> This is just the opposite of what I expected. I always thought > that it is easier for a processor to run DOS than Windows.
In case you care about the technical background: DOS is dumb. When waiting for user input, it (all DOS versions I know) by default just loops forever until a key was pressed. This apparently was no problem at some time but now makes your CPU eat a lot more power and produce a lot more heat than is necessary. This design fault was and is inherent even in the BIOS servicing code for user input. As Mateusz said, using FDAPM APMDOS or a similar setting should cure the primary reason this happens. It does so by hooking the DOS and BIOS functions which are called by idle-unaware programs (>90% of DOS software), and replacing the DOS/BIOS code with a loop that (a) calls a different DOS/BIOS function to check whether a key is currently available, (b) if no key is available, halts the CPU til the next hardware interrupt (usually timer or keyboard), and (c) otherwise gets the key from the flawed DOS/BIOS code. These won't unnecessarily stress the CPU if the key is already in the BIOS's buffer so it's okay to call them if you know that there is. Regards, Christian ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Start uncovering the many advantages of virtual appliances and start using them to simplify application deployment and accelerate your shift to cloud computing http://p.sf.net/sfu/novell-sfdev2dev _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
