Trademarks
IBM is a registered trademark
of IBM Corporation. Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks
or service marks of others.
Why did IBM develop another release of PC DOS?
IBM developed PC DOS 2000 because our customers requested an easy install path to a DOS that is Year 2000 ready.
Is IBM's PC DOS 2000 compatible with MS-DOS and Windows 3.x?
Yes, PC DOS 2000 can be used to upgrade from any DOS version 3.3 or higher (DR-DOS, MS-DOS, PC DOS).
PC DOS 2000 is the
ideal DOS base for you to use with Windows 3.x (Win 3.1, 3.11, Windows
for Workgroups) to run DOS and Windows applications. In addition, PC
DOS 2000 includes many Windows 3.x utilities that you will find useful
everyday (for example, anti-virus, backup, compression, undelete, program
scheduler).
PC DOS 2000 is the industry standard DOS.
I had difficulties installing PC DOS 7 because of the format of the diskettes. What is the format of
the PC DOS 2000 diskettes and will I have the same problem?
The format of the PC DOS 2000 diskettes have been changed to correct this problem.
PC DOS 2000 is available in 3.5-inch or on CD-ROM.
Does the change in the number of diskettes for PC DOS 2000 affect any other products?
Yes, OS/2 Warp Server and OS/2
Warp Server SMP support Remote IPL of PC DOS 2000. A fix is required
when loading PC DOS 2000 diskettes on the server. The fix is APAR
IC20901 for OS/2 Warp Server; APAR IC20902 for OS/2 Warp Server SMP. The
fix is a REXX utility, RPLDOS2K.CMD, that is used to install PC DOS
2000 on the Remote IPL server. To download the fix, and to get more
detailed information, visit the following page:
PC
DOS 2000 on Warp Servers
What is the Year 2000 status
of older versions of IBM PC DOS?
The only version of PC DOS
that has been declared Year 2000 ready by IBM is PC DOS 2000.
Other versions
are not classified as ready because they were not tested for year 2000 readiness.
IBM strongly recommends
that customers upgrade to versions of software that are Year 2000 ready.
Will PC DOS 2000 make my system
Year 2000 ready?
PC DOS 2000 is only one of
the components that make up your system. These components include both
hardware and software. Some examples would be:
- The hardware clock;
- The BIOS (Basic Input/Output
System)
- System software - operating
systems or network
- Off-the-shelf applications
- Custom-developed applications
- Data files and databases
All system components must
be able to handle dates after January 1, 2000 for your system to be
Year 2000 ready.
For more information on
Year 2000 see the IBM Year 2000 web site at http://www.ibm.com/ibm/year2000.
Is PC DOS 2000 designed to run only on IBM PCs
No, PC DOS 2000 is designed
to run on any Intel-compatible x86-based PC.
What is the largest hard drive
PC DOS 2000 supports?
PC DOS 2000 supports hard
disk drives up to 7.8 gigabytes, however, since the largest partition (drive) supported
is 2 gigabytes, you may need to define several partitions to fully utilize
all 7.8 gigabytes (see the FDISK command on how to define partitions).
For example, you could create
a primary partition of 2 gigabytes, and an extended partition of 5.8 gigabytes,
then further divide the extended partition into 3 logical drives.
Does PC DOS 2000 support the FAT32 file system and Long File Names?
PC DOS 2000 supports only the FAT16 file system. File names must be in the form 8.3. That is, the filename must be 1 to 8 characters long and the
file extension up to 3 characters.
How can I optimize the memory (RAM) in my system with PC DOS 2000?
PC DOS 2000 contains memory optimization utilities, such as RAMBoost, that configures your system for the most optimal memory usage.
These utilities access "high" memory where some device drivers and programs can reside. Moving these programs to "high" memory frees up "low" or conventional memory for other programs to run.
More information on RAMBoost can be found in the USER'S GUIDE and COMMAND REFERENCE manuals.
Or, view the PC DOS 2000 Memory Optimization Techniques paper for additional information and discussion on memory usage.
Where can I find a DOS device
driver for my CD-ROM?
Device drivers for CD-ROMs,
joysticks, and other hardware components are not included in PC DOS 2000.
If you know the manufacturer of the specific device, you should contact
them to get a DOS device driver. If you do not know the device manufacturer,
you may be able to get the driver from your PC manufacturer.
What level of PCMCIA support
is included with IBM PC DOS 2000?
IBM PC DOS 2000 supports Phoenix
Card Manager Plus Version 3.01 from Phoenix Technologies, LTD.
Can I run PC DOS 2000 with Windows 95 / Windows 98?
Unlike Windows 3.x which requires
a separate operating system (DOS), Windows 95 and Windows 98 have combined
DOS and Windows into an integrated product. It is not recommended that
you install PC DOS 2000 on a system running Windows 95 or Windows 98.
Is this IBM's last release of DOS?
IBM is monitoring closely the
longer term DOS market to determine future product development. IBM has
the skills and know-how to continue to support the DOS market, based on
future demand.
Where can I find information
on IBM software service and support?
You can find useful information
on IBM's service & support, downloads (Fix Paks), and support contracts
for PC DOS and IBM software at the
following Web site:
IBM
PS Software Services
Where can I get older versions
of IBM PC DOS?
Older version of IBM PC DOS
are not available through IBM. You may be able to find copies of older
DOS versions at local computer shops or through a Web search.
