VOGONS


Which DR-DOS?

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First post, by eesz34

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Can someone familiar with DR-DOS explain what is the deal with the different versions? I have never used it before but would like to try it out. Naturally I'd go for the newest one, 8.x. But, at least what is on winworldpc.com, that one doesn't appear to have an installer and you instead have to copy the disk contents to the HDD and run SYS. Ok, fine, but I'd like to go through an actual installer. 6.x has an installer, and I didn't look much at 7.x.

I believe 6.x is the last "real" DR-DOS. Is that correct, and is there any reason to go to 7 or 8? Any compatibility issues, or major pros/cons?

Reply 1 of 2, by LSS10999

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7.0x (including OpenDOS on which Enhanced DR-DOS was based) were the real ones I think. Most 7.0x versions were similar, and I think 7.03 was the last one with a complete package of utilities.

I don't know if anyone had actually bought a DR-DOS 8.0 instance. From what I remember that version was officially sold at ~$200 for 5 users.

DR-DOS 8.1 existed for a while until it was pulled due to controversies. 8.0 (which was said to be unaffected) was also pulled and 7.03 became "latest" again.

Reply 2 of 2, by davidrg

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Caldera DR-DOS 7.03 was pretty much the last full version for desktop use - later versions were targeted at embedded/industrial use and lacked many things. You can get a (fully functional and 100% identical to the real full version) trial version of Caldera DR-DOS/OpenDOS 7.0x (plus Enhanced DR-DOS) from here: http://www.zx.net.nz/netware/drdos/caldera.shtml (despite what some think, Caldera DR-DOS is not freeware and it is not open-source in any way - its effectively shareware, you're allowed to try it out for a while after which you're required to buy a license somehow)

Novell DOS 7.0 with the latest patches installed (available here: http://www.zx.net.nz/netware/drdos/7.shtml ) should also be fine. Its lacking some enhancements Caldera made in in DR-DOS but probably nothing you'd really miss/notice (Wikipedia has the details on what 7.0x adds and what some versions of 7.0x lack compared to Novell DOS). Here is the back of the Novell DOS 7 box which may give some ideas about what changed from DR-DOS 6:

PXL_20230202_221021854.jpg
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Back of Novell DOS 7 box
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I don't have a copy of DR-DOS 6 but the impression I get is there isn't much reason to prefer it to Novell DOS 7. But if you wanted to run it, the final patches should be here: http://www.zx.net.nz/netware/drdos/6.shtml