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.

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How to calculate the minimum number of bytes required for the minimum FAT32 partition?

From experimentation with newfs_msdos, I determined that the minimum number of bytes required to create a FAT32 partition is 34089472. One byte less and the program complains: $ newfs_msdos -F 32 -c ...
Roxy's user avatar
  • 379
0 votes
0 answers
27 views

How to get 1 field of the output of a DOS script?

I have a DOS script get_resolution.bat. This writes out the resolution info of an image file. Eg: >get_resolution.bat image_file.jpg Resolution = 400 x 400 DPI Now I need the 3th field, the ...
Francky Leyn's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
252 views

*NIX getopt alike for DOS

I want to write a DOS script with multiple optional option flags. I have to parse these optional options. An example: get_resolution.bat /? get_resolution.bat /h input.jpg get_resoltion.bat /v ...
Francky Leyn's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
554 views

DOS moving specific .xml file extension [duplicate]

I want to move my .xml files from a directory (let's call it "from") to another (we'll call it "to") but using wildcards moves unwanted files like .xml_. How can I move them while being specific about ...
A Box Of Cheese's user avatar
19 votes
4 answers
16k views

Which characters are invalid for an MS-DOS filename?

I'm writing a filename I/O procedure in x86-16 assembly language. It takes eight characters (I don't need to support long filenames) from the keyboard and prints them to an on-screen text input field. ...
My life is a bug.'s user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
489 views

Is it possible to boot from a Dos 6.22 USB drive... on a mac pro?

Using UNetBootin, I've made a bootable DOS 6.22 usb drive from a dos 6.22 bootdisk ISO. The drive is a 4gb FAT32 drive, formatted on a windows machine. Is there anyway to boot a 2013 Mac Pro ...
NoCarrier's user avatar
  • 3,507
3 votes
1 answer
450 views

How to get the full path to an executable which is invoked from one of the directories in %PATH%

Let's say I have an executable that I can invoke in Cmd.exe regardless of what directory I'm in because the executable's directory resides in one of the directories specified in %PATH%. So: C:\Users\...
rory.ap's user avatar
  • 496
4 votes
1 answer
2k views

How do I move a series of files to a parallel folder structure in windows 10

I've a folder that has both image and video folders which I want to separate into separate folders based on the file type. I want this to be a script so that i can re run it when more files are ...
user1605665's user avatar
  • 1,089
2 votes
2 answers
770 views

Adding DOS 6.22 boot partition within Linux fails

I'm in the process of adding a small MS-DOS partition to my computer used mainly for testing old custom hardware with QuickBasic. Yes I still use the parallel port. I did manage to create a bootable ...
Mike -- No longer here's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
2k views

Substring a variable with two percent in a .bat file

I faced a problem trying to implement a .bat file and I didn't find an answer. I try to display all folder names without the system path. I've tried something like that but it doesn't work. @echo ...
NicoFC34's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
351 views

special laptop with DOS, XP and 7: SSD or HDD?

I am setting up a laptop with special OS and Software. OS will be DOS, Windows XP, Windows 7, drivers are available for XP. Can I use a SSD? Is it safe using a SSD? Would DOS/XP destroy the SSD if ...
kelmat's user avatar
  • 390
0 votes
1 answer
281 views

Microsoft Word - Margins for MS-Dos Text File

We run a DOS based database program. We are using vDos (plug: great program for those who need 16 bit DOS support on a 64 bit OS). Instead of printing direct to a printer (LPT1, LPT2, etc) we print to ...
Jonathan L's user avatar
-3 votes
1 answer
2k views

How to find out a laptop is 32 or 64 bit using DOS? [closed]

I bought one HP laptop, it only came up with DOS installed. How do I get to know its 32 bit or 64 bit? I am sure HP guys can help me out but I want to know a way to find it out via DOS. More info: ...
paul's user avatar
  • 167
0 votes
0 answers
49 views

Renaming set of files in multiple folders in Windows command line [duplicate]

I have a 320 folders each having a set of two files: FilenameA.wav FilenameB.txt. In each folder, I want to rename the .wav file based on the name of the .txt file in the same folder: FilenameA....
Samy Oh's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

How can I cd to a long path in DOS 6.22?

I have a legacy PC which I have installed DOS 6.22 onto. I'm not sure what specific version this is, but it had CD drivers included, so I'm suspecting it wasn't exactly "bare bones". I created a CD ...
Bartek Banachewicz's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
290 views

Bluetooth command to turn off in the Bios

I'm trying figure out how to turn off Bluetooth in the bios using a DOc command. Is that possible? I know you can get the computer serial number doing that.Thanks in advance.
TimELock's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
2k views

Run .pif in DOSBOX

I'm trying to run a .pif file in dosbox. I tried typing the name of the file followed by the extension(like game.pif), but dosbox says "illegal command". How can i fix this? Is there any other way i ...
me_alok's user avatar
  • 382
3 votes
1 answer
4k views

Keyboard layout on an MS-dos program

I have an MS-DOS program that was written for Win98 that I want to run on a computer with WinXP. Language is set to Croatian, but when I run this particular software it accepts the keys as if they ...
Meow's user avatar
  • 33
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

MS-DOS "h" command - what is/was it, and can I get it running in a CMD prompt?

