MS DOS 7 download?

[Geek-9pm]

Is it OK to download MS DOS 7 for my own use?
Yes, you can find it on a torrent, but that is not the question.
My question is will MS permit me to use a copy of it even if I never paid for it? Of course, yers ago I did really pasy for a copy of MS-DOS 6.22 when I bought Windows 3.11, but I would not imagine that give me the right to MS-DOS 7.10,; Or does it?
The CNET download.com site lists several MS institutes taht are free. It even has a download for DOS 6.22. So, does that mean MS does not care anymore?
http://www.cnet.com/topic/microsoft-ms-dos.html

A Google search for MS-DOS 7.1 will yield sites that say they have it.
And your tube, of course.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRdfG4D7Y4A
(His taste in music is questionable.)

So is it legal? Is it really from MS?

[Salmon Trout]

Microsoft does care, and no version of MS-DOS has been made freeware. MS-DOS 7.x and 8.x were never released as a standalone operating system like (for example) version 6.22. They were was part of Windows 95, 98 and ME. As far as I am aware, ownership of a license for Windows 3.11 does not confer entitlement to use other later operating systems.

Version 6.22 (Retail) - Last standalone MS-DOS
Version 7.0 (Win95,95A) - Support for VFAT   long file names. New editor. JO.SYS is an alternative filename of the   IO.SYS kernel file and used as such for "special purposes". JO.SYS   allows booting from CD-ROM to hard disk.
Version 7.1 (Win95B-Win98SE) - Support for FAT32 file system. Last general purpose DOS to load Windows
Version 8.0 (WinME) - Integrated drivers for faster Windows loading. Four different kernels (IO.SYS) observed.
Version 8.0 (WinXP) - DOS boot disks created by XP and later contain files from WinME. The internal command prompt still reports version 5.0

That link leads to a page which only has the 6.2 "stepup" files - this was a Microsoft package to upgrade 6.2 to 6.22.

You cannot legally download any version except through regular legal channels (MSDN, licensed volume user etc)

[TheShadow]

Geek,
What part of DOS do you need?  (or want)
Just the DOS that would normally be on a formatted disk, or more than that?

Any disk formatted on a Windows ME machine will have a lot of Dos 8 on it.

I use a floppy disk, formatted on my own Windows ME PC, for my DOS Utilities disk.
That disk contains, FDISK, Format and Scandisk.  It's great for setting up new hard drives.

 

[Geek-9pm]

Yes. Windows ME had MS-DOS 8 on it.
The question is it legal to use any recent version of MS-DOS if you did not pay for same.  Many users here never had a Windows ME computer.

There a re many ways to get a copy of either 7.10 or 8.0 with no payment made to Microsoft. But on this forum it is generally held that if you didn't pay for it, it is not legit.

A real NIB DOS 6.22 on eBay is about $20, therefore one wound think  you surely can't get DOS 7.10 for free. Don't make sense.

The MS-DOS 7.10 was in Windows 95 and supports FAT32.
What exactly IS this MS-DOS 7.1?

You can still buy original windows 95 CDs on eBay with COA. They are not free.

BTW: If anybody want to sell a MS products on eBay without all the original material, it will be removed.

Back to the topic. There is a web site that offers a FREE copy of MS-DOS 7.1 for download. I will not name it here. I want to know how he gets away with it. If it is legit, it would be nice to know. But if you never owed a Windows 95 CD, it should not be lawful to use it.  Same for Windows ME **

Yes, I did have a 95 CD, legal, never sold it, but it got damaged. So I am still a legal owner. So I am sure I would be inside the law. But Maybe I  can not recommend northers to get a copy. That is why I posted the question.

** Off topic, MS should pay somebody n to steal all the copies of Windows ME.

[Salmon Trout]

What exactly IS this MS-DOS 7.1?

The versions went like this:

MS-DOS 6.22 (1994, last standalone version)
MS-DOS 7.0   (1995, Windows 95A)
MS-DOS 7.10 (1996, Windows 95 OSR 2, Windows 95 OSR 2.5, Windows 98, and Windows 98 SE)
MS-DOS 8.0   (2000, Windows Me)

You will see there is no "7.1" version in that list. There was never a 7.1 version of MS-DOS released by Microsoft. Not as a standalone OS, nor as part of a Windows version. There is an "MS-DOS 7.1" version mentioned on the Web which is an unofficial "distribution" created by two characters called Wengier and Roy. This was based on the Windows 98fe kernel and a mixture of Microsoft and open source utilities. All Microsoft licenses forbid extraction of files and their incorporation into other products, whether sold or given away. A number of websites hosting or linking to the "7.1" packages have been forced to stop, and many forums ban linking or discussion which would assist its use.

A separate but linked issue is that of "downgrade rights". Some (not all) Microsoft OS licenses confer the right to use (some) (specified) prior editions. They must be installed through legitimate means, e.g. from legally obtained physical media.



 

[Salmon Trout]

Yes, I did have a 95 CD, legal, never sold it, but it got damaged. So I am still a legal owner. So I am sure I would be inside the law.

You would have been inside the law to use that CD when it was undamaged, but I don't think that having once owned a disk confers any rights to later use pirated software.

