I do believe that Dell and HP at least until very recently offered FreeDOS on a range of computers.This repo contains the original source-code and compiled binaries for MS-DOS v1.25 and MS-DOS v2.0. There are still legacy software running DOS around the world, mostly running on compatible OS's like DR-DOS or FreeDOS. I've noticed a surge in interest for old MS-DOS games, and I'm confident someone would like to fix a few small things in the source code. I would still hope that Microsoft could find a way to release version 6.22 and 8.0, even if they have to drop some minor stuff. There is also the possibility that unveiling of code can cause legal disputes, there could be code that has uncertain legal status or is simply stolen. I'm sure they could get a legal agreement to publish it now, but they probably wouldn't make the effort. This could be third parties like IBM, or smaller companies.

Even though Microsoft bought the rights for the original version, they might have licensed other code later on. Maybe I should dust off that old MS-DOS system in the garage and see if it still works.Ĭlick to expand.I know other software from Microsoft usually contain many elements licensed from third parties. When it comes to yours truly, while I don't plan to do much experimenting, this has created an itch to relive the past.

That said, users are more than welcome to create separate development forks for exploration and experimentation. Microsoft has stated that they will ignore any pull requests or changes to the original source code, with the repository instead being kept static more as a historical reference to be used in literature. This is fitting considering Paterson is the original author of 86-DOS, which forms the basis for MS-DOS. According to Rich Turner, a Senior Program Manager at Microsoft, it is 'much easier to find, read, and refer to MS-DOS source files if they're in a GitHub repo than in the original downloadable compressed archive file.' The compressed archive Turner mentions is the original release of the source code from 2014 when both versions of MS-DOS were first made available via the Computer History Museum after their discovery by Tim Paterson. Accordingly, the Redmond-based IT giant has set up an online repository from which they could re-release versions 1.25 and 2.0 of MS-DOS. Considering Microsoft only recently acquired GitHub, it took them no time at all to put the software development platform to good use.

Free copy of msdos 6.22