When my dad first put me in front of a computer when I was very young, he showed me this wonderful MS-DOS command - "h". Used as an alternative to "dir", "h" listed the contents of a directory, but ...
Gareth Jones's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
139 views

Replacing dir with to custom utility in Windows 7

I'm using Windows 7 and would like to change the default dir command in the Command Prompt to another program. I've tried putting both dir.exe and dir.bat in the C:\ root but when I type dir it doesn'...
DJQuad's user avatar
  • 21
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

The screen cannot be set to the number of lines and columns specified

Whenever I try and open cmd it flashes and just closes it itself after showing the below error for a split second. The screen cannot be set to the number of lines and columns specified. Tried the ...
Nullpointer's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
59 views

Can fixed disk 2 become fixed disk 1 in DOS?

I was wondering if anyone knows how to make fixed disk 2 fixed disk 1 in ms dos. Thanks -Gabe
user748983's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
949 views

What do standard minimal USB boot disks 'look' like and how can they be made?

When I say 'look like', I mean what does the file or directory structure look like for DOS, Linux and EFI? I need to make a minimal bootable USB stick to get access to hardware flashing, in ...
J Collins's user avatar
  • 678
0 votes
2 answers
1k views

DOS6.22 load config.sys manually

Is there a way to load config.sys manually after DOS is already booted? Autoexec.bat can be run any time that is no problem.
stevel's user avatar
  • 1
32 votes
4 answers
16k views

How do I transfer data between two old PCs using parallel or serial?

Recently, I found an old Gateway 2000 Colorbook laptop with MS-DOS6.22/Win3.1 that had no ports but PS2, parallel, and serial ports. My modern computer doesn't have any of these ports, so I am trying ...
Pro Gamer's user avatar
  • 323
4 votes
3 answers
15k views

How to exit to prompt in DOSBox?

For some DOS applications I don't know how to properly quit. I wouldn't mind force quitting. I would like to return to the original prompt from where I started the DOS application.
Johannes Riecken's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
2k views

DOS with NTFS support

I have a Skylake generation laptop, no OS, but has all the partitions created using GPARTED. Now I would like to install OS to it, running the installation from a hard drive. As far as I know I would ...
Goran's user avatar
  • 121
1 vote
0 answers
346 views

Create variable from file text in MS-DOS 6.22 batch file

This doesn't work, for example: set var=<text.txt It can be done like this in BASH: #!/bin/bash variable=$(cat text.txt) echo $variable
cronulis's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
3k views

Access shared drive C: on Win 10 from MS-DOS 6.22

I need to use a shared folder on a Windows 10 Host from a MS-DOS 6.22 computer. I can map the shared folder on MS-DOS but it behaves not as expected. If I create a folder on Win10 c:\sharedfolder, I ...
Bouni's user avatar
  • 1
4 votes
1 answer
35k views

How do I create a custom, bootable MS-DOS ISO image?

As described in this question, I used WinSetupFromUSB to successfully create a multibootable USB that could boot into MS-DOS 6.22 - as well as installers for other version of Windows - but couldn't ...
Hashim Aziz's user avatar
  • 12.7k
0 votes
2 answers
4k views

How to give bootable MS-DOS 6.22 access to files?

I used WinSetupFromUSB to create a multi-bootable USB that allows me to boot into MS-DOS 6.22, in addition to installers for Windows 7 and Vista. I need DOS 6.22 in order to run some legacy programs ...
Hashim Aziz's user avatar
  • 12.7k
0 votes
0 answers
83 views

How to set up windows 1.0 with ms-dos while keeping the ms-dos cd in the drive

I am trying to setup Windows 1.0 with MS-DOS running on a Acer Travelmate C110. I have the windows disks, but because I need to keep the dos cd in, I can't install it. Could anyone help me with this ...
user748983's user avatar
80 votes
3 answers
38k views

What version of MS-DOS does Rufus use to make bootable USBs?

Rufus allows for the creation of a bootable MS-DOS flash drive. It does this out of the box as an option without needing to specify an image or ISO. However, documentation on the tool is virtually ...
Hashim Aziz's user avatar
  • 12.7k
10 votes
3 answers
42k views

How do I create a bootable flash drive running MS-DOS 6.22?

