Timeline of MS-DOS for NEC PC98 [PC98]
MS-DOS versions for NEC PC98
The figure shows a timeline of MS-DOS for NEC PC-98 and IBM PS/55.
| Ver. | P/N | Price(JPY) | Date(Y/M) | Notable for introducing |
| 1.25 | PS98-111 | 43000 | 1983/7 | Beta release.Support Japanese language defined within MS-DOS Standard Kanji Specification. |
| 2.0 | PS98-121 | 11000 | 1983/11 | Branched from MS-DOS 2.11(2.25). 20MB HD support. System disk only, no manual(option). |
| 2.0 | PS98-122 | 16000 | 1986/6 | Single phrase Kana-Kanji Converter. |
| 2.0 | PS98-123 | 16000 | 1986/11 | Multi phrase Kana-Kanji Converter. |
| 3.1 | PS98-125 | 18000 | 1985/10 | Branched from MS-DOS 3.1. Extended formatted hard drive (<40MB, 8 partitions). |
| 3.1 | PS98-127 | 18000 | 1986/11 | Multi phrase Kana-Kanji Converter. MASM(assembler) is removed(option). |
| 3.1 | PS98-129 | 18000 | 1987/7 | Add ADDDRV, etc. Some commands(FORMAT,etc.) support menu selection. |
| 3.1 | PS98-011 | 18000 | 1987/10 | Sequential Kana-Kanji Converter. PRINT.SYS(Printer driver) separated from IO.SYS. |
| 3.1[A] | PS98-012 | 12000 | 1987/10 | Runtime for MS-DOS applications. Developers manual is not included. |
| 3.3 | PS98-013 | 18000 | 1988/7 | Add XCOPY. Supports EMS memory, SCSI-HD ,FAT16(<128MB). NEC AI Kana-Kanji Conv. |
| 3.3[A] | PS98-014 | 12000 | 1988/7 | Runtime version of MS-DOS 3.3. |
| 3.3A | PS98-015 | 18000 | 1989/2 | Supports EMS page frame address at C0000h-CFFFFh. |
| 3.3A[A] | PS98-016 | 12000 | 1989/2 | Runtime version of MS-DOS 3.3A. |
| 3.3B | PS98-017 | 18000 | 1989/11 | Add PATCH, FONT.SYS. Support virtual EMS memory(>i386CPU). |
| 3.3B[A] | PS98-018 | 12000 | 1989/11 | Runtime version of MS-DOS 3.3B. |
| 3.3C[B] | PS98-019 | 9800 | 1990/7 | MO drives support. Developers manuals and commands removed. |
| 3.3C[E] | PS98-1001-*1 | 8200 | 1990/7 | Includes references for developers and commands(SYMDEB, DEBUG, EDLIN). |
| 3.3D[B] | PS98-1002 | 9800 | 1991/11 | Installable into sub directory. Add SEDIT(screen editor). Last release with 8-inch floppy. |
| 3.3D[E] | PS98-1001-*2 | 8200 | 1991/11 | Additional manuals and tools for MS-DOS 3.3D. |
| 3.3D-R | - | - | - | Built-in ROM version of MS-DOS 3.3D. |
| 3.3D-H | - | - | - | Pre-installed version of MS-DOS 3.3D. |
| 5.0[B] | PS98-1003-*1 | 12800 | 1991/11 | A partition size up to 2GB. HMA, UMB, DOSSHELL, SEDIT(screen text editor). |
| 5.0[E] | PS98-1004-*1 | 10000 | 1991/11 | Additional manuals and tools for MS-DOS 5.0. |
| 5.0A[B] | PS98-1003-*2 | 9800 | 1992/11 | Task swapping, DPMI. |
| 5.0A[E] | PS98-1004-*2 | 8200 | 1992/11 | Additional manuals and tools for MS-DOS 5.0A.. |
| 5.0A-H | - | - | - | Pre-installed version of MS-DOS. Includes drivers(CD, 256 colors, sound). 1.44MB floppy. |
| 6.2[B] | PS98-1005 | 12000 | 1994/12 | Includes utilities(DEFRAG, SCANDISK, etc.) and drivers(CD, 256 colors, sound). |
| 6.2[E] | PS98-1006-*1 | 8000 | 1994/12 | Developer manuals and tools for MS-DOS 6.2. |
[A]=Application Runtime Set (アプリケーション実行環境セット), [B]=Basic Function Set (基本機能セット), [E]=Extended Function Set (拡張機能セット). Extended Function Set only includes references and utility commands for developers, not include MS-DOS system. Thus, it requires Basic Function Set.
