I am buying a new computer, probably will have Win XP on it - want to put DOS on it - I know it won't be on there like my old, old computer that I am using now. How would I install it? - I have NO disks for DOS, etc. It is mandatory I have DOS for my work. Thanks!

Well first you must acquire a copy of dos (prefrably a legal way but we can't tell of the legality of your method). Then you could use third party software to make a primary FAT16 partition and use another third party piece of software (boot manager this time) to allow you to choose which drive to boot to, then install DOS. While this way does work, I have never tried it and probably won't bother. The traditional way to install it would be to make a primary FAT 16 partiton install dos then using an XP cd boot into that and create the rest of your partitions then install XP. Another method which saves time is to use virtual pc software which will emulate an older system (i use MS-VPC2004 with dos and win95 loaded). This can be a bit tricky if you don't know how but saves more time then any other method. I would suggest searchingg the forums for how to do either of these 3 options.

Hi, I've enjoyed evaluating DOS under VMWare very much but i suggest you use reserved partitions for that because this is what i was told to do (on a Yahoo! Group) after i asked how to recover work which was residing inside the .VMDk file and its companions. Stay away from image-files or you might loose your access to the whole DOS system instead of just the data from a damaged block! I also had a short try with Virtual PC but i prefered VMWare bacause it's featured with more virtualized peripheral support; i can't tell what this image-file system is called but i'd bet it comes with its own similar flaws... In any case, beware of those pesky image-files! I really don't think you can afford to gamble with a system for which there's no ScanDisk equivalent!!! In the good old days, we could repair some damaged compressed volume with help from ScanDisk but that doesn't exist under VMWare and most likely Virtual PC as well! The best alternative, as far as i can tell, is a third-party tool capable of reading the .VMDk image-file, if it's working... no garantees it will be able to read a damaged image-file! The name is `UFS Explorer', just in case it is needed. If you value your work, a safer solution is to put Windows 98 on a second Hard-Disk after you swapped drive-letters (in BIOS SetUp) to make it drive C:, disabling Windows XP temporarily as it would stand elsewhere (on a partition with a subsequent drive- letter). Under Windows 98 you have MS-DOS v7.10a: the best DOS you can get, as far as i'm concerned. If you don't like the swappings and you can afford to re-install Windows XP and loose your data, make a BackUp of things you wish to keep and format the Hard-Disk using the FAT-16 or FAT-32 systems (XP's default is NTFS and that's a problem for DOS). It is necessary to create multiple partitions if your drive is too large, MS-DOS should work below 8 Gb, as i recall. Once you finished to install windows 98 on C: (hence DOS v7.10a), setup Windows XP with care as it is likely to trash everything you done: the Windows NT family will accept to work from D;, E: and so on, but one has to edit `Boot.SYS' or he won't get access to W98/DOS, if i'm not mistaking. DOS v7.10a is compatible with FAT-16 partitions if that is what you prefer, for some obscure reasons. It's not that hard to edit `MSDOS.SYS' so that the boot menu so familiar to MS-DOS v6.x guys comes up again. I'm willing to assist with it, plus memory management, so that the system provides sufficient resources (i keep a DOS station in working order). With all that said, you must be aware that there's a number of limitations on a modern computer. For example, a Pascal program fails to work beyond 200 Mhz and the Turbo patches don't always fix this to one's satisfaction... Other problems arise in the presence of WinMoDems and the like, this is one of the areas where VMWare or Virtual PC are precious: the W32 SoftWare-based devices become available to DOS applications run under those as if it were the real thing. What's nice with this is that Windows remains in charge, providing all sorts of goodies, but remember: play safe, use reserved partitions! In conclusion, Virtual PC or VMWare really are the best if you're in a hurry but you need a partition (a real one) if your work must remain safe. Win98 installed in the traditional way, followed by your present Win XP system, offers you DOS support that is as real as it will get. The decision is yours. Salutations, Michel Samson a/s Bicéphale

You can buy a perfectly legal copy of DOS off many places on the internet, including eFray http://computers.listings.ebay.com/Operating-Systems_DOS_W0QQfromZR4QQsacatZ11685QQsocmdZListingItemList

Or, you can just create a primary FAT16/32 partition and: - get a Windows 98 bootdisk - do a sys A: C: (as DOS won't see the NTFS partition, the first FAT one should be C:) - get a better OS loader like the freeware XOSL or the commercial BootMagic (you can configure Boot.ini also, but I prefer XOSL) - copy every DOS utitlity from the Bootdisk (remember to copy the ones in the ramdrive it creates) and the memory managers (HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE). - create the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files accordingly I think that should do it

You can create a small (eg 492 MB) partition for dos. This will become c: The rest of the drive can be an extended partition with NTFS in it. This will be windows XP. Install DOS then Windows XP. XP will see it, and make the DOS into a menu option. Once this is running, you can select from the boot menu which OS to run. The dream you dream alone is only a dream, The dream we dream together is reality.