Learn more about the FreeDos operating system
Although the most common operating systems are Windows and Linux, apart from Mac OS for Apple computers, there are also other options for our computers, such as the FreeDos operating system. An interesting alternative for old equipment and certain user profiles. Plus, it’s free.
If you take a look at any comparison of mini PCs, desktops or even laptops, you may have come across a PC without an operating system. This approach arises after a series of court rulings, which forced the businesses in the industry that if someone wanted a desktop or laptop computer without an operating system, they could be sold without problems. Before this sentence, almost all products included an operating system, usually Windows, which increased the cost of the product.
However, many users did not use this copy of Windows, since their wish was to equip the computer with Linux. Or they already had a copy of this legal operating system and did not need a second license, so everything that was not a PC without an operating system implied an extra expense. One of these users was precisely the one that promoted the demand whose effects we have been commenting on and the one that has caused many computers today to be sold without an operating system, but with something called FreeDos. If you don’t know this FreeDos system, we are going to tell you some interesting facts about this OS
What is FreeDos
To find out what FreeDos is, we have to travel back in time, to the year 1993. At that time, the launch of Windows 95 was near, the first operating system that would leave the old MS-DOS aside and launch the current system approach operating system based on a graphical format, as opposed to the command line approach that was used at that time.
In this context, a group of highly knowledgeable users, accustomed to dealing comfortably with MS-Dos commands, considered the possibility of having a solution that would be able to keep the old operating system active and allow them to continue working as usual.. Since the MS-Dos code was still a mystery at the time, they used reverse engineering technologies to recreate those functions in a new operating system.
The result of all this work was the release of the first version of FreeDos, Alpha, in 1996. However, the first official version of the product, FreeDos 1.0, would not be released until 2006. And although today in some places web talks about FreeDos 2.0, they actually refer to FreeDos 1.2, the latest version released for now and that has been with us since 2016.
What is FreeDos for?
The first thing we need to know is that, when deciding which operating system is better, including FreeDos is not a good idea at all. And we are talking about an operating system based on a command line system, so it is not the most operational solution in the world for newcomers. In addition, it requires a more or less in-depth knowledge of these commands, while it has certain limitations in what we can do with it.
However, this is precisely one of the strong points for many of its users. We are talking about people with a high computer level and who are able to save time and complications when executing certain basic tasks. Sometimes, it is much faster and easier to execute these tasks with a couple of commands than having to open a window, enter an option, select the parameters and cover the whole process. So for users accustomed to operating under the command line, this may be the best operating system for their computers.
Common FreeDos Applications
Once we have analyzed in detail what we are talking about, it is time to take a look at the possible applications of FreeDos. One of the most common is that of being the operating system of the desktops or laptops without an operating system that we buy. An issue that in itself is an inconsistency, since if that computer includes FreeDos from the factory, then we are not dealing with a computer without an operating system, since it does include an OS. So it would be more correct to say that these computers do not include a paid or proprietary operating system, since FreeDos is free.
However, this has an advantage for the user. Having this simple operating system is more than enough to completely test the computer during the assembly process and verify that everything works correctly before sending it to the client. On the other hand, the user can also take advantage of FreeDos to carry out the tasks prior to the installation of the operating system of his choice, simplifying the process and saving time.
Another application of FreeDos is its ability to recover very old computers with very few resources, being the best operating system for this type of device. The simplicity of FreeDos is such that it barely needs 640K of RAM to work properly, so no matter how old the computer is, it can be used without problems. In addition, the operating system also provides a suitable environment for the execution of those older applications and generally designed to measure, which cannot be executed in Windows environments, due to the compatibility problems they generate.
Finally, the last case in which the use of FreeDos is common is by advanced users, very skilled with the command line and of whom we have already talked. These users can also comfortably carry FreeDos in their “toolkit”, since the software barely takes up any space on any flash drive and offers a complete environment when it comes to repairing or recovering computers.
If this system catches your attention, all you have to do is visit the developer’s website, from where you can download the Freedos 2.0 operating system or, rather, version 1.2 that we’ve already mentioned, comfortably and of course for free.
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