End of P/N is determined by the disk format. Although PC-98 versions of Windows 95 / 98 / NT were provided with 1.44MB disk (and CD-ROM), there is no 1.44MB disk for MS-DOS.
| End characters in P/N | Disk type | Logical format |
| -HSF | 8" 2D 2MB | |
| -H2W | 5.25" 2D 320KB | |
| -H4W | 5.25" 2DD 640KB | |
| -HMW | 5.25" 2HD 1.2MB | =8" 2D |
| -HU | 3.5" 2DD 640KB | =5.25" 2DD |
| -HV | 3.5" 2HD 1.2MB | =8" 2D |
| -5* | 5.25" 2HD 1.2MB | =8" 2D |
| -3* | 3.5" 2HD 1.2MB | =8" 2D |
Details
Ver.1.25
This version provided by Microsoft didn't support Japanese, so each manufacturers added their own Japanese writing system. At that time, it seemed the CP/M was popular than the MS-DOS, so the first MS-DOS for PC98 was shipped out on July 28, 1983, after the CP/M-86 in 1982. Note that Microsoft didn't sell the MS-DOS directly to end users except MS-DOS 6.2/V Upgrade for IBM compatibles released in 1993, OEM adaptation kits only.
Ver.2.0
The original MS-DOS was updated with much improvements, eg: supports Directories, extended by Device Drivers, customized with CONFIG.SYS, Disk Volume ID, Filters and Pipes, Escape Sequences, etc. Also, the Japanese MS-DOS was provided by Microsoft, its messages were translated. First, it was shipped for Toshiba PASOPIA16 in early 1983. PC98 version supported the Idiom Kanji Convertion (optional) and two 20MB SASI hard drives. Microsoft (At that time, ASCII Corporation in Japan) allowed software companies to bundle the MS-DOS 2.0(2.11) with their softwares for spreading the MS-DOS. This campaign had been applied until 1987. For example, Ichitaro and Lotus 1-2-3. See Lotus 1-2-3 R2.1J for NEC PC-9801 Demo (1987) - YouTube.
Ver.3.1
This version has some minor versions with the same name and/or P/N. It supports Extended Format (拡張フォーマット, the partition management table for hard drives) supports multi-booting and 8 (256 bytes per sector) or 16 (512 bytes per sector) partitions. The another one is Standard Format (標準フォーマット) which supports a hard drive up to 20MB and single-booting. MASM (Microsoft Assembler) was removed because Microsoft wanted to sell it as a product. The Application Runtime Set (PS98-012, etc.) is a low-cost edition of the MS-DOS which includes a brief manual. However, it didn't sell well because most popular softwares bundled subset of MS-DOS (ver.2.0). It was older version at that time, but many users didn't have a hard drive so they didn't need it. Earlier version has a serious bug which corrupt data on a hard drive. The EDLIN's bug was also famous because NEC had a bad response for their users. See EDLIN - Wikipedia (ja).
Ver.3.1 (PS98-011)
MS-DOS for the High-resolution mode (ハイレゾリューションモード) is combined. The High-resolution mode / machine has a 768KB conventional memory, 1120 x 750 monitor and different video system. Its BIOS and I/O are partly compatible with normal PC98. It was supported by a few models such as PC-98XA, XL, XL2 and PC-H98 series. They were mostly used for CAD systems.
Ver.3.3
A prefix (A, B, C...) was added in the name when it had been updated. This version supports the SCSI interface (PC-9801-55: SCSI I/F board), up to 2 SASI and 4 SCSI hard drives. A partition size is up to 128MB, but some old applications cannot handle it. EMS memory driver (EMM.SYS) is added but it cannot work with third party's board, only for NEC proprietary EMS board (PC-9801-53). This version is branched from Ver.3.21, although it displays Version 3.30. You can see it in MSDOS.SYS. From this version, NEC prevented Epson's PC98 clones from using their software, its called "EPSON protect" or "EPSON check" by users. Epson were against it, they released "SIP; Software Install Program" (ソフトウェアインストールプログラム) to remove that protect. A such freeware is also available. See DISPELL - Vector.
Ver.3.3A
In previous version, the EMS page frame address was set at B0000-BFFFFh to avoid conflicting with other ROM boards (especially PC-9801-26K Sound Board). But third parties complained that it was different from IBM-compatible's standard using C0000-CFFFFh. So this version can use this address.
Ver.3.3C
Since a cost of hard drives and MS-DOS had been reduced, the MS-DOS was sold well from this version.
Ver.4.0
There is no version for PC98 because the original MS-DOS has much memory consumption and unstable. A few Japanese manufacturer supplied it for their machines, Epson for PC-286/386 ('98 compatibles') and IBM Japan for PS/55.
Ver.5.0 / 5.0A
Many improvements, various extended memory, XMA, HMA and UMB. A partition size is up to 128MB with Ver.3.3, going up to 2GB with this version. It bundled a screen editor (SEDIT command).
Ver.5.0A-H
There is no retailed box. It came with the PC-9821 series, pre-installed or update patch disks. It supports 3.5" 2HD PC/AT (1.44MB) floppy, extended memory more than 15MB, 19.2 Kbps serial communication, libraries for sound/graphic functions and virtual floppy drive. This version had been installed into many models, but now its difficult to get it because most machines lost their recovery media or data.
Ver.6.2
The last version of MS-DOS for PC98 was shipped out on December 1994, one year after the Japanese MS-DOS 6.2/V was. Added some utilities, Memmaker, Fast serial port file transfering, Scandisk, Defrag and Drive compression tool, bundled drivers and libraries for CD-ROM, sound board (AVSDRV.SYS) and 256 colors(AVGDRV.SYS), no EPSON protect, required 80386SX and 1.6MB RAM. You can download an update patch for MS-DOS 6.2 from NEC.
