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Questions tagged [ms-dos]

MS-DOS was the most popular operating system for desktop PCs until the mid-1990s. Do not use this tag for questions about Windows command line programs or scripts.

10 votes
3 answers
478 views

Is it better to turn off computer or power continuously to keep ancient 1990 harddrive alive (MSDOS 6.22 )

I want to extend the life of this harddrive as much as possible because I found it nearly impossible to clone. It is running MSDOS 6.22. 110mb harddrive from 1990. The computer is only utilized 1 ...
Philip Nguyen's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
6k views

How to clone ancient hard drive? (Year 1990, has MS DOS)

I cant see it as a drive in Norton Ghost15. When I go to the "Backup my computer" option, no drive is displayed for the drive I am trying to clone/backup. But I see the harddrive in the BIOS. I can ...
Philip Nguyen's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
10k views

MS-DOS "Divide Overflow" error

When I attempt an installation of an application in MS-DOS, I receive the following error: "Divide Overflow." What is the meaning of this error and how do I fix it? The install procedure is: ...
repozitor's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
1k views

How can I run a (16-bit) .COM executable that has been renamed to .COS?

I'm trying to run a couple of 16-bit legacy DOS programs from a standard Windows XP DOS prompt. The problem is that the file extensions have been renamed from .COM to .COS and they are stored on read-...
max16bit's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
7k views

Floppy drive doesn’t work in Windows, but does outside of Windows

Problem My (internal) floppy drive does not work in Windows (neither XP nor 7). That is, when trying to access the A: drive, nothing occurs, no light, no motor, nothing. It does however work in DOS, ...
Synetech's user avatar
  • 69k
0 votes
1 answer
489 views

Is there a “FORCMD” variable (like “DIRCMD”, “COPYCMD”, etc.)?

The dir command checks for a dircmd environment variable for default arugments to use. Likewise, the copy and move commands check copycmd. Is there a corresponding variable (by any name) for the for ...
Synetech's user avatar
  • 69k
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

DOS application to allow remote management of files over serial link

Harken back to the days of MS-DOS 6.22. I have an embedded DOS handheld device, and I'm looking for a tool to manage the files stored on it. I picture an application I can launch on the device that ...
tomlogic's user avatar
  • 185
3 votes
6 answers
28k views

How to list all files on all hard drives with output in MS-DOS batch?

How can I list all files (including system and hidden) on all hard drives (not removable drives)? I think in something like a: dir -a -h *.* /s > file.txt but this is for the specific drive ...
Leandro Bardelli's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
46k views

How to input automatically in BATch file on DOS?

I want to run a command that prompt for an argument, can I do a BATch file that run this command and then wait for a sec and "write" or "type" automatically (like a live person) the argument? Thanks.
Leandro Bardelli's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

Set DOS console mode (40 character mode)

How exactly would you set the DOS console to 40 character mode (which I believe looks like this)? I know you can do it, as in old games like ZZT.
Nick's user avatar
  • 5
5 votes
3 answers
4k views

CPU running at full capacity when boot to DOS?

Does the CPU is run at 100% or near full capacity when the computer is booted into MS-DOS? Will the CPU temperature become higher even though we are not running any program in DOS mode? In Windows, ...
Kevin H's user avatar
  • 344
8 votes
3 answers
5k views

Using Win32 in DOS

Is there a way that I can start the Win32 environment or run Win32 programs from DOS without starting the Windows GUI? I'm using a Windows 98 PC that is booted into DOS mode from a floppy disk. EDIT:...
StackUnderflow's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
459 views

Online Virtual Enviornments for Old Operating Systems

I often need to run software on old operating systems (e.g. Windows 95, Windows 98, MS-DOS). Currently I have a bunch of old hardware that runs these machines but I was wondering if there was a better ...
speedplane's user avatar
  • 1,591
4 votes
2 answers
17k views

How to run the command prompt minimized?

I'm trying to run cmd in min mode, like cmd /k start notepad && exit. I tried c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe /k start /min notepad && exit. But it opens the cmd and then opens notepad. ...
user02847's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
334 views

In FAT12/16 on DOS and Windows, what extensions are used for directories?

In a FAT entry, among other things, we have the extension field. What values are commonly used in the extension fields for directories? Google fails me.
AndrejaKo's user avatar
  • 17.1k

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