MS-DOS 7

MS-DOS 7 is a computer Operative system which never has been separately released by its inventors Microsoft, but which is the basic (real mode) of Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows 98SE (as version 7.1, but the difference between version 7 and 7.1 are tiny). A major difference towards earlier versions of MS-DOS however, is the usage of the MSDOS.SYS file. In version 7 isn't this file a binary one, but a pure setting file. Anyone who wants the older boot style (where the booting process ends with a DOS-prompt, and which requires "WIN" to be typed at the prompt in order for Windows to start) could keep on using that same style, by just setting BootGUI=0 in the MSDOS.SYS-file. Otherwise does Windows naturally start up "by it self", which was a very important issue at the time when Microsoft released Windows 95. But this was in reality only an automatical call for the file WIN.COM, the Windows starting file. So, also Windows 95 and 98 are both highly depending of a Real mode system, although MS-DOS 7 possibly is more "hidden" than earlier versions of MS-DOS. This is also true for Windows Millenium Edition, but "ME" refuses users to use Real mode.

Also the paths for (a plausible but actually not necessary) Windows directory and Boot directory is to be set in this new version of the MSDOS.SYS-file. Whilst IO.SYS (although binary different) remained as the initial executive startup file which BIOS booting routines fires up, if located correctly. Also the COMMAND.COM file keeps handle the command prompt. The typical DOS setting files CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT essentially retained its functions from earlier versions of MS-DOS (although memory allocation was no longer needed).

Although only included in Windows releases (the last stand alone release of MS-DOS ever was the 6.22 version), can Windows 7 (and 7.1) fairly easy be extracted from Windows 95/98, and be used alone on other computers, just as the earlier versions.