk drivers: native protected-mode drivers and compatibility-mode DOS drivers, and the former are used in preference to the latter whenever possible. When Windows ...
11
votes
2answers
1k views
What physical size and density floppies are the intermediate-capacity options for the /F switch of the DOS/Windows/OS/2 FORMAT command meant for?
In MS-DOS 5.0 and newer, PC-DOS 5.0 and newer, Windows 9x, Windows NT 3.1-2000, and OS/2 4.x, the FORMAT command (present in some form or another in literally every single version of Q/86-/MS-/PC-DOS, ...
11
votes
3answers
1k views
How can I access/use memory outside of the standard 1 MB address range of MS-DOS?
How do you access more memory (above the 1MB) in DOS if the 640KB of conventional memory are not enough?
I have read a lot about this, but I couldn't figure out how to do this in actual code. Is ...
5
votes
1answer
692 views
When will the copyrights on various versions of Windows and DOS expire?
Related to question
What is the best way to obtain old versions of MS-DOS and Windows?
When will the copyrights on various versions of Windows and DOS expire?
Once they expire I presume one could ...
47
votes
1answer
10k views
What is the context of the button “Is MS DOS a feminist?”
I just saw this button in the Computer History Museum, and I'm wondering what is the context?
Context removed, "Is MS DOS a feminist?" is about the most non-sequitur thing I've seen.
8
votes
4answers
2k views
Imaging a HDD from DOS over Serial
I have recently fixed an old IBM Clone, which has an MFM hard drive. The PC booted up fine, but then I saw, that a few years back, I have deleted a few important files (probably by mistake). The ...
2
votes
1answer
312 views
Kermit pauses when switching between apps in windows 3.1
I wrote a batch file which sends some files over a serial port in Windows 3.1, using kermit.exe.
The problem is: when the user switches between apps, the kermit batch will freeze till the next time ...
56
votes
7answers
9k views
Why did the MS-DOS API choose software interrupts for its interface?
Access to the DOS API was done through the INT 21h x86 instruction. This was always counter-intuitive to me, coming from 8-bit systems that accessed system services by calling subroutines through a ...
2
votes
1answer
768 views
How to configure NETWORK and TCP on a DOS VM
I'm trying to install and use the Arachne broswer under DOS (6.22). I've DOS installed on VirtualBox VM (5.2.34) under Linux Ubuntu (4.15.0-88-generic #88-Ubuntu).
I'm in trouble in configuring ...
8
votes
2answers
404 views
Why does MS-DOS 5.0 EDIT hang on my XT-class machine with a German 102-key keyboard?
Most times whene I call EDIT on my XT-class machine with MS-DOS 5.0 installed on the hard disk, the menus of EDIT appear, but the window that should contain the file contents stays blank and the ...
20
votes
6answers
4k views
Sound driver for DOS or Windows 3.x that used the PC speaker?
Long ago in a galaxy far far away, back in the early 90's, I worked for a crappy clone company as a phone technician. At the time, 386SX/25's were common for in-house technical support / customer ...
