What's the oldest utility/program you still regularly use?

[jdmba]

What is the oldest utility you still use on a regular basis?

Being DOS based myself (from the days of the TRS-80 and beyond), I still spend a lot of time in a DOS window. I constantly use MJOG (memory jogger) from 1993 and Vernon Buerg's LIST program 1995), but my prize goes to RENQ (prompted renamer) from 1985.

[Darren Wilson]

FORMAT or DIR

[Milenko]

I don't really use that many "old" DOS commands anymore, unless fdisk, attrib, and all the other commons are considered old.

[Joker1]

is CTRL+ALT+DEL considered a dos command?
it worked under DOS even in the early days and i dont think a day goes by that we dont use it.

[exholt]

dir, format, fdisk, and dosftp....yes...use the last one a lot....

[Jube-ster]

I've got a buddy who still uses Norton Commander in dos. He claims that it's still as much of a useful program as it was the day he first got it. Oh, by the way... is there any dos left in WinME? Sooner or later it will be a thing of the past...

[sprkymrk]

Not including the others mentioned (fdisk, format) how about cardfile.exe from win3.1.

[rdbatch]

Originally posted by Jubii:
I've got a buddy who still uses Norton Commander in dos. He claims that it's still as much of a useful program as it was the day he first got it. Oh, by the way... is there any dos left in WinME? Sooner or later it will be a thing of the past...

Windows-ME DOS (http://www.sgmvp.freewebsites.com/WinME_DOS/Win-ME.htm)

I believe I found a link to this page here on Windrivers not sure what forum though. I have not tested this yet, but it says you can still have access to dos under Win ME

[DualP3Guy]

FORMAT!!!!! and more specificaly: format c: :D hehe I use it all the time

[CobraTekMax]

Norton Disk Editor. Still a decent hex editor for "browsing" through EXE files.

[Platypus]

Norton Commander. I drop out to a DOS prompt & run NC if I want to actually SEE what's in a file.

Remember the Superscape frame rate benchmark? The spinning PC and the letters H A L dropping down? Still use it on an ancient box for soak testing monitors.

[waldo]

WinZip of course.. been using it since the days of 40 megabyte hard disc's!

[KINGofBLEH]

"ON"....followed by a close second "OFF".

Next to those it would have to be Winzip

[Computer_Chip]

Format C: fdisk ctrl + alt + delete

[3fingersalute]

EDIT!

[Sowulo]

PKZip

[Who Me]

transend an oooold comms prog.

[AlienDyne]

Fdisk
Format
Dir
Type
Edit
Copy con
Attrib
Deltree
Rd
Md
Cd
Norton Commander

[SubZero]

Qbasic /run progname - in a batch prog!

[Outcoded]

cls (don't let anyone see that my typing is that bad!)

Edit, truely unbeatable.

Win 95.

[corelogik]

Originally posted by sprkymrk:
Not including the others mentioned (fdisk, format) how about cardfile.exe from win3.1.

Right on,. I still use cardfile too. Absolutely love it. I have it Archived on 2 different CD's "just in case". ! :cool:

[Matt_29]

any DOS commands, and troubleshooter (now PC CHECK)

[chip35]

MLIRQ. a little 2k utility that 'finds' comport irq's. Just now becoming obsolete as it only worked on irq 2 through 9. Doesn't work on winmodems though.Now that winmodems are mostly all there is (virtually) it'll have to retire.

[talltech]

Edit, a tech best friend. also sometimes use a disk version of norton utils.

ps, anybody run Win4dos on a winME system, I really miss the good ol' dos promt. cut my teeth on a xt, dos is still a good friend whe the gui go's tits up

[bruce24]

Hm...of course I still use all of Microshxts' stuff like format, fdisk, yada yada yada which was really CPM stuff. Pkzip is in there, but there are newer versions in use that support LFN. Spinrite is the best hard disk utility EVER made. I also love ACD, which allowed me to change to any directory (not a FOLDER! a directory - it's called a DIRECTORY!!!!! - got it!!) with a couple of keystrokes. 'LE' from Laplink 5 for DOS is my favorite command line editor. Laserset is great for changing LaserJet parameters (condensed, 2 page, 4 page, etc).Undelete saves my butt from time to time and last but not least HDIR which blows DIR away.

