OK, last shot at explaining that "there really is a PURE DOS" for win98, and I'll even keep it more-or-less "on topic for linux" by pointing out an unlikely parallel -- read on... On Tuesday 20 January 2004 9:46 pm, John Andersen wrote: [lots of back-and-forth about whether "win98 runs 'on top' of DOS or not" snipped]
Win95 maybe, but win98 is a 32bit system and dos is still only 16. But you can find a win98 machine and try it yourself by clicking start / run / enter command.com and see what it says.
at which point, "it's too late -- you've already LOADED win.com" (and despite all of the bad press Microsoft has received over "windows crashing", "win.com" doesn't crash -- it can't -- you can NEVER leave it...;) ) If you peruse other parts of this thread, you'll see my notes on how to boot "pure" DOS and really stay there, not the pseudo-dos that gets invoked by "start/ run" or even "boot to dos" in the exit menu. One of the tell-tale indicators that you really are in "pure DOS" is that there is NO "long filename support". The boot-to-dos/run command.com from start DOES have long filename support, which is an indication that you've never left windows [kind of like when Xavier and Scott return to the mansion in X-men 2, but I digress...]
Then rename command.com (c:\windows\command direcectory) and reboot and you note it will still work.
ummm... wrong "command.com" -- you would want the command.com found in the ROOT directory [i.e., as if it were on a floppy, hint hint...] Now, I promised to make a linux reference that might help explain things, and here it is: LOADLIN.EXE That's right -- to a degree, all the arguments about win98 and "DOS" can be applied to Linux if you stop and think/realize that the boot procedure of: boot DOS, run WIN.COM, do "windows" things never to return to "pure" DOS is exactly the same as boot DOS, run LOADLIN.EXE, do "linux/unix" things never to return to DOS HOWEVER, under "linux", you do NOT have access to "honest to goodness DOS calls" which DO exist under windows [because you never really "left" dos, you only loaded a non-exitable-shell on top of it] Running "loadlin", however, totally replaces "DOS" with linux [ok, I can here it now: the claim will be made that running win.com "totally replaces DOS", but back up to the point where I pointed out you can still make "real DOS calls..."] And for an even more obscure reference, consider the Novell program SERVER.EXE, what do you think THAT is ? [one major difference, you can actually exit SERVER.EXE and return to DOS, or, at least, you USED to be able to do that -- it's been a LONG while since I took Novell classes, but now that they bought SuSE, maybe I should be brushing up on it... ;) ] -- Yet another Blog: http://osnut.homelinux.net