Try FreeDOS in 2022

15 resources for new users and longtime fans of this free operating system.
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Opensource.com

Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, DOS was king of the desktop. Not satisfied with a proprietary version of DOS, programmers worldwide worked together to create an open source version of DOS called FreeDOS, which first became available in 1994. The FreeDOS Project continues to grow in 2021 and beyond.

We've run several articles about FreeDOS on Opensource.com to help new users get started with FreeDOS and learn new programs. Here are a few of our most popular FreeDOS articles from the last year:

New to FreeDOS

Are you new to FreeDOS? If you'd like to learn the basics of how to boot and run FreeDOS, check out these articles:

FreeDOS for Linux users

If you're already familiar with the Linux command line, you might like to try these commands and programs that create a similar environment on FreeDOS:

Using FreeDOS

Once you've booted into FreeDOS, you can use these great tools and apps to get work done or to install other software:

Throughout its nearly 30-year journey, FreeDOS has tried to be a modern DOS. If you'd like to learn more, you can read about the origins and development of FreeDOS in A brief history of FreeDOS. Also, check out Don Watkins' interview about FreeDOS in How a college student founded a free and open source operating system.

If you'd like to try FreeDOS, download FreeDOS 1.3 RC5, released in December 2021. This version has a ton of new changes and improvements, including an updated kernel and command shell, new programs and games, better international support, and network support. Download FreeDOS 1.3 RC5 from the FreeDOS website.

photo of Jim Hall
Jim Hall is an open source software advocate and developer, best known for usability testing in GNOME and as the founder + project coordinator of FreeDOS.

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