The decade of the '90s just phoned – they're pretty amazed!
The FreeDOS Project has launched version 1.4 of its completely open-source DOS-compatible operating system; however, a BIOS will be required for bare-metal installation.
This release comes just a bit more than three years since FreeDOS 1.3, reviewed in 2022. Given that this update arrived only six years after version 1.2, it appears that progress is accelerating – welcome news for fans of vintage technology.
The complete release announcement details several updates: an updated version of the Freecom shell, along with new external functionalities for xcopy and move operations, a revised edition of the fdisk partitioning utility addressing significant issues, and a fresh iteration of Michael Brutman’s mTCP package, enabling DOS systems to connect to TCP/IP networks.
For instance, mTCP features the NetDrive utility, enabling DOS systems to interact with file shares either locally or via the internet. Given that contemporary computers typically lack floppy disk drives and DOS lacks extensive USB compatibility, this inclusion proves quite useful. Various similar tools also exist, like Jaroslav Rohel’s NetMount, along with the more minimalistic EtherDFS, which operates without relying on TCP/IP but instead utilizes raw Ethernet packets.
Similar to most Linux distributions, FreeDOS aggregates components from various independent projects. This naturally implies that certain component updates were not finalized in time for inclusion in this particular release. Consequently, the changelog doesn’t provide extensive details.
The primary letdown for numerous individuals might likely stem from this aspect of the announcement.
It’s not drastically different from the prior edition, yet several enhancements are noticeable. One significant alteration since version 1.3—though rather subtle—involves the development and packaging process of FreeDOS. Similar to certain Linux distributions’ beta versions, they've introduced Monthly Interim Test Builds over recent years, details of which are shared via the freedos-devel mailing list. This new release consolidates these updates into one package. Consequently, this has led to modifications in the installation materials. Certain less essential elements like particular graphical interfaces have been eliminated. Additionally, fewer items overlap between the Bonus CD with additional features and the primary distribution medium; thus, both sets of files are slightly reduced in size.
On the downloads page, you'll find at least six distinct versions available. Additionally, there’s a README document that clarifies their distinctions. Two types of bootable CDs are offered: one featuring a Live DOS interface where essential tools are temporarily loaded onto a RAM drive upon startup; another being a Legacy CD designed for more outdated systems, simply facilitating an operating system installation. The site provides both comprehensive and streamlined USB image options too. These ZIP archives come bundled with virtual hard disk templates suitable for utilization within various virtual machine platforms. Concluding this selection is a floppy disk variant containing multiple floppies—three specifically tailored for either 1.4 MB (standard 3.5-inch), 1.2 MB (high-capacity 5.25-inch), or less commonly seen nowadays, 720 KB double-density disks.
If you're interested in giving it a go, the announcement for release candidate 1 from January includes comprehensive step-by-step directions. We tested this within a virtual machine. Whenever VirtualBox detects the term "DOS" in the name of a VM, it allocates only 32MB of RAM. While this setup allows some functionality with the FreeDos 1.4 Live CD—provided the CD image is mounted—it’s not sufficient memory for optimal performance.
Developer Jerome Shidel informed us:
However, he proposed providing additional resources to a test virtual machine:
FreeDOS is considerably larger than basic MS-DOS and genuinely requires at least a 386-class system for optimal performance. Because of this, the files within the floppy disk images are highly compressed. Consequently, running them on genuine 1980s era 80386 computers might result in slower decompression times.
At the close of 2024, we highlighted an open-source DOS variant known as SvarDOS, which boasts a reduced weight compared to others. It employs a somewhat enhanced iteration of the DR-DOS kernel; interestingly, this same kernel’s source code was made available by Caldera way back in 1996—a moment marked notably for potentially being one of the earliest usages of “open source” in today's connotation. While Caldera allowed solely private and not-for-profit applications, DR-DOS itself stemmed originally from CP/M. We previously noted in 2022 how CP/M saw its usage rights become considerably more permissive over time.
One option we haven't explored yet is a different free DOS-compatible operating system known as the Public Domain Operating System, or PDOS for short. Interestingly, this OS originated from a project aimed at improving an ancient IBM mainframe OS.