Older versions of DOS running on a Jr?

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OldComputerGuy
Posts: 114
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2016 6:28 pm

Older versions of DOS running on a Jr?

Post by OldComputerGuy »

Has anyone managed to get any version of DOS starting with a 1 to run on a Jr? I may have a source for a physical copy of PCDOS 1.1 is why I ask.
KenG
Posts: 239
Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2016 5:36 pm
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

Re: Older versions of DOS running on a Jr?

Post by KenG »

I believe DOS 2.1 was the first version to support the PCJR. I imagine you would have to patch the boot sector on an older DOS the same way you have to for DOS 5 and beyond to get it to work. There may be other considerations that I am not aware of.
Enhanced PCjr with a jr-IDE (1GB DOM) and a parallel port side car with a compact flash reader and backpack 1.44mb floppy attached. Tandy video mod.
Brutman
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Re: Older versions of DOS running on a Jr?

Post by Brutman »

The patch for DOS 5 and up is required because DOS 5 and up require 256KB machines, and a stock PCjr will only report 112KB.

Don't bother booting DOS 2.0 or earlier on the machine. I tried it and the machine crashes if you look at it incorrectly. They were quite buggy and they don't have the correct stepping parameters for the floppy drive, so it sounds like hell when the floppy drive is seeking. And functionally there is no reason to run those older versions.
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