Very cool. Thanks for the continued development!

- Alex

Just found out this, its great! Lets play a bit! Thanks

MiNiDOS is a live, installable and minimalistic MS-DOS 6.22 based distribution for which development is ongoing from beta #55 (Release 0.01) towards Release 0.2.

Today we are at beta #93:

After 38 beta builds since february, file count has increased from
aproximately 120 to 160, while at the same time free space has gone up from
about 10 KB to 20 KB. This means that the functionality has grown but the
"excess fat" has been successfully trimmed down.
We are still within the single 1.44 MB floppy domain!

I managed to fine-tune startup configurations, with more available
conventional memory when needed (is there a case when you don't? 🤣).

There is now a custom made SETUP program that resembles the well known MS-DOS
one, but unlike its relative, it occupies less than 10 KB on disk. Complete HDD
installation takes about a minute on a decade old PC, and about 10 minutes on
an 8088 4.7 Mhz XT PC.

BTW, live booting is marginably faster. Each and every second removed counts
in this regard, so it is worth mentioning.

Still pending:
- Thorough testing (initial basic testing already started). Corner cases missing.
- Finish documentation (70% done).
- Final testing and bug hunting.
- Find some clever coder that can pack the 125,495 bytes EMM386.EXE version 4.95 (WIN98)
- Something else which I am sure I am forgetting.

Why not use FreeDOS as a base instead, to avoid copyright issues?

Because MS-DOS is more compatible, especially on older hardware. That's why he states he uses MS-DOS as the base.

@MiNiDOS
Very good work, keep it up!

How is LFN supported, is the driver at the kernel level or in command.com?

Brilliant work, looking forward to the next release!

Next release of MiNiDOS 0.02 is ready, I want to release its archive in #DOSCEMBER.

It is packed with new features, updates and exclusive content thanks to the small list of contributors (developers and coders).

Since we are yet a bit away from December, I would like to offer any retro Youtuber a mutual benefit deal where they could somehow make a video out of this MiNiDOS and release it during December (I will give them a preview archive and answer any questions they might have). They are of course free to give their opinions about it and approach the subject in any way they want to.

MiNiDOS 2025 Release 0.02 (Sometime during December 2024)

- Plenty of unique and customized material is now included
- Updated EMM386 version 4.49 to 4.95 (this time for real! 🤣)
- Updated DISKCOMP with a much more compact variant
- Updated DOSCLIP which is now a bit smaller and has less bugs
- Updated DOSLFNM 0.34d -> DOSLFNMS 0.41f
- Updated RAMDRIVE.SYS 3.07 -> 3.10 (legacy ramdrive goes up from 16MB to 32MB)
- Updated REBOOT which became a small individual tool
- Updated SHUTDOWN which now comes up as a tiny independent program
- Updated SMARTDRV from 5.02 to 5.10
- Updated UNISOUND to 0.81b
- Updated VBSF 0.67 to 0.70 alpha
- Replaced ATTRIB by a smaller one with more options
- Replaced CHKCPU with CPUDET which provides greater user benefits
- Replaced CTMOUSE 2.1 beta 4 with version 2.0 alpha 4 which works with even an 8088
- Replaced DEBUG by a feature rich version (much newer x86 instruction sets)
- Replaced DELTREE with a version with more features and less size
- Replaced DISKCOPY with a smaller one
- Replaced EDIT with a more minimalistic one compatible with 8088 and MDA
- Replaced EJECT with a smaller one
- Replaced EMS.COM with a more useful EMS.BAT counterpart
- Replaced HERO with ESCAPE which uses 10 times less memory and does not leak!
- Replaced IDLEDPMS screensaver with MFALLSCR that is smaller and way cooler
- Replaced INTERLNK/INTERSVR with only XTLINK
- Replaced KILLCMOS with KILLBIOS for the same job with better safeguards
- Replaced MORE with one that has an improved visibility separator
- Replaced MODE with one that is smaller and has better layout
- Replaced PREPDISK and INSTALL with an integrated SETUP program
- Replaced SANITY with SANE. Same job, less size and keypresses to run it
- Replaced SCROLLIT with PERUSE which is much more stable
- Replaced SORT with a smaller alternative
- Replaced SUBST with a smaller alternative
- Replaced VC.EXE by a smaller VC.COM
- Replaced XCOPY with a smaller one that has more features
- Added ASSIGN which redirects disk operations from one drive to another
- Added AUDIT that browses a maintainable database of file compatibilities
- Added BAT2COM that converts batch files into executables
- Added BOOTDRV which indicates the drive the system has been booted from
- Added BOOTMGR that is a simple multi-boot manager supporting large disks
- Added CC which is a control panel for SMARTDRV
- Added COM2EXE that converts COM programs into EXE files
- Added COMTEST that is a serial ports information utility
- Added CRC32 that calculates and verifies checksums
- Added CRYPT that encrypts and decrypts files
- Added CSR that sets the text mode cursor visibility
- Added DEBUGSCR which Generates a DEBUG script from any given file
- Added DIMMER which allows to brighten or dim a VGA CRT/LCD/TFT/LED screen
- Added DISKCOMP that compares the contents of two floppy disks
- Added DOSIDLE which is a power management application
- Added DRIVES that lists all available system drives
- Added DRVEXCH that allows to swap a given pair of drive letters
- Added ENUFDISC that returns free hard disk space and can compare it
- Added ENVINFO that shows total, used and remaining environment size
- Added ERRLEVEL that shows the errorlevel of the previously run program
- Added EXE2COM that converts EXE programs into COM files
- Added FAKEVER that fakes a DOS version number until program termination
- Added FASTOPEN which tracks the location of files in memory for fast access
- Added FCUT which cuts files into pieces of specified sizes to later rejoin
- Added FORTUNE which displays fortune cookies
- Added FPUDET that reports the presence of a working math coprocessor
- Added HIMEM286 which is a memory manager exclusively for the 286 CPU
- Added INTEGRTY which verifies the checksum of MiNiDOS files (INTEGRTY.CRC)
- Added IPXCHECK that checks if IPX (NetWare) services are available
- Added JOIN which makes a drive appear as a directory on another drive
- Added KEYTEST that is a keyboard scan codes testing tool
- Added LFNCHECK that indicates whether a Long File Name (LFN) API is present.
- Added LOADFIX which solves the "Packed file corrupt" issue.
- Added MENU + MENU.INI which are a tiny configurable menu system
- Added MODIFY which finds and replaces strings within files
- Added MOUSEM.COM that emulates a mouse using the keyboard
- Added MOVE which moves files and renames directories
- Added NLSFUNC that loads country-specific information for NLS
- Added NO to exclude a certain group of files when running other commands
- Added NOEMS that is able to hide EMS services
- Added PARALLEL whi is a parallel ports information utility
- Added PARK that parks the heads on ancient MFM and RLL drives
- Added POWERMGR which sets the energy-saving measures according to hardware
- Added PROTECT that reports and prevents writes & reads on disks
- Added RESINFO which shows file descriptions in VC using DESCRIPT.ION
- Added SEL that artificially sets the error level from 0 to 255
- Added SHARE that allows software to perform file locks
- Added SLOWDOWN that slows down a fast computer to make it more compatible
- Added SRCBOOT that saves and restores drives' boot sectors
- Added STACKS that modifies the number and amount of DOS stacks
- Added SYSREP that generates a system report file (SYSREP.LOG)
- Added TFTTEST which is a display/monitor color test
- Added TOUCH that modifies the time and/or date of a file
- Added UNFORMAT that restores a disk erased by the FORMAT command
- Added VC2 which loads VC together with file description capabilities
- Added VCED that launches VC's internal text/hexadecimal editor
- Added VESADEG that degrades VESA version requirements for retro compatibility
- Added VIDEODET which detects video card type setting an errorlevel
- Added VIDPAGE which identifies video page and switches to others (0-3)
- Added VIDSYNC which calibrates the screen position on the Book 8088
- Added WHEELK which translates mouse wheel-ticks into simulated keypresses
- Added WHERE that searches for files/patterns on a particular drive
- Added WHICHFAT that detects the type of FAT supported by kernel and drives
- Added WIPE which completely writes the chosen drive with nul bytes
- Added XMS2EMS.SYS that converts XMS memory into EMS version 3.2
- New shortcut to auto start a File Manager (VC) by pressing the F11 key
- Customized prompt to properly distinguish MiNiDOS at first sight
- Fixed and updated all MINIDOS documentation
- Reworked HELP which now follows the vintage MS-DOS 5.0 style
- Removed WRITEXT.EXE as it is extremely unfriendly to average users