[Salmon Trout]

A clarification/correction. I see that I earlier wrote this:

Version 6.22 (Retail) - Last standalone MS-DOS
Version 7.0 (Win95,95A) - Support for VFAT     long file names. New editor. JO.SYS is an alternative filename of the     IO.SYS kernel file and used as such for "special purposes". JO.SYS     allows booting from CD-ROM to hard disk.
Version 7.1 (Win95B-Win98SE) - Support for FAT32 file system. Last general purpose DOS to load Windows
Version 8.0 (WinME) - Integrated drivers for faster Windows loading. Four different kernels (IO.SYS) observed.
Version   8.0 (WinXP) - DOS boot disks created by XP and later contain files from   WinME. The internal command prompt still reports version 5.0

The reference to 7.1 quoted is incorrect/misleading (blame Wikipedia); see below as I later posted.

MS-DOS 7.0   (1995, Windows 95A)
MS-DOS 7.10 (1996, Windows 95 OSR 2, Windows 95 OSR 2.5, Windows 98, and Windows 98 SE)
MS-DOS 8.0   (2000, Windows Me)

To add to the confusion (or fun), as well as the fake "MS-DOS 7.1" collection, there are also IBM PC-DOS,  and DR-DOS/Novell DOS/OpenDos "seven dot something" versions. Very recently, (Jan 2012) FreeDOS 1.1 was released; this is completely open-source and free.

[Geek-9pm]

Thank u Salmon Trout. This thread can be a useful reference tool.
I agree will all you said.  To b legal, one must have an original media copy of the product. And all of the MS-DOS version here mentioned are at least 12 years old. None of ll these versions read the NTFS format, so there is hardly any reason to use them.

From now on I am not going to recommend a user use a DOS boot disk to test his computer. The better free test programs out there do not use MS-DOS anyway. They use other software to independently start a diagnostic program.

There is a problem with Hiren's BootCD. Because of legal problems of some kind, it is not recommended. 

Windows 7 has built-in features to repair from the install DVD. Or, if your PC did not have a install DVD, you can make one for later use if ever needed.

So, I will stop telling people to use a Windows 98 boot floppy. Not vary many new users know what the was. 

[0ffer]

MS-DOS 7.x and 8.x were never released as a standalone operating system

It is not quite correct
New MSDOS7 Folder After Windows 2000 Upgrade
When you upgrade to Windows 2000 from Windows 98, an MS-DOS option is  created on the Windows NT Boot menu, and an MSDOS7 folder is created in the root  folder.
Windows 2000 setup ="MSDOS7 creator"
MS-DOS 8.0 -  Final version of MS-DOS - DOS boot disks created by XP and later

[Salmon Trout]

It is not quite correct

It is quite correct. Something accompanying Windows versions that lets you make a boot disk or creates a DOS boot option is not a standalone MS-DOS version, as MS-DOS 6.22 was.

[Geek-9pm]

Search for 'DOS 7.1' gives links to 'DOS 7.10', which is to be expected. There is no DOS 7.1 - just 7.10 and why the zero is significant would just extend the life of this thread. Let's stop here.   

[Salmon Trout]

Search for 'DOS 7.1' gives links to 'DOS 7.10', which is to be expected. There is no DOS 7.1 - just 7.10 and why the zero is significant would just extend the life of this thread. Let's stop here.   

I gave a pretty complete explanation of this 11 days ago in reply no. 4.

[TheShadow]

Just how long do copyrights last?  Do you know?  I've heard it's only ten years.

MS no longer sells or supports it's DOS versions, so how long do we have to cow tow to them?

MS dos, IBM dos and Dr Dos is available all over the internet for FREE download to anyone who wants it.

End:

[BC_Programmer]

Just how long do copyrights last?  Do you know?  I've heard it's only ten years.

It varies by country. Average is until 70 years after the death of the last surviving author.

MS no longer sells or supports it's DOS versions, so how long do we have to cow tow to them?
MS dos, IBM dos and Dr Dos is available all over the internet for FREE download to anyone who wants it.

I'm not sure I follow your reasoning. MS-DOS and PC-DOS are commercial products; Are you saying that because they aren't sold new anymore, paired with the fact that its easy to pirate, that people should just grab it when they please?

The argument boils down to essentially saying that "It's easier to pirate, therefore it is right to do so."; and even if that isn't what you are suggesting, I don't thing anybody can argue that your post seems to endorse piracy.

And to deflate the argument made, you can quite easily buy it.  Ebay, Amazon, as well as other on-line stores, such as cdw.com, sell things like copies of MS-DOS. Most small to medium sized businesses often hold onto their older software, even after they have upgraded to new machines. Often they can be easily coaxed to part with them either for cheap or for very little cost. Sometimes you can even get a hold of an older PC if you want it.

Of course at that point, it's usually used software, so one could argue that the net effect to the Original Developer is no different than it would be if it had been pirated. On the other hand, you'll probably have the box and manuals; and oftentimes if you were to pirate it you would still have to write them to floppies, and often those floppies end up costing more than if you had bought a used copy. Not to mention the troubles involved if the media uses the DMF format.

[Geek-9pm]

One more post. Some copyrights go for 17 years.  In that case, significant program release in 1996 would still be under copyright. But a copyright may be extended by making improvements to a work, including computer programs.

Making unauthorized copies of an old work violates the copyright if the older work is now incorporated into a newer work.

Example: the Elvis Presley song "Love Me Tender" was a new set of lyrics based on a very old melody.  Anybody using that song in a public performance could get some heat from the Presley people, even if they did not use the new lyrics.
Elvis Presley Love me tender Best Version Ever Amazing Performance