I'll bet anyone $500 that I can format a diskette faster than you. We'll start at the Gates' GUI - you use windows and I'll drop to a dox box. Ready? GO!

Bruce Tyler
(N0, I do not have a chip on my shoulder about the use of the word "folder". I just think anyway who uses it is a dweeb. Besides, when I talk to a customer and say 'directory', I sound much more important and technical, heh heh - "First, I want you to drop to command line mode. Then run the change directory command so your currently logged directory is the root of drive c:. Do a directory listing and pause at each screen full. When complete, condense the files on the winchester disk drive by running pckwik.exe. Then run check disk *.* and make sure all files are contiguous. Then, turn off off your PC and throw it away.) Sniff, I miss dos. It was so EASY back then.

[WindBlowzXP Professional]

here are some porgrams i commonly use until now:

NC (Norton Commander for DOS)
EDIT
FDISK
FORMAT
BIBLE (The Bible [complete] for DOS)

even they are old ... they are still useful :D :rolleyes:

[fitzman]

I would have to agree with Norton Disk Editor, I also still use it. By far the best util for getting in and really getting a chance to mess things up.

[RAELINHO]

volkov commander (NC clone)
it kickasses
can´t live without

[Ruslan]

Originally posted by fitzman:
I would have to agree with Norton Disk Editor, I also still use it. By far the best util for getting in and really getting a chance to mess things up.

I also still use it... :D I'm rather "DOS-MEN".
Also:
1.Clear DOS6.22 in my test bench - many of hardware repair programms: HDDutils,CDutils,memory test utils needs to be run from DOS enviroment.
And I hate waiting for Winblows finished booting/loading/reloading procedure if all what I needed is only formatting diskette or checking COM/LPT port or CDROM.
2.DOS Navigator 1.42 with DOS CD drivers(better than Norton Commander)running before Winblows - sorta DOS7.10 :)I always create multiboot startup menu (autoexec + config).
3.Even in Winblows I always run Windows Commander or FAR Manager instead of Winblows Explorer(FAR looks like Norton Commander,but works with ftp,LAN,and long_file_names). :p
4.FDisk/Format for formatting and Partition Magic in DOS for reformatting/changing partitions. :cool:

[Glenn]

Xtree Gold.

BTW, is there anything out there like it? I know there was an Xtree Win at one time (after it got bought by someone). Is it still out there?

[Ruslan]

Originally posted by RAELINHO:
volkov commander (NC clone)
it kickasses
can´t live without

WoW! How I could forget about that DOS shell - probably smallest (about 60Kb) brother of Norton Commander! :D :D

[furlong47]

Any and all DOS commands have saved my butt numerous times. Or, as my roomate puts it, "That ugly black screen with the words on it."

[Antimatter]

The one that gets the most use is Fastlynx. Fastlynx is the best utility for copying files over parallel cable between PCs. It's especially good if there's no CDROM drive in the machine being worked on. We use it all the time for copying drivers to big for floppy and virus definitions. What's more it works in most OS's.

[Sowulo]

My brain v.2F(hex)

:D :D :D :D :D :D

[Snommis69]

PING, by far. When in doubt, PING!

Other than that, I still like WordPerfect 6.1.....Yeah, I know, get off me!

[jeffbrown]

Does SOL.EXE count????

[EvilKlown]

Originally posted by rdbatch:
Windows-ME DOS (http://www.sgmvp.freewebsites.com/WinME_DOS/Win-ME.htm)

I believe I found a link to this page here on Windrivers not sure what forum though. I have not tested this yet, but it says you can still have access to dos under Win ME

I believe you can also type "command" from the run command and that will bring up a DOS window as well.... I am on vacation and don't have a WinME box to verify... but I believe it is so.

[Ghost God]

hmm, I still use Ghost a lot. Of course I use the most recent version, but it started a long time ago. (Hence name, I use it every single day)

I don't use Fdisk, instead I use Gdisk that comes with Ghost. Far...make that REALLY FAR...superior program.

Does VI count? ;)

[format c:]

I use fdisk and format c:/u , I think my favorite dos cammand is format c:/u , fixes Windows problems fast
:eek: ;)

[KamicarZ]

mscdex, attrib, edit, copy con, fdisk and format. Deltree is also a goody.

