MS-DOS

DOS: From Scarborough and Back Again

My first personal computer was a 486 DX2, a machine I proudly purchased with my own savings. I remember the journey to Scarborough to buy it and the challenge of lugging it back to Don Mills. What was I thinking? Although it came with Windows 3.11, I spent most of my time in MS-DOS. Why, you ask? One word: Descent! I spent countless hours tweaking IRQ settings, preparing for LAN battles at school. But I digress! What was your first experience with MS-DOS?

Did you spend hours tinkering with commands, trying to get that perfect game setup, or maybe navigating directories for the first time? MS-DOS was a world of discovery for so many of us, opening doors to programming, games, and maybe even a bit of troubleshooting frustration. Those moments taught us more than we realized!

I particularly remember creating custom interfaces, writing batch scripts, and just exploring what the OS could do. But above all, I remember the endless hours spent configuring apps and games—constant tinkering and fine-tuning to get everything just right.

Interesting Facts:

The system requirements for MS-DOS varied across its versions:

MS-DOS 1.x (1981):

Processor: 8086/8088
Memory: 16 KB RAM
Storage: Floppy disk drive

MS-DOS 2.x (1983):

Processor: 8086/8088
Memory: 24 KB RAM
Storage: Floppy disk drive or hard drive

MS-DOS 3.x (1984):

Processor: 8086/8088
Memory: 32 KB RAM
Storage: Floppy disk drive or hard drive

MS-DOS 4.x (1988):

Processor: 8086/8088
Memory: 64 KB RAM
Storage: Floppy disk drive or hard drive

MS-DOS 5.x (1991):

Processor: 8086/8088
Memory: 256 KB RAM
Storage: Floppy disk drive or hard drive

MS-DOS 6.x (1993):

Processor: 8086/8088
Memory: 512 KB RAM
Storage: Floppy disk drive or hard drive

These requirements reflect the hardware advancements over time, with later versions accommodating more memory and storage options.

Running Stock MS-DOS On A Modern ThinkPad

It might seem like the days of MS-DOS were a lifetime ago because…well, they basically were. Version 6.22 of the venerable operating system, the last standalone release, came out back in 1994. That makes even the most recent version officially 30 years old. A lot has changed in the computing world since that time, so naturally trying to run such an ancient OS on even a half-way modern machine would be a waste of time. Right?

As it turns out, getting MS-DOS 6.22 running on a modern computer isn’t nearly as hard as you’d think. In fact, it works pretty much perfectly.

Click here to read more.

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