15 resources for new users and longtime fans of this free operating
system.
![Puzzle pieces coming together to form a computer screen][1]
Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, DOS was king of the desktop. Not satisfied with a proprietary version of DOS, programmers worldwide worked together to create an open source version of DOS called FreeDOS, which first became available in 1994. [The FreeDOS Project][2] continues to grow in 2021 and beyond.
We've run several articles about FreeDOS on Opensource.com to help new users get started with FreeDOS and learn new programs. Here are a few of our most popular FreeDOS articles from the last year:
### New to FreeDOS
Are you new to FreeDOS? If you'd like to learn the basics of how to boot and run FreeDOS, check out these articles:
* [Get started with FreeDOS][3]: It looks like retro computing, but FreeDOS is a modern OS you can use to get things done.
* [How FreeDOS boots][4]: Learn how your computer boots up and starts FreeDOS, from power on to the command-line prompt.
* [Configure FreeDOS in plain text][5]: Learn how to configure FreeDOS with the `fdconfig.sys` file.
* [How to navigate FreeDOS with CD and DIR][6]: Armed with just two commands, `DIR` and `CD`, you can navigate your FreeDOS system from the command line.
* [Set and use environment variables in FreeDOS][7]: Environment variables are helpful in almost every command-line environment, including FreeDOS.
### FreeDOS for Linux users
If you're already familiar with the Linux command line, you might like to try these commands and programs that create a similar environment on FreeDOS:
* [FreeDOS commands for Linux fans][8]: If you're already familiar with the Linux command line, try these commands to help ease into FreeDOS.
* [Edit text like Emacs in FreeDOS][9]: If you're already familiar with GNU Emacs, you should feel right at home in Freemacs.
* [Copy files between Linux and FreeDOS][10]: Learn how to transfer files between a FreeDOS virtual machine and a Linux desktop system.
* [How to archive files on FreeDOS][11]: There's a version of ****`tar` on FreeDOS, but the standard way to archive on DOS is Zip and Unzip.
* [Use this nostalgic text editor on FreeDOS][12]: Reminiscent of Linux ed(1), Edlin is a joy to use when you want to edit text the old-school way.
### Using FreeDOS
Once you've booted into FreeDOS, you can use these great tools and apps to get work done or to install other software:
* [How to use the FreeDOS text editor][13]: FreeDOS provides a user-friendly text editor called FreeDOS Edit.
* [Listen to music on FreeDOS][14]: Mplayer is an open source media playerusually found on Linux, Windows, Mac, and DOS.
* [Install and remove software packages on FreeDOS][15]: Learn how to use FDIMPLES, the FreeDOS package manager, to install and remove packages on your FreeDOS system.
* [Why I love programming on FreeDOS with GW-BASIC][16]: BASIC was my entry into computer programming. I haven't written BASIC code in years, but I'll always have a fondness for BASIC and GW-BASIC.
* [Program on FreeDOS with Bywater BASIC][17]: Install Bywater BASIC on your FreeDOS system and start experimenting with BASIC programming.
Throughout its nearly 30-year journey, FreeDOS has tried to be a modern DOS. If you'd like to learn more, you can read about the origins and development of FreeDOS in [A brief history of FreeDOS][18]. Also, check out Don Watkins' interview about FreeDOS in [How a college student founded a free and open source operating system][19].
If you'd like to try FreeDOS, download FreeDOS 1.3 RC5, released in December 2021. This version has a ton of new changes and improvements, including an updated kernel and command shell, new programs and games, better international support, and network support. Download FreeDOS 1.3 RC5 from the[FreeDOS website][2].
[1]: https://opensource.com/sites/default/files/styles/image-full-size/public/lead-images/puzzle_computer_solve_fix_tool.png?itok=U0pH1uwj (Puzzle pieces coming together to form a computer screen)
