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Hi,
i haven't done anything with DOS for a couple of years and have now a project where i would need a DOS.What is the best DOS right now?
Could somebody please post what DOS is good and for what?Mostly i care for stability, features and size, but i'm also interested in anything else, you may can tell me.
PS: With "which DOS" i don't mean which MS-DOS!
PTS DOS 32 and DRDOS 8 are the two commercial versions which have had recent updates, and as far as I am aware will probably be the last.
Other versions of DOS are listed at:
http://www.mwpms.uklinux.net/page1.htm
FreeDOS is reasonably stable whilst the OpenDOS enhancement project has bought this older version of DRDOS up-to-date.
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It really depends on what you want to do:
DOS versions fall into two main groups.
GROUP ONE - FAT16
MS-DOS 6x
(been around for a few years, but still does the job)
PC-DOS 7x
(including PC-DOS 2000)
DR-DOS 7x
(avialable as a Free Downlownload)All the above are FAT16 versions that work well on older machines with Drives or Partitions up to and including 2 GigaByte.
They come with differing extras, PC-DOS being the best for Laptops since it comes with PCMCIA (Cardbus) support as standard.GROUP TWO - FAT32
MS-DOS 7x
(not retail, but adaptable for standalone use)
PTS-DOS 32
(aimed at ROM Market, but works OK on a harddrive)
and just released:
DR-DOS 8.0
(more or less a FAT32 version of DR-DOS 7.23)This second group are FAT32 versions capable of running on harddrives far greater than 2 Gigabytes, and also have Long File Name (LFN)
As to which is best, Its hard to say. I would say PC-DOS in the FAT16 Group (Pity they have not released a FAT32 version) and possibly DR-DOS 8.0 in the FAT32 Group. I have tested it and it works in much the same way as the 7x versions but with Large Disk Support.
Microsoft and IBM are really letting themselves down by not releasing FAT32 versions to the public. As pointed out above MS-DOS (aka WinDOS) 7.10 works very well as a standalone DOS, but cannot be licensed, which for some, leaves it of the list.
There are some other versions of DOS. Which I list on my PowerLoad Site under 'Other DOS's'
Please reply with a message to let us all know we are on the right track...
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MS-DOS 7.1 and DR-DOS 7.0X have already been around when i last worked with DOS.
Has there really been so little development?Eventhough FAT32 is not really required, it would be nice to have it, just in case someone changes the project parameters
What about the more exotic DOSes?
Someone wrote that ROM-DOS would be the most feature rich DOS today. Is this true?
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ROM-DOS 6.22 & 7.1 are marketed by DataLight:
http://www.datalight.com/
ROM-DOS as the name implies is like PTS-DOS primarily intended for Embedded Systems, but works well from a Floppy or Harddrive as well. ROM-DOS is a FAT32 DOS with Long File Name Support, and you can purchase SOCKETS a DOS based TCP/IP Stack add-on if needed.
Please reply with a message to let us all know we are on the right track...
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All versions of MS-DOS are officially dead since Dec 31, 2002. So no version of MS-DOS can be licenced or supported by M$.
DR-DOS 8.0 is just a DRDOS8 boot disk (like the one I sent to Mick C for him to test with), plus all the original files from DR-DOS 7.03 (basically in the same way as DR-DOS 7.05 OEM boot disk + DR-DOS 7.05 files). Hence it's not really a "full version", but a compilation of DR-DOS the files. Therefore, almost all it tools are still not compatible with FAT32 or LFN (Long File Names).
PTS-DOS has a couple of major problems. See my earlier posts for more information.
In comparison, ROM-DOS 7.10 works a little better than most other types of DOS. However, it has several compatibility issues as well, e.g. some files are not FAT32/LFN compatible; serious UMB memory problems; and most important, you can't start Win9x from ROM-DOS. Therefore, I cannot use it as my main DOS although I do like it.
---------------
Long Live DOS!
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If i understand you right, i have only two choices.
1. Stick with FAT16 and use an old 7.0x DR-DOS.
2. If i wanna use FAT32, i need to get some Win98 licences on ebay and use MS-DOS 7.10.
Since all other DOSes are unuseable. Right?
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To install and use MS-DOS 7.10 legally, you'd better have a Win9x licence. Users should always keep in mind that no versions of MS-DOS are still supported by M$. I do remember that someone who installed MS-DOS 7.10 (standalone) told me when he contacted M$ for some info, he got no response from them, and probably never will.
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Long Live DOS!
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I know that i would need a licence, it's not for a hobby project.
The questions is: Is my asumption above right, or not?
(I need a DOS with as much features as possible so we have less to implement ourselfs, but we will not run any 3d party gui. Like winxx.
The DOS should be, at least in itself stable and not crash itself without the help of 3d party software.
Of course it would be great if the DOS would work with all/most available enhancements without problems. ;-))Which DOS would you suggest Wengier?
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DaRanger,
In fact, MS-DOS is no longer licenceable, no matter what version it is (M$ thinks MS-DOS is dead). For personal uses, you may install DOS without a license (yet you'd better have one). But of course, things are different for business uses.
"Which DOS would you suggest Wengier?"
I feel that on today's modern computers, if a DOS has no FAT32 or LBA Large Disk support, then there is no point. Have a look at the following review page for different types of FAT32 and LBA compatible DOS.
http://newdos.yginfo.net/dosfat32.htm
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Long Live DOS!
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Thanks for the link. The notes about the stability and compatibility were very helpful.
But since our DOS system will end up in a 'computer' without a harddisk. LBA support is not really needed. ;-)
I voted for DOS as the basis OS because the whole environment should take up as little space as possible and DOS is better in that than Linux.
A point i did prove very effectivly by presenting one of my old Boot Disks, with OS, GUI, grafical browser and TCP stack on it. Something that could not be done in Linux.
But i would have preferred a non MS DOS, because of it's enormous size compared to other DOSes.
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Good. For older systems, FAT16-only DOS is fine; for newer systems, FAT32-compatible DOS is recommanded. I hope that a non MS-DOS can do the job, too. MS-DOS is dead, as said by M$.
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Long Live DOS!
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