Questions tagged [ms-dos]
MS-DOS, the Microsoft Disk Operating System, its OEM-branded versions, and x86 DOS clones in general.
33votes
1answer
3kviews
Was the second copy of the FAT ever used for anything?
As I remember, DOS had to update a backup copy of the FAT with each disk write, which I imagine would have greatly slowed write speed. Yet I don't recall any recovery software that used the second ...
- 4,743
16votes
4answers
4kviews
Did DOS on the early, slow machines ever fail to handle interrupts timely, and what happened if it did?
DOS on the 8088 had to process interrupts and return. If a higher-priority interrupt occurred, the current handler was pushed and the higher-priority interrupt was serviced.4.77 million seems like a ...
- 4,743
5votes
0answers
368views
What's the advantage of replacing DOS/4GW with DOS/32A?
IntroductionAs far as I understand, DOS/4GW was the thing that allowed most games from MS-DOS era to access beyond the 640KB conventional memory limit. (For completeness, there was also EMS and XMS, ...
3votes
0answers
513views
Racing game running on DOS, for up to 4 players, each using a single key for input
I remember a funny DOS game, which I would like to play again.It was able to be played by up to 4 people simultaneously. Each player had exactly 1 key on the keyboard. The only thing required for the ...
- 219
8votes
3answers
2kviews
DOS program for 3D graphics
I occasionally find myself in the situation where I need to build a simple 3D image, and this DOS program I remember would come in very handy. I just cannot find it anywhere. I am not sure if it was ...
- 219
10votes
2answers
2kviews
MS-DOS vector fractal generator?
I'm trying to remember the name of a DOS program I had in about 1990-1992. It used an iterated function system to generate fractal graphics with affine self-similarity, with the classic example being ...
- 409
5votes
1answer
305views
What's the maximum amount of sectors an LBA ROM-BIOS sector read call can access?
I recently added support for multi-sector CHS reads to an experimental fork of my kernel's initial loader, described in https://github.com/SvarDOS/bugz/issues/174I have some space left before the ...
- 1,747
10votes
1answer
2kviews
Why it is that a 64-bit EXE file (PE64) can contain a custom MS-DOS stub (a MZ executable), but not a custom 32-bit Windows stub?
I think the question is self-explanatory. It's way more likely that somebody will accidentally try to run a PE64 executable under 32-bit Windows than that they will try to run it under DOS, so why ...
11votes
1answer
1kviews
In search of 86-DOS ttsr.h and corresponding library
I have returned to tweaking my port of WarpLink, a now public domain 8086 DOS OMF linker. (The ported files build with NASM and WarpLink itself. I run WarpLink using dosemu2 on our amd64 Debian server....
- 1,747
7votes
1answer
434views
How to obtain error message text using MS-DOS interrupt 2Fh service 122Eh?
I'm trying to display error messages like a lot of MS-DOS (4.0+) utilities do. They don't embed messages like "Too many parameters" and "Invalid switch" in the executables, but ...
16votes
1answer
1kviews
How is `SELECT` for MS-DOS 3.30 supposed to be used on 360KB floppy systems?
SELECT was the automatic installation program for MS-DOS 3 and later. SELECT on MS-DOS 3 was not interactive, and was supposed to be invoked with the following syntax:SELECT [[sourceDrive:] ...
- 1,141
-4votes
3answers
438views
Can Microsoft Windows 1.0 run on CPUs older than Intel 8086 with some software patches and hardware modifications? [closed]
Is there was any microprocessor older than Intel 8086 (e.g., Z80, Intel 8080) which can run The Microsoft Windows 1.0 and at least display the GUI without glitches?Also, using software mods, binary ...
- 103
6votes
1answer
1kviews
Is there a way to save the current path to a variable in a batch file in MS-DOS 6.0 without third-party tools?
Solutions such as@ECHO OFFSET MYPATH=%CD%ECHO %MYPATH%work in the CMD of Windows 10 and most likely also in earlier NT-based systems, but unfortunately they did not work in the COMMAND.COM of MS-...
- 1,282
1vote
2answers
582views
How could a program fault disable Ctl-Alt-Del on an 8088 / 286 / 386?
I remember sometimes the system would hang, and Ctl-Alt-Del didn't do anything. How could that happen?Was it simply Application software stealing the keyboard interrupt vector from from the BIOS?...
- 4,743
12votes
1answer
2kviews
What is the purpose of DPMI interrupt 31h function 300h?
In the DOS Protected Mode Interface, int 0x31 function 0x0300 is "Simulate Real Mode Interrupt". I found some documentation that says:You may use this instead of the INT nn opcode to ...
- 223
- The Overflow Blog
- Featured on Meta
Hot Network Questions
- How to run a command in a terminal only if the previous commands succeed?
- How to flip or mirror keyframes horizontally on the X-axis in Graph Editor?
- What is the point of All In?
- What physical changes to the mouth would cause problems with articulation?
- Why optional studs on MTB shoes?
- Using ASCII Art & pxpic
- What is the maximum number of damage types for a single attack?
- If photons are the carriers of the electromagnetic force, why isn't electricity made of photons?
- Dual nationality citizen registering for EES in Switzerland
- strange use of вышел
- When was the symbol "U" first used to denote voltage or electric potential difference?
- Why do my Raspberry Pi 5 SD cards have unwritable partition tables?
- Is there an asymmetric standard applied to zero probability events?
- Sum of the parts
- Not Benny but close
- Bridge Edge Loops not working between 2 clearly defined Edge Loops
- What damages are recoverable for late delivery of a package?
- Creating a spiral
- constexpr self-referencing struct
- What are the events in Parliament Square and Sieges Allee that Woolf refers to in A Room Of One's Own?
- Is a proper wire nut connection possible if wires don’t twist?
- The Worst Possible Chess Move
- Proverb for when one is already in a hurry but the condition wastes even more time
- When exactly does the game clock start during an American football kickoff?