Microsoft open-sources "the earliest DOS source code discovered to date"
Summary
Microsoft has released the earliest known source code for DOS, the operating system that led to MS-DOS, along with notes and documents from its creator. This code is older than any previous release and was carefully digitized from paper printouts because no digital copies existed.Key Facts
- The released source code includes 86-DOS 1.00 kernel and early PC-DOS 1.00 development versions.
- 86-DOS was originally created by Tim Paterson for Intel 8086-based computers before Microsoft licensed and developed it further.
- Microsoft bought the rights to 86-DOS and licensed it as PC-DOS to IBM, while selling MS-DOS versions to other companies.
- The new release predates the official MS-DOS brand and includes utilities such as CHKDSK.
- A team named the “DOS Disassembly Group” transcribed the code from old paper printouts because modern scanning technology struggled with its quality.
- Microsoft has previously made other early versions of MS-DOS available as open source on GitHub, including versions 1.25, 2.0, and 4.0.
- Other open-sourced Microsoft projects include the game Zork and 3D Movie Maker.
- The earliest known 86-DOS version was rediscovered and uploaded online two years ago.
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