MS-DOS

FreeDOS is a free and open-source reimplementation of MS-DOS. FreeDOS will run virtually all MS-DOS programs, and has some improvements in memory usage and power management (it can shut the computer down without you pressing the power button).

DOS, which stands for Disk Operating System, was invented by Tim Paterson. Paterson graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Computer Science from the University of Washington.

Yes. DR-DOS (short for Digital Research Disk Operating System) is a compatible clone of MS-DOS. It is more popular for embedded use today, since Microsoft no longer sells MS-DOS licenses.

Your question has alot of variables. When you say "dos mode printout", I assume you mean an old DOS application that is printing directly to LPT1. This can also be simulated by opening a command prompt and copying a small text file to lpt1. c:\>COPY TEST.TXT LPT1 I assume your new computer does not have a LPT1 port so you bought a USB to parallel converter to continue to use your old parallel printer. The first suggestion is to share your printer and record the share name. Go to control panel, printers, right click the icon for the printer you are using, click properties, then sharing, then share the printer. Record the share name, for example BROTHERM or HPLASERJ. Note that most people use 8 characters or less for this name for maximum compatibility across operating systems. Now go to control panel, system, Computer Name and record the "full computer name" of your computer. Note that most people also use 8 characters or less for this name for maximum compatibility across operating systems. For example it might be "office" or "dell1234". The period at the end is not part of the "full computer name". Now you can go to a command prompt by clicking on Start, All Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt. Enter this net use command with your computer name and printer share name: net use lpt1: \\computer\share example: c:\>net use lpt1: \\office\hplaserj c:\>net use lpt1: \\dell1234\brotherm check the status of the command be entering the command: c:\>net use There is only a 80% chance this solution will work. I do not know the details of your USB to parallel converter. I do not know the details of your printer. Your printer needs to support "character mode printing". Most parallel printers DO support "character mode printing". There is no industry standard terminology for this printing mode. You could ask "Does the printer support DOS mode printing?" Most network printers do support this character mode printing. Unfortunately this specific specification if often not listed on the outside of the box or on the manufacturer's web site. In your case, my second suggestion would be to discard the USB to parallel converter and instead have a technician install a parallel printer port inside your computer. The printer port will only cost about $15 dollars and the technician will charge you more than that to install it. Then you will have a real LPT1 and you can hook your old parallel port printer directly to this real hardware parallel port. Then there is no conversion or net use command. I assume your old printer has worked in character mode before so you should be 100% guaranteed that this will solve your problem. My third suggestion would be to install a third party software solution. I call these third party because it is not your DOS application, it is not Microsoft Windows, but a third company that has solved your DOS to printer problem. I do not know of any FREE solutions. Most are shareware and cost around $20. There will be minimal download, install, and setup required. Most let you test them out for 100 pages of printout or 30 days in shareware mode to make sure they work before you buy them. This solution will not require that you share your printer or issue any NET USE commands. This solution should be 100% guaranteed since these third party utilities were designed specifically to solve this problem. DOSprn is one such utility that I have seen work. http://www.dosprn.com Here are some example printers and solutions that have been used to print from DOS applications that print to LPT1. Lexmark 2490 printer supports USB and parallel port installation. If you have one of these, I'd hook it up to a real hardware LPT1 port and it will work great. Epson LQ570E printer supports USB and parallel port installation. If you have one of these, I'd hook it up to a real hardware LPT1 port and it will work great. HP LaserJet P3005 printer supports USB and parallel port installation. If you have one of these, I'd hook it up to a real hardware LPT1 port and it will work great. HP InkJet HP6940 printer supports USB only. If you have one of these, I'd share it and use the NET USE lpt1: solution to use it. Brother MFC-7420 printer supports USB and parallel port installation. Unfortunately, this printer does not print in character mode even when it is hooked to a real hardware parallel port. The NET USE LPT1: solution will not work. If you have one of these, you will need to get a different printer or use one of the shareware print utilities like DOSprn.

diskcopy

A town in central California

using the "echo ]" will disply the greater-than bracket on the screen. The echo command in general displays whatever text is typed after a space.

The original question is: how to echo ">", not "]"!!!

To display a pipe (|) or redirection character (, ^<, or ^| ). If you need to use the caret character (^), type two (^^).

From the DOS prompt, you can copy most files only to a floppy as the system won't recognize any other devices (e.g. cd-rw).