Questions tagged [os2]

For questions regarding IBM's operating system OS/2.

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24 votes
3 answers
7k views

Was OS/2 a viable alternative for daily DOS and Windows tasks?

After playing a bit with the OS, a question sparked my interest: Could it entirely replace DOS and Windows ? Let's restrict the scope of this question a bit since it's fairly broad, Was it ...
34 votes
3 answers
5k views

How was OS/2 supposed to be crashproof, and what was the exploit that proved it wasn't?

I seem to remember that IBM claimed one of its versions of OS/2 was crashproof. I believe they specifically said it was "crashproof" or some similar term to indicate that it would never ...
4 votes
0 answers
170 views

Best way to recover OS/2 1.3 installation from bad NIC driver

I have OS/2 1.3 Extended installed on a 286 and after installing a NIC driver for LAN Manager, a trap is generated during startup when the NIC driver is loaded and it halts. I suspect the driver is ...
6 votes
1 answer
284 views

Boot and run OS/2 1.x from floppy to run a few command-line tools

How (by doing which steps) can I boot and run OS/2 1.x from a boot floppy, without installing it to a hard drive? As a way to do this, is it possible to go to the command prompt from within the ...
4 votes
1 answer
502 views

Initial contents of CPU registers at OS/2 1.x program startup

What are the initial contents of CPU registers at OS/2 1.x program startup? I know that CS, IP, DS, SS and SP are initialized based on the NE header. But what about the other registers? Are they ...
12 votes
2 answers
2k 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, ...
46 votes
1 answer
6k views

Which "very esoteric processor instructions" are used by OS/2?

According to the Oracle VirtualBox 6.0 manual, "Certain rare guest operating systems like OS/2 make use of very esoteric processor instructions that are not supported with our software ...
33 votes
2 answers
3k views

How many OS/2 viruses were there?

When I was in college, I remember IBM representatives trying to sell OS/2 Warp to students and teachers by saying that there were no (known) viruses for OS/2. (Of course, that didn't stop the makers ...
20 votes
4 answers
3k views

Are there statements from IBM insiders revealing why OS/2 was dropped?

In the early to mid-90s I was an OS/2 user and supporter. The operating system was originally jointly developed by both Microsoft and IBM. Both companies claimed it was the future, including public ...
8 votes
1 answer
424 views

What was IBM’s early attempt at an OS/2 office suite?

I definitely remember that sometime after OS/2 was introduced - while it was still in its very early days - after the breakup from Microsoft, long before Warp - IBM announced with great fanfare a ...