[antonye]

DOS components don't count!!

Ghost is definitely one that gets used a lot round here, along with WinZip and Norton AntiVirus if you want to count those.

I still do all my HTML/ASP/PHP editing in Notepad, although I've moved on to EditPad (http://www.editpadpro.com/) now as that's got line numbers - sort of like Edit for Windows :)

[Schui]

I have a copy of Laplink 5 for dos. It's great for copying chunk of data from pc to pc. I even use it when moving data from drive to drive (in the same machine)
Also, the laplink editor is a god send sometimes.. especialy when i forget to copy edit.com before I trash a pc.

[B.B.Wolf]

Other than MS- Dos commands, The oldest utilities I still use are Norton Disk Doctor (from version 8) and Laplink 3.

[Draggar]

Sure, all the oldies, FDisk, Dir, CD/MD/RD, attrib, etc...

But I stil use Norton Commander. Its a good file management utility. Easier to use than windows!

And, I also have a ton of old DOS based games (Space Quest 4, Escape form Hell, etc...) Those are from the day games were fun!

:p

[Draggar]

Originally posted by Jubii:
I've got a buddy who still uses Norton Commander in dos. He claims that it's still as much of a useful program as it was the day he first got it. Oh, by the way... is there any dos left in WinME? Sooner or later it will be a thing of the past...


Making a DOS-boot disk is easy with WinME. Have it make a recsue disk, then get rid of all the extra stuff (autoexec.bat, config.sys etc..) just leave the msdos.sys, io.sys, and command.com.
There ya go! :D

[Draggar]

Originally posted by EvilKlown:
I believe you can also type "command" from the run command and that will bring up a DOS window as well.... I am on vacation and don't have a WinME box to verify... but I believe it is so.

I just tried it, you can. :p

[eenge99]

Ahh DOS. When an O/S had only one thing at a time on it's mind. Those were the good ol' days. C:\>_ Scares most, old friend to the computer literate. Apps like LapLink, NDD made us look like gods. Being able to zip through directories in front of the client put a smirk on my face, watching their expression turn from skepticism to awe. Nowadays I just drop back to a command line whenever I feel like it to get the same effect from a snotty client who thinks they know something about computers. :p

[smcmanus]

Well,
My oldest used proggy is from 1987, called Hotdir, Displays 6 columns of file names all colour coded, as per file extension, with the standard slew of options. I have another less antiquitous(?) utility called Directory Freedom from 1993.

[jhutto]

Oldest Utility I still use (other than dos commands/etc) is DCF 5.0 (Disk Copy Fast) It's a floppy imaging program. I have bootdisks for DOS 3.3 through 6.22, and drdos 4.5, 5.1, and 6.5. IBM DOS 5.0 to 7.1.
Win95-ME, etc.. If I need a boot disk, there is no faster way of making it.

[kegbot]

Definitely DCF is one of my all-time favorites. I like copying diskettes without having to hit a key between diskswaps!

Jhutto - there is an Xtree clone called Ztree. I don't have a URL but it's very close to the original and it IS text based. Works at command prompt or in a window and supports lfn's.

[raptorGT]

I've got a Sharp PC-7000 luggable (remember those?) and am still using MS-DOS 2.11 on it. That poor thing is so old and outdated... :rolleyes:

Wordstar anyone? :p

--Josh

[Raijen]

Originally posted by smcmanus:
Well,
My oldest used proggy is from 1987, called Hotdir, Displays 6 columns of file names all colour coded, as per file extension, with the standard slew of options. I have another less antiquitous(?) utility called Directory Freedom from 1993.

OMG, i thought i was the only person who still used that :) Got it from a friend about 6 or 7 years ago, and never looked back for my dos-directory needs... i even went to make a dir.bat in my dos directory to pass parameters etc. to Hotdir...

