[wplug] FreeDOS

[Bill Moran]

Michael Semcheski <lists at immuneit.com> wrote:

> I was wondering if anyone on this list had any experience with FreeDOS.

It's been almost two years, but we used FreeDOS to run a legacy app for a
while.  Nice system.

> I have a 10-15 year old system I inherited that uses an ISA board plot
> x's and y's from the stage of a microsocope.  The drivers for this board
> currently seem to be MS-DOS based drivers.  The computers run Windows
> 98, and its a huge PITA.  We have three of these systems, and they get a
> fair amount of use.

Yuk.

> For this simple task, we have to keep this crippled operating system
> around.  I would be happy to go back to DOS 5.1 or 6 and use a
> minimalist approach, except for its lack of networking.  There would be
> a mutiny if I suggested shuttling data around with floppy disks in this
> day and age.
> 
> FreeDOS seems to support TCP/IP.  I can imagine it running off of a CD,
> sort of like knoppix, and it would be a very nice solution.  It would
> setup a RAM disk that people could store their days work on, then FTP
> the files to a server.  These old systems could run without fixed disks,
> which would be a major advantage.  Old, small hard drives in good
> condition are not cheap or easy to find.
> 
> I wonder if anyone has a reality check for me.  I haven't spent much
> time looking into FreeDOS, but I would be willing to give it a good week
> to get things set up and working.  Before I put that time in, anyone
> want to cast some doubt?  Anyone have any relevant experience?

Reality check:
If you're dealing with drivers, DOS drivers may not work under FreeDOS.
I don't think FreeDOS is designed to be _that_ compatable.  For example,
FreeDOS is a 32bit OS.

Possible alternative:
Check out Bochs.  We used it to run an ancient version of DOS in emulation
and it worked better than the FreeDOS solution in our particular case.

-- 
Bill Moran
Potential Technologies
http://www.potentialtech.com