Work for MiNiDOS 0.02 started on the 2nd February 2024 and is ending today (hopefully!). From latest release version 0.01 which was internal build #55, we had many others, we are currently at Release Candidate which is internal build #114.

Thank you for your patience.

Nice, looking forward to test it.

Hi, I decided to give your distro a spin and I have to say it I like it a lot, because it simplifies things for people like me coming back from 25 years of non-DOS use. However I have to report that the provided USB driver does not recognize a USB mass storage (generic 4GB flash drive) attached. My system is an IBM 300 GL model 6282. I don't know if I am doing something wrong or it's just a matter of switching to another driver.

geg81 wrote on 2024-12-14, 09:57:

Hi, I decided to give your distro a spin and I have to say it I like it a lot, because it simplifies things for people like me coming back from 25 years of non-DOS use. However I have to report that the provided USB driver does not recognize a USB mass storage (generic 4GB flash drive) attached. My system is an IBM 300 GL model 6282. I don't know if I am doing something wrong or it's just a matter of switching to another driver.

I suggest you play a bit with the parameters of the USB support within MiNiDOS. They are explained in this website:
https://www.dosdays.co.uk/topics/usb_support.php

Alternatively, the included EXFAT.BAT has hints on activating another USB driver (USB 2.0), which is on the slower side, but may lead you to succees.

Let us know how it goes. Good luck.

Turns out that the flash memory model makes a lots of difference. Another, very obscure, generic 256mb stick from the Mesozoic works without any issue after giving a read failure.
The driver founds the stick and connects it, then as you try to access it by drive letter the warning goes off, but if you just ignore the warning it works ok.

I’ve tried reading through everything and still don’t understand the purpose of this could you explain in layman terms is this like a dos debugging tool all in one or something else.
BTW just so you know minidos is a hydro dosage injector may have copyright/trademark issues.

MiNiDOS is a live, installable and minimalistic MS-DOS 6.22 distribution.

I though dos was pretty mini to begin with tho I’m not that familiar with it I was only a little kid when I had to type some command lines to get my games to work on our Tandy.

MiNiDOS 0.02 has just been released.

Lots updates, it is really worth checking.

You can find it available in the old dos Russian web site and in the Internet Archive.

Happy New Year!

MiNiDOS wrote on 2024-12-31, 18:27:

MiNiDOS 0.02 has just been released. […]
Show full quote

MiNiDOS 0.02 has just been released.

Lots updates, it is really worth checking.

You can find it available in the old dos Russian web site and in the Internet Archive.

Happy New Year!

Thank you!

MiNiDOS 0.02: REMOVED

Link removed
MS-DOS isn't so called abandonware and a thread to help in the development of such isn't allowed either.
Closed