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install dos 6.22 on a windows 98 system

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9 replies

by neilmay2

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i'm doing a hnc in computing. part of my course involves installing dos 6.22
as i am doing a distance learning course i'm doing it at home on my own pc.
can it be done?? i'm running windows 98.
suggestions please.........

9 replies

by lordinfidel

I would say dual boot, but if you are 98se you are probably formatted with FAT32.

Dos 6.22 is FAT16.

The good news is that you don't need a lg hdd to install 6.22. Especially if it is just for playing.

So what I would do, is go to your local used comp parts store, and get a 1 gig drive or less. Swap it with your real drive and install 6.22 on it.

When your done, swap it back. No harm done.

by neilmay2

ms dos installation

i'm new to this.
have got hold of old comp. running win 98, with 3Gb h/drive.
No. system restore disks/ boot disks.
I have got copy of win 98 for my other comp.
& copies of disks for MS DOS 6.22 (need to expand certain functions)????
Need basic help.??? step by step!!! please (idiots terms)
Have been told i can't install MS DOS on a win 98 sys??
What can i do?
I need to install MS DOS & win 95/98 as part of a HNC course in computing (open learning).
I can get hold of win 95 from friend.
If i format drive wot happens when i'm requested to insert boot disk for system??
Did try on current computer and managed to wipe bloody thing clean, several times??
What am i doing wrong? where am i going wrong? where can i go to from here?????
Help appreciated.

STEP BY STEP 4 A NOVICE (idiot perhaps???????)
Many thanx
Neil

by djent

Find an old HD and use that. DOS 6.22 will not see FAT32 FS and will corrupt win98, or do a dual boot on seperate partition.

by guruofdos

Windows 98 comes with Dos 7.0 'built in'. If you boot Windows 98 and hold the F8 key to get to the startup menu and boot to "Safe Mode Command Prompt Only" you effectively have native Dos 7.0 running. Everything you could wish to do in DOS 6.22 is available in Dos 7.0 with TWO exections.

1) DEFRAG is not available, but that is hardly a problem.

2) DO NOT USE DRVSPACE compression!!!

All the MSDOS 6.22 commands are in the c:\windows\command folder and can be accessed using the cd command. You will not be able to access files stored with long filenames or paths longer than 255 bytes, and you are restricted to standard 8.3 filenames, i.e. c:\Program Files is seen by DOS as c:\progra~1

There have been no changes in switches for any of the commands between V6.22 and 7.0 so all the DOS6.22 switches still work, e.g. dir /w /p, attrib filename.txt -r -h -s etc.

The don't call me GuruOfDOS for nothing!!!

by guruofdos

It is also eminently possible to install Windows 3.0, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 etc over the top of native Dos 7.0.....you just have to ensure that you have a completely separate folder for 16 bit Windows versions and DO NOT share data with other folders....on the PC I am sat at writing this, I have a folder on the C drive called 16BIT and in there I have a copy of the Windows\command folder that I have named DOS, and Windows FWG 3.11 in a folder called W311.....it works a treat, especially as I still have to support 16 bit platforms and VBPro3.0 apps. I even have AOL3.0 16 bit for internet access using my 16 bit mode!!

by djent

I can see a number of reasons the instructor might want DOS 6.22. 1: FAT16 file system 2: 8.3 file naming. 3 being restricted to a command line interface. 4: memory limitations. 5: memory managers. There is a whole generation of users that dont understand any of these issues or that an OS could be burned into a 32K EPROM and an application ran from a floppy disk. How about tightly coded assembly language? These things may be history now but are certainly a valid part of computer evoloution. My first hard drive was 5 meg and I wondered what I would do with all that space, now an empty Word doc takes 19K, I have had word processor applications smaller then that.

by neilmay2

i do have an old computer win 3.2 / dos 6.22 but HD failed on me after trying to connect a printer to it. How would i be able to use it if i haven't got the original boot up floppy. i have dos 6.22 on disks ready to go and did try to load them with no sucess. being a novice (ie student) am i doing anything wrong?
I'm feeling frustrated as i have had to reinstall everything on my current computer due to installing larger HD and other problems so i know i can do it but need a little guidance.
Your help would be gratefully recieved.
Cheers.
Neil

by djent

I dont see the relationship of a printer connection to HD failure. Try contact cleaner on the HD connections or a new cable. Did you make the DOS disks with Diskcopy? if so they should be bootable. Boot off the setup disk, run Fdisk, create a boot partition on the HD, format it, reboot from floppy and run Setup.exe. If the HD has in fact failed you can make a boot floppy, you just cant fit the entire OS on it, but you may be able to fit the files you need.

by guruofdos

All of the above reasons hold when booting 98 in safe mode command prompt only.

You don't get any memory managers, are limited to 640k, have only 8.3 naming etc...and obviously a single tasking non GUI command line interface!

Fat16 or Fat32 is irrelevant UNLESS you are bypassing DOS and usinf BIOS routines to access FAT tables or low level data on the hard disk.

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