Re: MiNiDOS - An MS-DOS 6.22 distro in the year 2024 that comes in a single boot floppy.
Posted on 2024-12-23, 23:00
Re: Win98SE disk compression better than DriveSpace
Posted on 2024-12-22, 16:38
I have never used "Stacker" which was its greatest competitor back then. I suggest you take a look at it. In any case, drive compression was always a double edged sword where you always traded speed for storage space. To aid in this speed issue, some expansion cards to aid in compression duties were …
Re: DOS/UMBs: General Tips for Getting More Memory?
Posted on 2024-12-18, 01:07
Thank you for that additional information. The information I found is scattered within two short notes on old magazine reviews. A full PDF manual of NetRoom 3.02 would be ideal, if there ever was a such a thing. I only see readme's and some tech docs in the archive and its updates. It would also be …
Re: DOS/UMBs: General Tips for Getting More Memory?
Posted on 2024-12-17, 21:36
I just came across more notes on Helix "cloaking" related products: Helix licensed a version of Award Software's BIOS and developed cloaked system and video BIOSes which executed entirely in protected mode, reducing their real-mode memory footprint down to 8 KB (instead of 96 KB) and used these as …
Re: DOS/UMBs: General Tips for Getting More Memory?
Posted on 2024-12-17, 18:56
I will add in my TODO list, to enumerate within a list the cloaking drivers/applications implemented: memory is a little fuzzy but I remember Norton Antivirus 4.x, some Logitech pointing devices (mouse and trackballs), as already mentioned, MSCDEX, a SMARTDRV cache clone, a RAMDRIVE clone, ethernet …
Re: Pocket 8086 - Worth developing for?
Posted on 2024-12-16, 16:26
Indeed a lot can be done, it depends on your skill and will. There is an entire demo scene which can hint you into what is realistically achievable with the hardware config of the Pocket 8086, and there is also a large vintage library of commercial games that were released back in the day, some of …
Re: MiNiDOS - An MS-DOS 6.22 distro in the year 2024 that comes in a single boot floppy.
Posted on 2024-12-15, 19:26
Hi, I decided to give your distro a spin and I have to say it I like it a lot, because it simplifies things for people like me coming back from 25 years of non-DOS use. However I have to report that the provided USB driver does not recognize a USB mass storage (generic 4GB flash drive) attached. My …
Re: Monitor Utility for DOS
Posted on 2024-10-07, 22:45
Here you have the UNICENTRE utility with an explanatory text.
Re: Commander X16 of The 8-Bit Guy, can it be considered as the most nonsense neo-retro computer of all times?
Posted on 2024-10-07, 18:17
I like that he created an 8-bit computer, loved that the process between planning and execution was explained in his videos, but the outcome was rather poor, IMHO. Spiritual successors to the Commodore 64 are quite abundant and started life decades ago. There is an existing niche market that is …
Re: Micro Firmware BIOS Files
Posted on 2024-09-30, 22:04
There is a simple reason why all these vendors are hesitant to freely supply their BIOSes or advice: it is part of their product portfolio and a relevant part of their income stream. They not only license you a default preconfigured "ROMs", but they also offer customization services, customer …
Re: No CD-ROM drives detected at all with MSCDEX and VIDE-CDD
Posted on 2024-09-15, 11:54
I took a quick look and at first glance I would risk say that it appears that some CD-ROM cables got disconnected somehow. I would try reattaching those and boot again to test. It even makes sense since you say it was previously working with those same startup files.
Re: Known DOS Diagnostic, Repair, Backup/Recovery, FTP, Benchmarking & File Manager Software For 8086/88/186/188/286 Sys
Posted on 2024-09-14, 21:25
It all sounds great. It seems the requirements are pretty low, which is indeed welcomed. MDA support would be nice to have so as not to leave out any retro system. As long as there is enough contrast, everything should be fine whatever road you pick. Speaking of display extremes, is CGA snow being …
Re: Known DOS Diagnostic, Repair, Backup/Recovery, FTP, Benchmarking & File Manager Software For 8086/88/186/188/286 Sys
Posted on 2024-09-14, 16:58
So, in essence, MKPKG for the end-user, has only a disk footprint of about 7.5 KB + the content to deploy. It seems really good. Which should be the minimum requirements, for the end user (not for the package builder)? I mean minimum DOS version, CPU, RAM and display adapter type. Also, does it have …
Re: What are the smallest/most lightweight system drivers for MS-DOS?
Posted on 2024-09-12, 22:47
There is no easy fool-proof method, as even if you had some strings to scan for, drivers may be compressed or even encrypted, and so the code will not be visible at plain sight. Also most of your 8088 assumptions regarding CD-ROM drivers requirements are probably wrong (example: vide-cdd.sys). As …
Re: What are the smallest/most lightweight system drivers for MS-DOS?
Posted on 2024-09-12, 17:14
There were many versions of QCDROM.SYS. Be sure to have the latest which was version four something. Anyway, this one, if I am not wrong, is the one that evolved into the current XDVD2.SYS king of the hill, from Jack, and should incorporate many of those previous features.
Re: What is "SMALLIDE.SYS" I see used/briefly mentioned in this video? I Googled the crud out of it to no results...
Posted on 2024-09-12, 13:18
You are missing probably one of the greatest, and late to the party, DOS implementations made by the Russians, PTS-DOS (later Paragon DOS). They mostly coded it in assembler and its efficiency shows. It had many interesting features, but unfortunately was never tidy/polished enough to become a real …
Re: What is "SMALLIDE.SYS" I see used/briefly mentioned in this video? I Googled the crud out of it to no results...
Posted on 2024-09-12, 03:11
Here you go. I can't remember much of it, just that it had a memory footprint of about 2.5KB. The Russian driver was a bit tighter, but did not work on all atapi systems. But always have in mind that memory footprint is just one of many variables: you also have size, compatibility, etc. to consider …
Re: What is "SMALLIDE.SYS" I see used/briefly mentioned in this video? I Googled the crud out of it to no results...
Posted on 2024-09-12, 02:42
The cd driver with the smallest memory footprint is Jack Ellis' XDVD2.SYS which uses 1,984 bytes of RAM on my system. It requires a 386 or better processor. Jack has been an optimization freak since quite some time with several cd drivers under his belt between other interesting DOS creations.
Re: Known DOS Diagnostic, Repair, Backup/Recovery, FTP, Benchmarking & File Manager Software For 8086/88/186/188/286 Sys
Posted on 2024-09-11, 11:47
@DaveDDS I really like the menu you did. Do you by any chance have it available as a standalone tool? It would be really great to reuse it. It looks straight-forward, and seems non-bloated, much like much all of your programs.
Re: MsDos Virtual Keyboard?
Posted on 2024-09-07, 19:29
Hi, I have a half-baked solution, it is not ideal, but probably worth a try. We seriously need some type of on screen keyboard for DOS. More than ever if you consider the many non-standard keyboards we have in this day an age. Be aware that this "solution" requires a 286 or better processor. It is …
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