I'm trying to create a bootable USB for MS-DOS 6.22. I can't risk using FreeDOS or any other version of DOS because I'm working with a very niche utility that has the potential to break expensive ...
Hashim Aziz's user avatar
  • 12.7k
1 vote
1 answer
75 views

Directory listing sorted by size, but with opt*.* at the top

I wish to list in reverse size order the files in a certain directory. This is easy: use dir /o-s/b >dir.lis. However I want the files named opt*.* to always appear at the top regardless of file ...
dacfer's user avatar
  • 155
2 votes
3 answers
12k views

How to redirect LPT1 to PDF printer or OneNote printer

There is a very old foxpro DOS program, which print doc via LPT1 , now user want to have soft copy . So I shared the PDF printer and OneNote printer on my local machine, and tried to map LPT1 to them ...
Jammy Lee's user avatar
  • 121
0 votes
1 answer
3k views

Is it possible to run a dos application in fullscreen in Windows 10 32 bit

I need to run an old DOS program, Presentations 2.0, on a Windows 10 32bit machine. When running the executable, I get the following error: OS Subsystem C:\DosGames\PR20\PR.EXE This system does not ...
Mads Skjern's user avatar
  • 1,479
2 votes
2 answers
8k views

What is the LAST version of Windows Operating system that can run DOS applications natively?

What is the latest version of the Windows operating system that can run DOS applications without using DOSBox which in my opinion is a pain to use? Can some sort of compatibility mode be installed in ...
yoyo_fun's user avatar
  • 1,843
0 votes
3 answers
529 views

Move Files of Type from Multiple Directories into a single Directory

I had a major HDD fail and have recovered the files, but they are spread out over 500 DIRs in a completely random order with no dates I need to move 10,000 jpgs from 500 DIRs to one DIR, so that I ...
RatherBeMaking's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
329 views

Loop n-times on DOS 6.22

FOR /L %%parameter IN (start,step,end) DO command does not work on DOS 6.22. The /L argument to loop through a set of numbers is not available in DOS 6.22. FOR in DOS 6.22 can merely loop through a ...
porg's user avatar
  • 369
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

Securely erase empty disk space on a Win 3.1 / DOS 6.22 system with builtin tools

I have a retro laptop from 1994, an IBM Thinkpad 340, which I want to give away, but first want to securely erase its deleted files. The system contains both a GUI and CLI undelete application, which ...
porg's user avatar
  • 369
0 votes
3 answers
5k views

dualboot windows 10 and ms-dos 7.10

I'm trying to dual boot my Windows 10 which I have currently installed on drive C: with MS-DOS 7.10 which I did not have installed on drive S: labeled "doos". I went ahead and made S: a FAT32 ...
Yoshirou's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
2k views

What is the DOS-counterpart of the bash command "ls -lad" on Unix?

What is the DOS-counterpart of the bash command ls -lad on Unix? The "dir" command on Command Prompt (cmd.exe) on Windows is usually considered to be equivalent to the "ls" command of bash on Unix/...
i7pj3qnuz's user avatar
  • 151
2 votes
2 answers
4k views

Use DOSBox's SB16 Emulation in real DOS?

So I've been thinking, is it potentially possible to use DOSBox's sound emulation software in real DOS on machines with AC97/IHDA chips so that you can use audio properly? I've been using the PC ...
Alison E.E.'s user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
7k views

Print using usb Port in Dos

I am trying to (hard) print a file in Dos using a printer that is connected via USB Port. Is there any way to do so?
nick zoum's user avatar
  • 575
7 votes
1 answer
5k views

MS-DOS how to save a file opened with "edit"?

I'm trying to open a file from the command with this line: "edit file_name" And I would like to save it after I have modified it. Do you know the way to do this ? Cheers
mric750's user avatar
  • 117
0 votes
1 answer
106 views

Is it possible to install/use multiple PC-Speakers?

First a bit of context: by 'PC-Speakers' I do not mean standard 3.5mm jack based stereo speakers. What I am reffering to is the 4-pin 255 frequency speaker connected directly to the motherboard. Now ...
Alison E.E.'s user avatar
27 votes
3 answers
2k views

Save the output of command in file MS-DOS 1.x

It seems that [COMMAND]>[FILE] does not work in the early versions of MS-DOS. I am using MS-DOS 1.25 and the above expression gives the statement invalid argument. Update:Since it is true that it ...
Blake's user avatar
  • 380
49 votes
1 answer
5k views

Can EXE always be replaced with COM?

Preview Our antivirus software didn't allow me to copy an EXE file into my Windows 7 startup folder (calc.exe for example) since it's an EXE file So I renamed it to a COM file and then copied it and ...
Royi Namir's user avatar
  • 5,748
1 vote
1 answer
344 views

Why is the banana flying slowly in QBasic Gorillas?

I'm playing QBasic Gorillas in MS-DOS 6.22 running in QEMU. The problem is that the banana is flying really slowly (it takes few seconds between movements). But when I hold down any key, then banana ...
Erki Aring's user avatar

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