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Microsoft Open-Sources "the Earliest DOS Source Code Discovered to Date"
Old 86-DOS source code dates back to the time before Microsoft bought it.
TL;DR
- Microsoft has released the earliest discovered source code for its original operating system, predating the MS-DOS branding.
- The release includes the 86-DOS 1.00 kernel, development snapshots of PC-DOS 1.00, and utilities like CHKDSK.
- The source code was transcribed from paper printouts by a team called the "DOS Disassembly Group."
- This follows previous open-sourcing of MS-DOS versions 1.25, 2.0, and 4.0, as well as other early projects like Zork and 3D Movie Maker.
- An earlier version of 86-DOS was rediscovered and uploaded to the Internet Archive two years ago.