MS-DOS 2.0

 Introduction

In the early days of personal computing, a small operating system named MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) played a pivotal role. It was the foundation upon which the PC revolution was built. Let’s delve into the fascinating story of MS-DOS 2.0, its origins, and why it remains a significant milestone in computer history.

Upgrading from MS-DOS 1.0

Picture this: I’m huddled over my beige IBM PC, floppy disk in hand, ready to perform the sacred ritual of upgrading my operating system. MS-DOS 2.0 promised wonders—like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat. But what did it bring to the table?

1. Subdirectories:

   Yes, my friends, we could now organize our files into neat little folders. No more dumping everything into the root directory like a digital hoarder. It was like moving from a studio apartment to a cozy two-bedroom flat.

2. File Handles: MS-DOS 2.0 introduced file handles, allowing us to keep multiple files open simultaneously. Imagine juggling several balls in the air without dropping any. It was multitasking at its finest.

3. COMMAND.COM: The command interpreter got a makeover. It was snappier, more responsive, and had a touch of elegance. Typing commands felt like composing poetry (albeit geeky poetry).

Features of MS-DOS 2.0

• Wildcards: The asterisk (*) and question mark (?) became our allies. Need to delete all those pesky .TMP files? Just type DEL *.TMP and watch them vanish like morning mist.

• Batch Files: Ah, the joy of creating batch files! We could automate tasks, like a digital puppeteer pulling strings. AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS danced together, launching programs and setting system parameters.

• Memory Management: Expanded memory, extended memory, high memory—MS-DOS 2.0 knew how to juggle them all. We whispered sweet nothings to our HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE, coaxing them to play nice.