DOS versions

DOS versions

Following is a list of DOS versions since its inception in 1981:

  Version    Major new features
  1.0  1981  8-sector 160KB floppy (SS).
  1.05       Bug fix.
  1.1  1982  8-sector 320KB floppy (DS).
  2.0  1983  10M hard disk, 9-sector 360KB floppy,
              directories, more batch commands.
  2.1  1983  PCjr cartridge support and bug fixes.
  3.0  1984  20MB hard disk, 1.2MB floppy, VDISK,
              PATH, new commands.
  3.1  1985  Network support, bug fixes.
  3.2  1986  720KB floppy, new commands.
  3.3  1987  1.44MB floppy, FDISK partitions.
  4.0  1988  Menu and mouse support (DOS shell),
              improved commands, EMS support,
              512MB hard disks.
  4.01 1988  Bug fix (4.0 rarely used).
  5.0  1991  Major upgrade: new DOS shell, ability
              to use high memory, task swapping,
              online help, new text editor,
              2GB hard disks, 2.88MB floppies,
              enhanced commands.
  5.02 1992  IBM version (PC-DOS 5.02), includes
              ISO fonts for European compatibility,
              power management and file transfer
  6.0  1993  Includes built in disk compression
              and various utilities for antivirus,
              backup, undelete and file transfer.
  6.1  1993  IBM version (PC-DOS 6.1), includes
              different utilities than MS-DOS 6.0.
  6.2  1993  MS version (MS-DOS 6.2), 6.0 bug fix.
  6.21 1994  MS version (without DoubleSpace)
  6.3  1994  IBM version (PC-DOS 6.3), upgrade.
  6.22 1994  MS version with Microsoft's own
              DriveSpace compression.
  7.0  1995  IBM version (PC-DOS 7.0) includes
              enhancements.
  7.0  1995  The MS-DOS 7 in Windows 95