>
Why would you want to use software written so poorly that it won't work with
DOS 3.3 - the workhorse of the pre-UMB era ?
>
Because DOS 4 introduced some new functions that made DOS 3.3x obsolete, one
such function being Extended Open/Create (int 21h function 6Ch), and enabled
access to hard disks in larger than 32 MB pieces. Imagine partitioning one of
today's hard disks into 32 MB pieces - I don't think it would work. I believe
the first DOS I had was actually MS-DOS 4.01, correcting some of the bugs in the
original DOS 4 release. GW-BASIC and EXE2BIN were included. Would CD-ROMs work
under MS-DOS 3.3x? Removable-media drives such as Zip and Jaz wouldn't work or
wouldn't work well with 32 MB partition limitation. Today's big downloads from
the Internet would pose problems with partitions <= 32 MB. I used MS-DOS 3.3x
on Kentucky Polytechnic Institute (now defunct) computers and saw the lesser
capabilities. But now the earliest DOS that I have access to is MS-DOS 4.01,
which I haven't used in quite some time. I upgraded to MS-DOS 5 back in 1991.
Thomas Mueller
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