I don't know how i could live without it on my laptop (It's dos-based, and i use it for editing websites)

The oldest utility i use is Dos 1.0 for my Commodore 64. Yes i do have a running c64; and YES i have PC-DOS 1.0 for it :)

As for the oldest utility i use regulary is a dos based virus-scanner for my laptop (which runs nicely in DOS 6.22 thank you very much :))

As for the oldest PROGRAM i use frequently it would have to be Angband (One of those old rogue clones). Got it configured to save the games to a floppy so i can use it on my laptop or any of my desktops. For a game that's about 20 years old; it can beat most modern games by a mile. BTW, Angband is Public-Domain, so if anyone wants a copy e-mail me at raijen@raijen.com.

Go ANSI graphics! :)

[LiverpoolLad]

Fdisk, dir, edit and all them ones.

[SubZero]

For those interested, I found HodDIR 7.5 I don't know if it's the same one, but here's the link:

http://www.simtel.net/pub/pd/43791.shtml
Originally posted by smcmanus:
Well,
My oldest used proggy is from 1987, called Hotdir, Displays 6 columns of file names all colour coded, as per file extension, with the standard slew of options. I have another less antiquitous(?) utility called Directory Freedom from 1993.

[sebass54]

EZ Drive 9.09W - last EZ drive that will copy any HD, not just WD drives.

Troubleshooter version ? - Hardware diagnostic utility.

[VPiracy]

By far I would have to say the oldest utility I have used and still use even when compared to the age of the old dos based bootable trouble shooter we have, or even floppy drive would be the screwdriver. Even though it is now electronic conceptually the screwdriver is (in theory) the 5th oldest basic construction tool known to man. Of course you have to set aside the fact that the brain is a tool we use and in all due respects that is the oldest design out there but then of course that would be more or less looking into the depths of biochemistry and genetics.

[cyberhh]

xtree, laplink 3, a few other choice utilities.....

[RoboTech]

I still to this day say that if you have LARGE database requirements that entail tons of data, processing, and data entry, then you can't beat a good, solid DOS based Database system.

R:Base. Clarion Professional Developer. etc...

Graphical User Interfaces do nothing but slow you down when you have massive amounts of data to enter and manipulate. Too much moving, clicking and whatever going on.

With the heavyweight DOS based databases, you just tabbed and entered. Your hands NEVER leave the keyboard.

I'm not an old DOS creak-head. I just believe that this is the one task that DOS remains the king at.

-Robo

Originally posted by Engelsen:
Ahh DOS. When an O/S had only one thing at a time on it's mind. Those were the good ol' days. C:\>_ Scares most, old friend to the computer literate. Apps like LapLink, NDD made us look like gods. Being able to zip through directories in front of the client put a smirk on my face, watching their expression turn from skepticism to awe. Nowadays I just drop back to a command line whenever I feel like it to get the same effect from a snotty client who thinks they know something about computers. :p

[NakedMessiah]

my oldest utility is COPY and DEL *.* hee hee. I would like to know what the oldest game you play with? mine is an old dos game called Rogue. I have to boot up with it on my 5 1/4" drive that I still have!!!

[MarilynHanson]

Directory Freedom DF for short

This little Dos program Rocked!
I still use to this day. :eek:

[SoJo]

Mine would be DELTREE

[YokiPoki]

FDISK, FORMAT, REN, and FTP

[Kenny P.]

Hmmm...

dir, whoami, attrib, pkzip/unzip, copy/xcopy, etc...

Try to stay away from DOS as much as possible, but sometimes the tried & true ways are still the best!

Ken

[jbar1]

Right on RoboTech. Database input is still best served with a dos program. I still use Norton Disk Editor. I think it was one of the few programs from Norton that was worth a damn. It has gotten me out of too many jams to count. Another Norton program that I still use is the Norton File Manager from 94 0r 95. It is quick and easy to use and customise plus it allows me to format floppies in 1.4 Mb format or 1.6 Mb. It also allows full tree view with a single click. I also have a bunch of old SSI RPGs Advanced D & D from 1988 that I still enjoy. I wish someone would rewrite AUTODUEL for the PC. That was a Kick *** game. :cool:

[lowrider066]

copy con <filename>

[jhutto]

ztree? hmm I'll look for that.

Ever use a program called Qedit? uses old Wordstar commands..
Lost it a few years ago.. wish I still had it.. CTRL-K-S, CTRL-K-D, etc..


OH! and I have a regular customer who uses DBase II for his business!

