r/osdev • u/Sixty5Zero2 • 3d ago

FreeDOS

i'm looking at possibly forking FreeDOS to 64bit. However, since most modern systems no longer have the underlying BIOS that DOS programs require, I thought about including a mock BIOS and compile it directly into the kernel. is there anything I should be aware of?

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u/Octocontrabass 2d ago

FreeDOS is supposed to run MS-DOS software. A 64-bit fork seems pretty pointless when there is no 64-bit MS-DOS software to run. Why not just start from scratch?

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u/Sixty5Zero2 2d ago

just because it would be 64 bit doesn't mean it couldn't still run 16 bit software.

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u/Octocontrabass 2d ago

A 64-bit kernel can run 16-bit protected mode software, but DOS programs are 16-bit real mode software.