Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!munnari.oz.au!manuel!ccadfa!bxw
From: bxw@ccadfa.adfa.oz.au (Brad Willcott)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Yet more MSDOS5.0 questions.
Message-ID: <2280@ccadfa.adfa.oz.au>
Date: 16 Feb 91 07:14:58 GMT
References: <2034@xenon.kcl-cs.UUCP>
Distribution: all
Organization: Computer Centre, University College, UNSW, ADFA, Canberra, Australia
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howard@kcl-cs.UUCP (JR Howard) writes:

>I may have missed it, but while there's all this hype on MSDOS5.0 taking
>a small area of low memory.  A secondary and equally important question
>also exists:

>   Has 'sys.com' been improved?

>Generally speaking, every increase in DOS has meant larger system files.  As
>these seem to 'have' to sit at the begining of a harddisc's boot area,
>upgrading normally means scratching the boot drive - temporaly or otherwise.
>Downgrading - that wonderful thing you can do by mistake, works fine as the
>system files are smaller and the space is restricted to the previous versions
>size.

>Anyone know the angle on this 'feature' in MSDOS5.0?  32Meg worth of floppies
>doesn't strike me as a 'fun' idea in order to achieve the upgrade.

>JR

The problem you are refering to can be answered as follows:

	a) The "system" files ARE larger.

	b) Installing the upgrade is NOT a problem.  MSDOS 5.0 will come with
	   a VERY good and simple to use "install" program that does the whole
	   thing for you.  It will even store your old OS files in a hidden
	   directory and create a "unistall" disk for you, so that should
	   you wish, for some unknown reason, to go back to your previous
	   version of DOS, you can.

I have recently received a beta test version of MSDOS 5.0 from Microsoft.  I
am very impressed with its capabilities.  The hardware is a 386 w/4Mb ram.
The first thing that I noticed after a successful installation, was that I had
an EXTRA 39Kb ram available for DOS.

I dare not go any further than I already have, as I don't want to breach any
beta testing agreements with Microsoft.  But I will say, that although I was
not willing/interrested in upgrading from DOS 3.2 to 4.X, I am very willing to
go to 5.X.

Brad.



-- 
Brad Willcott,                          ACSnet:     bxw@ccadfa.cc.adfa.oz
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