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MS-DOS User's Guide
Introducing MS-DOS
System requirements
What is MS-DOS?
The
Microsoft® MS-DOS operating system is like a translator
between
you and
your
computer_ Basically, this translator is a
series
of
programs, making
up
what
is
called
the
MS-DOS
operating
system_
The
programs in this operating system
let
you
communi-
cate
with
your
computer,
your
disk drives,
and
your
printer, let-
ting you manage these
resources
to
your
advantage_
MS-DOS is
more
than just a translator, though_ It is also a disk
operating system_ This means
that
you
can
use MS-DOS programs
on
computers
with
floppy disks
or
hard
disks_
Once
you
have loaded
MS-DOS into
your
computer's
memory,
you
can
compose
letters
and
reports,
run
programs
and
languages
such
as Microsoft
GW-BASIC®, and use devices
such
as
printers
and
disk drives_
Before You Begin
Before
you
begin using this
book
you should have:
• A 16-bit personal
computer
that
runs
MS-DOS
and
has at least L
256K bytes
of
memory_
•
Two
disk drives
(either
two
floppy disk drives,
or
one
hard
disk drive and
one
floppy disk drive).
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