The final operating system for PC98 developed by Microsoft/NEC is Windows 2000. FreeBSD for PC98 had been maintained by community until version 8.x.
Comparison of MS-DOS versions
Supported hardware
| Version | 1.25 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 3.3/3.3A | 3.3B | 3.3C | 3.3D | 5.0 | 5.0A | 6.2 | Win95 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Setup disk | 8" 2D, 5" 2D | +5" 2DD | 8" 2D, 5" 2DD/2HD, 3.5" 2DD/2HD | 5" 2HD, 3.5" 2HD | +CD-ROM | ||||||
| Supported CPU | <5MHz | <10MHz | <16MHz | <80386 20MHz | - | (>80286) | >386SX | >486SX | |||
| Minimum memory | 128KB | 256KB | 384KB | 640KB | 1.6MB | 8MB | |||||
| Hard drive interface | SASI(*1) | SASI(IDE)(*2) | +SCSI | IDE, SCSI | |||||||
| Drive size max | ? | 20MB | 40MB | 130MB | 300MB | ?(*2) | |||||
| Partition size max | ? | 20MB | 32MB | 128MB | 2GB(*3) | ||||||
| Hard drive format | ? | FAT12 | +FAT16 | +VFAT | |||||||
| Floppy drive | 320KB, 1MB | +640KB | 640KB, 720KB, 1MB | +1.44MB | |||||||
| MO drive | n/a | Optional | + 5" MO | + 3.5" MO(<540MB) | 3.5" MO | ||||||
| CD-ROM(MSCDEX) | n/a | Optional | Included | ||||||||
| Mouse driver | n/a | Optional | Included | ||||||||
(*1) PS98-111-HSF only.
(*2) IDE has a compatibility with SASI at BIOS layer.
(*3) On-board hard disk interface has the size barriers (544MB, 4.56GB, 8.46GB) by BIOS limitations.
(*4) A partition size on an MO disc is up to 64MB in MS-DOS 3.3x.
Supported floppy disk types
| Media type | DOS Version | 1.25 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 5.0 | 5.0A-H | 6.2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8" 1S | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F |
| 8" 2D / 5.25" 2HD/ 3.5" 2HD | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F |
| 5.25" 2D | R/W/F | R/W/F | R | R | R | R | R |
| 5.25" / 3.5" 2DD 640KB | X | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F |
| 5.25" 2HC (*1) | X | R/W | R/W | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F |
| 3.5" 2DD 720KB | X | X | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F | R/W/F |
| 3.5" 2HD 1.44MB (*2) | X | X | X | X | X | R/W/F | R/W/F |
(*1) Use "FORMAT /5" undocumented command to format a 5.25" 2HC floppy disk.
(*2) Require PC-9821 series (All models contain a 3-mode floppy drive).
Supported MS-DOS utilities/drivers
| Version | 1.25 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 3.3/3.3A | 3.3B | 3.3C | 3.3D | 5.0 | 5.0A | 6.2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extended memory | n/a | RAM disk | +EMS | +EMM386 | +XMS, HMA, UMB | |||||||
| CD-ROM(MSCDEX) | n/a | Optional | Included | |||||||||
| RSDRV.SYS | n/a | (Included in IO.SYS) | Included | |||||||||
| PRINT.SYS | n/a | (Included in IO.SYS) | Included | |||||||||
| RAMDISK.SYS | n/a | Included | ||||||||||
| GRAPH.SYS | n/a | Included | ||||||||||
| FONT.SYS | n/a | Included | ||||||||||
| SMARTDRV | n/a | (Included in MS-Windows) | Included | |||||||||
| MASM | Included | Optional | ||||||||||
| Text editor | EDLIN | SEDIT | +EDLIN | |||||||||
| Text shell/menu | n/a | MENU | +DOSSHELL | |||||||||
| N88/MS-DOS Fileconv | n/a | Optional | Included | |||||||||
MS-DOS for EPSON PC series
Epson sold PC98 clones "EPSON PC series" from 1987 to 1995. They also released the MS-DOS. Epson's MS-DOS could be run on both EPSON's and NEC's machines.
| Ver. | Date(Y/M) | Notable changes |
| 2.11 | 1988/6 | Support ESC/P printer, extended formatted HD (<40MB), LINK command (no MASM) |
| 3.1 | 1988/12 | Add ADDDRV, DELDRV, FILECONV, MENU and SETUP command. |
| 4.01 | 1990/2 | Support large HD (<2GB), SCSI, High-res mode, EMS / graphics / font library driver. |
| 3.3 | 1992/2 | BATKEY and COLOR command, virus scan / boot logo, start-up config utility. |
| 5.0 | 1992/2 | Support HMA/UMB, DOS shell, UNDELETE, UNFORMAT, SMARTDRV. |
| 6.2 | 1995 | Support 1.44MB floppy. Undelete and Backup utility for Windows 3.1. |
Update : 2016/09/14