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DOS version compatibility 5150

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bushmechanic

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I've got a 5150 I've been working on, and I just don't have the commands I'm used to.

I'd like to know which versions of DOS this is capable of running, but I'm having trouble finding any solid related information.

It boots from a functional hardcard, but I'm not sure how much longer it will last.
 
bushmechanic said:
I've got a 5150 I've been working on, and I just don't have the commands I'm used to.
Click to expand...
Which commands are these?


bushmechanic said:
I'd like to know which versions of DOS this is capable of running, but I'm having trouble finding any solid related information.
Click to expand...
I just ran 3.3 and 6.22 on my 5150 today. It is capable of running any version of DOS but you've got to realize that DOS 7.xx is for 32-bit machines only.
 
MS DOS 6.22 is no problem.

But newer DOS versions (without something like a 386 processor to help with memory management) will waste more memory, take longer to start and waste more disk space. I prefer to stick with DOS 2.x or DOS 3.x on 8088 machines, and you can easily add your own text editor, and use a tool like XTREE for file management.

With the hardcard - in the future if it starts giving you errors one day, don't freak out - they usually like a fresh low level format every couple of decades. If the drive sounds like it's grinding itself to death, then that's a bit different.
 
Stone said:
I just ran 3.3 and 6.22 on my 5150 today. It is capable of running any version of DOS but you've got to realize that DOS 7.xx is for 32-bit machines only.
Click to expand...

IBM PC DOS 7.0 / 2000 will run fine on a 5150. I've done it myself. Novell / Caldera / DR-DOS 7.0x will also run. It's only MS-DOS 7.0/7.1 (contained within Windows 95/98 ) that requires at least a 386 to run.

PC DOS 7.0 actually takes up less RAM than any other version of DOS after 3.3:

Amount of free RAM on a 640K system (clean boot) as reported by CHKDSK:

PC DOS 2.00 ... 630,672 bytes
PC DOS 2.10 ... 630,672
PC DOS 3.10 ... 616,432
MS-DOS 3.10 ... 616,432
PC DOS 3.21 ... 609,392
PC DOS 3.30 ... 600,528
MS-DOS 3.30 ... 600,368
IBM DOS 5.00 ... 593,328
MS-DOS 5.00 ... 593,328
MS-DOS 6.00 ... 592,256
IBM DOS 6.10 ... 593,056
MS-DOS 6.22 ... 592,256
PC DOS 6.30 ... 593,024
PC DOS 7.00 Revision 0 ... 593,840
PC DOS 2000 (7.00 Revision 1) ... 593,760
 
Cool. That's all I needed to know. I didn't know if there was some hardware incompatibility or something. I'm not trying to hit 7. 6.22 was my favorite, but 5 would be fine.

I shall hit the Ebays and get a copy.
 
I recommend to use IBM DOS (MS-DOS) 3.3x with 5150.
Of course DOS 4.x / 5.x 6.x supports IBM PC 5150/5160 XT or compatible based on 8086/8088 CPU.
But a few of programs for 8086/8088 CPU doesn't run on DOS 4.x or higher.
(Example : F-15 Strike Eagle II runs under DOS 2.x - 3.x)
 
bushmechanic said:
Cool. That's all I needed to know. I didn't know if there was some hardware incompatibility or something. I'm not trying to hit 7. 6.22 was my favorite, but 5 would be fine.

I shall hit the Ebays and get a copy.
Click to expand...

Most MS DOS 6.22 copies will be on 3 or 4 x 1.44MB 3.5" diskettes. So if you've still got the original 360KB 5.25" floppy drive in there, you'll need to create your own boot disks and copy the files over manually. I keep the manuals/original disks for collectors sake, but generally people will just download disk images / create their own.
 
SpidersWeb said:
Most MS DOS 6.22 copies will be on 3 or 4 x 1.44MB 3.5" diskettes. So if you've still got the original 360KB 5.25" floppy drive in there, you'll need to create your own boot disks and copy the files over manually. I keep the manuals/original disks for collectors sake, but generally people will just download disk images / create their own.
Click to expand...

MS-DOS 6.22 was available on 5.25" 360K disks - 13 of them! -- if you sent in the coupon.

msdos360k.jpg
 
Purist approach ... 5150 DOS - generally use 2.x. ... 3.3 came out with the PS/2. Anything newer is fine but not really a historic match.
 
I would recommend buying a Lo-Tech ISA SC-Card adapter and using a newer PC to format an SD-Card and install DOS on it (if you can't get a copy of DOS on 5.25" media.)

http://www.lo-tech.co.uk/wiki/Lo-tech_ISA_CompactFlash_Adapter_revision_2b

I built one of those, and it works great in my 5150 PC with an old Miniscribe hard drive.

Optionally (which I did), you can build one of Sergey's ISA Floppy Disk and Serial Controllers, http://www.malinov.com/Home/sergeys-projects/isa-fdc-and-uart.

It gives you universal floppy compatibility, AND a high speed serial port that can be used to mount floppy images or even boot over a serial cable from another attached PC using the BIOS in the SD Card adapter.

I used it to Laplink stuff over from my old Gateway 386sx 20 laptop.

Sergey also has an ISA VGA board available. But, I haven't built one of those. I have a pair of OAK cards which work fine.
 
billdeg said:
Purist approach ... 5150 DOS - generally use 2.x. ... 3.3 came out with the PS/2. Anything newer is fine but not really a historic match.
Click to expand...

I'm keeping this largely period-correct, but not stock. It's got a few upgrades from that era fitted. I just received one of those AST cards, so I'm looking forward to that, but I don't want to do too much until I'm able to copy all the software on the HDD so I can send it to an archive. There's some weird stuff on that thing.

Now, if you want to be absolutely sick from a purist point of view, you can wait around for a thread I'll be putting up soon about another 5150. ;)
 
Al Hartman said:
I would recommend buying a Lo-Tech ISA SC-Card adapter and using a newer PC to format an SD-Card and install DOS on it (if you can't get a copy of DOS on 5.25" media.)
Click to expand...

Eh. I'm waiting around to find one that's already been built. I can do a lot of stuff nowadays, but I've got enough nerve damage to make soldering quite frustrating.

I really liked the solution from Lo-Tech that had the CF card removable from the back plate. That thing was clean.
 
Let me say this then....Everyone who had an IBM PC in the 80's upgraded them as they went along. No one stayed with DOS 2 when 3 came out. People put in new hard drives and replaced twin full-height drives with half-height, etc. more RAM, etc. There were a lot of people using IBM PC's to connect to BBS's as late as 1994, but finally the WWW killed them as viable machines.

It is historically "correct" to upgrade a PC with parts from the 80's and early 90's. All good.
 
Indeed the first XT I got, a Hyundia with a V20 cpu and 2x 360k.
Within a month or 2 a 20MB HD was installed.Then Netware, soundcard etc.

Build lots of All kinds of pc's for friends and family back then, upgrade them etc. Till the 486's.

But for now I say keep a 5150 as original as it was , a 20MB Hd will be ok instead of 2 FFD's
Some cards to ad up fine. Memory add up to 640 with extentioncard.
Just a Mono or max a CGA.

If you for convinience you put a SD card as a HD in it I think it is not a big issue
But lots of old HD's are still out there to buy.

All other upgrades I say by an other old PC. 386-486 or so.
 
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