The floppy disk contains the oldest version of 86-DOS thought to still exist. Although long-abandoned for far more advanced successors, MS-DOS remains a pivotal piece of computer history. Released to ...

Unlock the full InfoQ experience by logging in! Stay updated with your favorite authors and topics, engage with content, and download exclusive resources. In this episode, Thomas Betts chats with ...

In context: Back in 1980, Tim Paterson was creating a new operating system he called QDOS or Quick and Dirty Operating System. The system was later renamed 86-DOS, as it was being designed to run on ...

The first step is getting DOS 6.22, the most recent version released in 1994, set up with all the drivers and software needed to access the Internet. At the time of its release there were many ...

Microsoft’s MS-DOS (and its IBM-branded counterpart, PC DOS) eventually became software juggernauts, powering the vast majority of PCs throughout the ’80s and serving as the underpinnings of Windows ...

Microsoft has open-sourced another bit of computing history this week: The company teamed up with IBM to release the source code of 1988’s MS-DOS 4.00, a version better known for its unpopularity, ...

30 years ago today, Microsoft bought the rights to the Quick and Dirty OS, re-branded it as MS-DOS, struck a deal with IBM, and made history. Share on Facebook (opens in a new window) Share on X ...

The company worked with IBM to release a 1998 uncompiled version DOS 4.0 on Thursday, although unfortunately, this release lacks the app-switching capabilities that landed it the nickname MT-DOS.

TL;DR: Microsoft will likely never release the original source code of Windows into the wild, but the company is clearly interested in sharing important episodes of its software development history.

Reader Steve P. sends in this question: “I’m running Windows 2000 and want to upgrade my system BIOS. The instructions say to create a bootable disk with the format a:/s command. However, the /s doesn ...

ChatGPT can be accessed with a few clicks of the mouse in a web browser, but one tinkerer decided to get the chatbot answering questions on an IBM PC running MS-DOS. That tinkerer is Yeo Kheng Meng, ...

That's precisely what Yeo Kheng Meng has managed to do, even though DOS does not have native networking capabilities. The machine in question is the vintage IBM 5155 Portable PC, first released in ...