This article presents a
timeline
A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events.
Timelines can use any suitable scale represen ...
of events in the history of 16-bit
x86 DOS-family
disk operating systems from 1980 to present.
Non-x86 operating systems named "DOS" are not part of the scope of this timeline.
Also presented is a timeline of events in the history of the 8-bit
8080-based and 16-bit x86-based
CP/M operating systems from 1974 to 2014, as well as the hardware and software developments from 1973 to 1995 which formed the foundation for the initial version and subsequent enhanced versions of these operating systems.
DOS releases have been in the forms of:
*
OEM adaptation kits (OAKs) – all Microsoft releases before version 3.2 were OAKs only
*
Shrink wrap
Shrink may refer to:
Common meanings
* Miniaturization
*Shrink, a slang term for:
** a psychiatrist
** a psychoanalyst
** a psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cogn ...
packaged product for smaller OEMs (
system builder
A custom-built or homebuilt computer is a computer assembled from available components, usually commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components, rather than purchased as a complete system from a computer system supplier, also known as pre-built syste ...
s) – starting with MS-DOS 3.2 in 1986, Microsoft offered these in addition to OAKs
* End-user retail – all versions of IBM PC DOS (and other OEM-adapted versions) were sold to end users. DR-DOS began selling to end users with version 5.0 in July 1990, followed by MS-DOS 5.0 in June 1991
* Free download – starting with OpenDOS 7.01 in 1997, followed by FreeDOS alpha 0.05 in 1998 (FreeDOS project was
announced in 1994)
DOS era version overview (1980–1995)
1973–1980: Hardware foundations and CP/M
1980–1995: Important events in DOS history
1995–2000: Windows 9x era
2001–2022: Post-millennium
See also
*
Comparison of DOS operating systems
This article details versions of MS-DOS, IBM PC DOS, and at least partially compatible disk operating systems. It does not include the many other operating systems called "DOS" which are unrelated to IBM PC compatibles.
Historical and licensi ...
*
List of DOS commands
This article presents a list of commands used by DOS operating systems, especially as used on x86-based IBM PC compatibles (PCs). Other DOS operating systems are not part of the scope of this list.
In DOS, many standard system commands were p ...
*
Timeline of Intel
This is a timeline of Intel, one of the world's largest semiconductor chip makers.
Timeline
References
{{Technology company timelines
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headqu ...
*
Timeline of Microsoft
*
Timeline of Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a computer operating system developed by Microsoft. It was first launched in 1985 as a graphical operating system built on MS-DOS. The initial version was followed by several subsequent releases, and by the early 1990s, the ...
*
Timeline of operating systems
This article presents a timeline of events in the history of computer operating systems from 1951 to the current day. For a narrative explaining the overall developments, see the History of operating systems.
1950s
* 1951
** LEO I 'Lyons Elect ...
*
Comparison of operating systems
*
List of operating systems
Notes
References
External links
Origins of DOS, Tim Paterson website
PC DOS Retroby Vernon C. Brooks
*
/books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=IBM%2CMicrosoft&year_start=1975&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=6&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2CIBM%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CMicrosoft%3B%2Cc0 IBM vs. MicrosoftGoogle Ngram Viewer
The Google Ngram Viewer or Google Books Ngram Viewer is an online search engine that charts the frequencies of any set of search strings using a yearly count of n-grams found in printed sources published between 1500 and 2019 in Google's text co ...
DR-DOS versions
{{Disk operating systems
DOS
Timeline of x86 DOS