Solved Why are there Win 7 installations "over DOS"

[netadict]

I saw a Windows 7 PC startup really slowly, ironically in a computer hardware store, when I asked why they told me that it was installed "over DOS". Now why would someone install Win 7 over DOS?

 

[gregrocker]

Makes no sense. They should post it up here and we will resolve it.

 

[madcratebuilder]

How do you think you get a DOS screen when you type "CMD"? Windoz is over DOS, always has been.

 

[cyclic]

It was DOS but not anymore, you get a command prompt, it's not DOS.

 

[LMiller7]

How do you think you get a DOS screen when you type "CMD"? Windoz is over DOS, always has been.

Not anymore.

In 16 bit Windows and Windows 9X (including ME) the system initially booted into real mode DOS which then started Windows. In the NT platform (which includes Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8) this has never been the case. These systems never boot into DOS. The cmd command opens a command line interface for the Windows OS. The only thing this has in common with DOS is the similar interface. Internally DOS and Windows are radically different. With 32 bit versions of NT you can run DOS and 16 bit Windows applications by means of an included subsystem, essentially an emulator. This does not exist in 64 bit systems.

Installing a modern OS over DOS really doesn't make sense.

 

[Dsprague]

How do you think you get a DOS screen when you type "CMD"? Windoz is over DOS, always has been.

Not anymore.

In 16 bit Windows and Windows 9X (including ME) the system initially booted into real mode DOS which then started Windows. In the NT platform (which includes Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8) this has never been the case. These systems never boot into DOS. The cmd command opens a command line interface for the Windows OS. The only thing this has in common with DOS is the similar interface. Internally DOS and Windows are radically different. With 32 bit versions of NT you can run DOS and 16 bit Windows applications by means of an included subsystem, essentially an emulator. This does not exist in 64 bit systems.

Installing a modern OS over DOS really doesn't make sense.

I'm not sure how you would even go about using DOS natively unless it was being used through a VM, or a third party application like DOS box. I'm curious is DOS even compatible with modern hardware?

 

[LMiller7]

I installed a floppy drive on my 4 year old windows 7 computer and it was able to boot with a DOS 7 floppy. But it didn't even recognize that a hard drive (SATA) was present.

 

[netadict]

I always thought that the command prompt we get in windows is some sort of DOS simulator. Windows has developed so much that it's hard to imagine that it's based on an antiquated system like DOS.

 

[gregrocker]

You mean the Command Prompt isn't DOS?

 

[LMiller7]

DOS is a primitive and antiquated operating system from a bygone era. The primary user interface to this operating system was the command line. Windows is a modern OS that has a graphical user interface (GUI) but also a command line for those situations when it is appropriate. They are similar in appearance and perform some of the same functions but at that point the similarity ends. The command line in Windows does not emulate DOS. Internally the command line in DOS and in Windows are radically different.

The command line in Window is fully a part of Windows and has only a superficial similarity with that of DOS. In 32 bit Windows the command line can run DOS applications. But they can also be started from the GUI.

In a sense all modern operating systems are based on those that came before. But the same thing can be said for virtually all manufactured goods. If it wasn't for the command line in Windows no one would ever guess that it came from the same company as DOS. Saying that Windows is based on DOS is true in a sense but it is more wrong than right.

 

[madcratebuilder]

How do you think you get a DOS screen when you type "CMD"? Windoz is over DOS, always has been.

Not anymore.

In 16 bit Windows and Windows 9X (including ME) the system initially booted into real mode DOS which then started Windows. In the NT platform (which includes Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8) this has never been the case.

I guess that's what i get for still using a Win9X machine. The shop computer still uses DOS programs. It certainly has come a long ways since Win3.0.

 

[netadict]

thank you all for your posts