What is MS-DOS, is it still used, and how is it different from Windows?

MS-DOS was the forerunner of Windows, but what happened? Anyone using MS-DOS?

Before Windows, there was MS-DOS. These are the rather silly names you see on old computers, old software, or similar sites today. But what about MS-DOS? Does it exist on older computers and what happened when Windows arrived?

Anyone using MS-DOS?

What is MS-DOS?

Short for Microsoft Disk Operating System, MS-DOS is also called Microsoft DOS. DOS is basically a "disk operating system" which is a collection of tools and commands to run software from a disk (hard disk or floppy disk) and manage devices (eg formatting).

Additionally, DOS commands will allow you to install and run software. Typically, this will be spreadsheets and word processors; sometimes it will be a game or an art pack.

Today, it's all done using a mouse-driven graphical user interface (GUI) in Windows, or whatever operating system is used. When computers first arrived, DOS—the command line interface—was how you interacted with the machine.

But if you now boot up a computer running MS-DOS, you'll notice two major differences:

1: Can run only one program (no multiplayer programs)

2: No support for user accounts

MS-DOS was released in 1981, and was last released in 2000 in Windows Me. With the advent of Windows 95, MS-DOS was sidelined as a secondary system for running legacy software. Back in the days of Windows XP, MS-DOS was almost non-existent, with only DOS emulations and dependent emergency boot disks. In Windows 10, there is no requirement for an MS-DOS boot disk.

Computers no longer ship with floppy disks. 

When IBM created the first personal computer, it needed a disk operating system. For this, he turned to Microsoft to create PC-DOS.

Many older computers will boot with the phrase PC-DOS displayed on the POST screen. But that changed over time, as IBM ceased to be the only computer manufacturer.

Columbia Data Products was able to turn computer BIOS engineers, and Compaq soon followed suit. Since this is the case, any manufacturer can develop their own BIOS. Taking advantage of this, Microsoft released MS-DOS to IBM's competitors in the PC market.

Thus, both PC-DOS and MS-DOS are produced by Microsoft. It was used in PC-DOS as IBM's original PC market share declined.

MS-DOS and Windows

MS-DOS gave Microsoft a dominant position in the early computer industry. Although it produced disk operating systems for MSX and Commodore, it set its sights on developing the business computing industry.

Microsoft has released office tools for MS-DOS and released Windows 1.0 in 1987. The first version of Windows brought a GUI environment to the PC, something that had been available on Apple and Amiga computers for years.

As Windows matured with each version, the use of MS-DOS decreased. When Windows 95 arrived, plus the web browser, it was the beginning of the end for MS-DOS. Computers no longer log into MS-DOS; instead, it entered Windows.

Windows 95 and 98 retain an MS-DOS mode that can be switched from a GUI. This includes legacy software and modern titles, many of which were released without Windows support.

What is an emergency boot disk?

To install Windows 95, I need a boot disk and installation media (a number of 13.5-inch diskettes, but shipped on CD-ROM). If the operating system fails, Windows can be reinstalled using the boot disk.

Windows 95 and later (up to Windows 8.1) can create an emergency boot disk. This includes basic MS-DOS files that make it easy to reinstall Windows.

In short, you will insert a boot disk into the computer that will allow you to install the operating system. So it will reinstall Windows if installation media is available.

Until Windows XP, it relied on a boot disk to install the operating system. Starting with Windows XP, only the installation media is required, while an emergency boot disk can be created for system recovery purposes.

How the command prompt replaced the MS-DOS prompt

You may be familiar with the Windows Command Prompt. It is a black box for command line interface with Windows PC or laptop. (You can open it by pressing WIN + R, then type cmd and click OK.)

Its appearance goes back to the last days of MS-DOS; Windows 95 and 98 can switch to MS-DOS mode or switch to a command prompt.

Back then it was called MS-DOS Query - you can still work with one that points to it.

As a result, legacy support for MS-DOS was eventually removed from Windows, so the command line became popular. This in turn is done by Windows PowerShell.

You can emulate MS-DOS and DOSBox

With this MS-DOS dialog, you may wonder if there is still a way to use it.You don't need an old computer to experience MS-DOS.

Since 2002, it has been possible to emulate the MS-DOS environment with DOSBox. It is possible to run old software with DOSBox on modern computers (ie MS-DOS titles released between 1981 and 2001).

Although the DOSBox project was originally intended to run all DOS software, it was mainly used for games. Our guide to playing retro games on DOSBox will show you how.

MS-DOS is now open source and on GitHub

Aware of the importance of MS-DOS, Microsoft finally released versions 1.25 and 2.0 on GitHub, mainly "for testing purposes". Microsoft is listed as accepting the Open Source Terms of Conduct. Microsoft is a significant development as an exponent of historically closed sources.

Experimentation and testing with MS-DOS is allowed, but note that this is an early version. The last release of MS-DOS was Windows Me 8.0.

So what if you want to download MS-DOS and install it on your old computer?

Need an OS for your old computer? Try FreeDOS

Let's say you have an old computer from the 1990s and you want to use it. It makes no sense to run the software now because things have changed. However, this device has 20 years of software running.

But there is one problem: an unbootable HDD means you have to reinstall the operating system. Since the open source version of MS-DOS is not useful for software produced after 1990, you need an alternative.

That's where FreeDOS comes in. FreeDOS is open source software distributed under the GNU General Public License. FreeDOS can be installed if your old computer or laptop has a CD-ROM drive. We also have a boot disk if needed. For more modern systems, FreeDOS can be installed from a USB drive.

FreeDOS can be downloaded to a computer and run in a virtual machine. It works like MS-DOS because it replaces it. As you can see in the video, you can write programs in FreeDOS.

MS-DOS: Relic from the Early Usable Computer Era

It's amazing how software developed 40 years ago continues to be influential. Without MS-DOS, the computer wouldn't shut down; It won't be Microsoft Windows.

This is a gift that we can use MS-DOS, or we can use open source, DOSBox or FreeDOS. Therefore, many applications and games can be revised in the MS-DOS operating system and its variants. You can buy it from GOG.com and install it on a modern computer (thanks to DOSBox technology), or a Microsoft DOS-based computer.