Open source text-based operating system FreeDOS turns 30 and remains active in retro gaming

This website reported on July 1st that for young computer users, DOS may be an unfamiliar term. Even those who have used it may have only been exposed to Command Prompt or PowerShell in Windows systems. However, although Microsoft stopped updating MS-DOS in 2000 (as part of Windows Me), a small group of passionate developers still maintain and update an open source version called FreeDOS.

According to this site, the history of FreeDOS can be traced back to 1994, when developer Jim Hall released PD-DOS. As Microsoft moved toward a graphical user interface-centric Windows operating system, Hall wanted to preserve the landmark command-line interface operating system, so he built a public domain version of the text-based operating system. Shortly thereafter, he renamed PD-DOS FreeDOS, and the system is still being updated today.

The latest version of FreeDOS is version 1.3, with major updates released approximately every four to six years. This development cycle may seem long, especially compared to Microsoft's latest operating systems. However, for such an ancient piece of software, there are still some challenges that need to be overcome.

One of the biggest challenges is that most modern motherboards switch from old BIOS to new UEFI firmware. While most custom DIY PCs still retain some form of BIOS compatibility, many new computers no longer have this capability. Additionally, the introduction of Arm-based processors like the Snapdragon-based Copilot+ computers means that this type of hardware is no longer compatible with FreeDOS.

It is for these reasons that Hall said in a recent interview with Ars Technica that running FreeDOS on bare metal (installed directly on the computer) is not recommended. "That's one of the reasons we recommend using FreeDOS in a virtual machine," Hall said. "The virtual machine can provide BIOS support. But from a practical perspective, I don't think most people will be interested in using it on a new desktop or laptop. Running FreeDOS with a 16-core Intel Core Ultra CPU, 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and Wi-Fi If you're interested in running FreeDOS, it's probably more for the purpose of experiencing 'retro' computing, so you're more interested. It's possible to install FreeDOS on an older computer. Today, to run FreeDOS directly, you might need to dig out your grandfather's old IBM PC or your father's first computer. However, the rise of the retro gaming craze in recent years has also given rise to some "new" retro computers, such as the Retro Pocket 386 and Hand 386 powered by a 40 MHz Intel 386 processor, and even the older Book 8088, which uses an Intel 8088 CPU.

With the right hardware or a virtual machine with FreeDOS installed, you can run classic retro games like Duke Nukem, Commander Keen, Biothreat, and Wolfenstein 3D the way they were originally designed. It's important to note that while the current version of FreeDOS can load most classic DOS applications, there is one major incompatibility: it cannot function as a boot loader for earlier versions of Windows (such as Windows 3.1) like MS-DOS. However, as FreeDOS development continues, you can still expect to see this feature and more practical features added in future versions.

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