Welcome to
 Para Dos Park

We will call it “PDP” for short. PDP is a Ms-Dos like environment that runs old and “New-Dos” software on modern computers. Maybe like the computer  that you are using right now. “PDP” includes operating system like Ms-Dos, IBM-Dos, DR-Dos, 86-Dos Micro-Dos, Dinkit Dos, FreeDos, Dos0, EzDos just to name a few. The term “DOS” here will be use to represent most all variation of DOS. The term DOS (Disk operating system) is an old single user and direct hardware access environment. This means that a single user applications would have total access to all of the systems hardware. The use of the mouse, keyboard, video, and so on would not be available to a second application if it tried to run at the same time.
Sample: In Ms-Dos if your application goes bad and if your lucky you can use the “control break” keys to return the keyboard and video monitor back to Command.com the you can restart the app. or start a new application.
The common denominator in PDP is all of the DOS here has the ability to reach down to all of the hardware’s and change there register values as needed. In windows you are denied direct access to its hardware registers making almost impossible to write DOS type software.

All Ms-Dos versions 1 - 6  and most all other DOS still run on the newest computers. But almost no one uses DOS any more. There are three main reasons why DOS programs aren’t used on newer computers.
1. The lack of floppy drives. Most new computers do not come with floppy drives. Ms-Dos ver 1 - 6 and most others are quite happy to run on a single floppy disk and will still  run perfectly on the newest computers. All but the largest programs would fit and run on the A drive.
2. Microsoft encourages the user to use the full size of the C drive, when setting up a new windows system,  leaving no room for other Operating systems. (IBM originally designed the  C drive to be partitioned up to four different operating systems.) Almost no one wants to repartition there C drive to make room for a new Dos partition.
3. All though Microsoft dose not come out and say it directly, they are downplaying DOS with each new version of windows that comes out. It is to a point where much the old Dos software doesn’t work any more in the newer “Windows Dos shells”.

Ask Microsoft why they do not encourage the use of there “Dos” and they will give you 1000 reason why not. Ask use why we do encourage the use of “Dos” and we will give you 1000 reason why we do.

So what do you do? If you are interested in DOS and want to run your old Dos stuff or play with some new DOS stuff, Start by reading the PDP “how to” page.

Skip everything and  Download  the PDP boot CD
 “Para Dos Park” CD there,  and install it on your computer. It runs mostly on a USB memory pin stick, and stays out of the way of your C drive windows stuff.

“Projects” A list of projects that work out of DOS or PDP
“Dos programs” A few essential DOS programs
“PDP how to” How to set up your a DOS environment.
“Downloads” Some basic downloads to get you started
“updates” A list of some more important updates
“about us” A little about us and more about PDP

Last update 09/20/2009 .