[Underseer]

Long, long ago (before I got my first copy of Windows 3.1), I got sick and tired of seeing "That directory is not empty" errors and wrote my own DOS app to remove entire directories and all their subdirectories. After I had it working to my satisfaction, someone said, "Dude, you coulda just used DELTREE." Doh!

*sigh* At least my version was a little faster than the one that shipped with DOS at the time (not that you would even notice a speed difference on today's computers).

I still use it from time to time whenever I can actually find the disk. :D

[tablesalt]

Originally posted by waldo:
WinZip of course.. been using it since the days of 40 megabyte hard disc's!

How about the original pkzip. You know, the one that started the whole .zip phenomenon. Call me weird but I still find myself creating compressed archives from the command prompt! Oh.. and how about the DOS version of scandisk or Norton Disk Doctor..? I find that these versions usually find and correct errors better then their Windows counterparts.

[Hippie_Tech]

I used a program called CheckIt to burn-in test computers. Still use it once in a while to check for lock up issues with hardware. Just set it and forget it. I think it's about seven years old now.

[Dead Badger]

Novell 3!!!

[ocdt]

I still use an old micropost card, and book.
you know used for testing the system on post.
codes aren't really applicable any more, but i still use it.

[Sixpax]

If we're looking at non-"DOS" commands, it would have to be FX. Best little program I've had to link two machines with out nics.....even if it is slow :rolleyes:

[http://forums.windrivers.com/cgi-bin/forum1/noncgi]

fdisk......
There's just something about it that always brings a smile to my face.....

[byd2k]

Oh my god! Who would have thought this would become a subject?

I still on occasion use:
pkzip/pkunzip
deltree
fdisk
format
mscdex
cls
edit

oh and don't forget load*.*,8,1
if I remember right...

[behemoth1]

i still use the MDK demo performance test in dos mode....

[Aaaaaaaargh]

fdisk
format
doskey
edit
notepad
calculator
minesweeper (I call it the boredom eliminator "utility")

The oldest non-M$ utility that I still use would be WinZip.

[Rgomez1999]

I'm one of those from the old school and there are some utilities I still use from "Back in Da Dayz" and they are:

1) PCTOOLS (DOS)
2) QEDIT (DOS)
3) LIST (DOS)
4) The File Director (DOS) good for removing those really hidden files and directories.
5) File_Diz Extractor (DOS)
6) QEMM (DOS)
7) Qaplus (DOS)
8) Checkit
9) Pkunzip, Pkzip, Lharc, ARJ
10) Pro-Comm Plus (DOS)
11) Desqview
12) Those old Disk copy programs

and a whole lot of others...

[kegbot]

Here is the Ztree url. Surprised I couldn't remember it!
http://www.ztree.com

[Raijen]

Originally posted by byd2k:
Oh my god! Who would have thought this would become a subject?

I still on occasion use:
pkzip/pkunzip
deltree
fdisk
format
mscdex
cls
edit

oh and don't forget load*.*,8,1
if I remember right...

If you're reffering to the commodore 64 it's

LOAD"*",8,1 for the default program
LOAD"$",8,1 then LIST for the directory :)

[Glenn]

Thanks for the Ztree link. Looks pretty dead close to the original.

As far as finding a copy of Qedit goes, Jhutto, I may be able to help. Just let me know.

[AMD|DooD]

i use PCTools a lot. only on a Tandy 3000 at work, tho. i use it to defrag the harddrive and to do a scandisk type thing. have to make sure all of the "important" data on that 45mb HD doesn't get lost...

[jmani]

Well I just installed OS/2 yesterday on a voice mail server. I spoke with my telephone vendor and he wanted to charge me 12,000 to up grade to Win NT from OS/2...and that was with me supplying the hardware!!

[Shairel]

I have a few utilities that I like to use alot
Killcmos.com, it basically overwrites like two bytes of address involved with storing the CMOS data, making it fail its checksum, great for nuking passwords
Ctbios, basically it gives you the BIOS ID string, and even gives you a web address for certain pages
for my dos stuff, I still use a program called Ultra Compressor 2, UC2, it can get 10 percent on most finely packed zip files
I also use the original RAR alot, as well as LHA, but one of the oldest programs that I use has got to be forefront's troubleshooter

[ke4cpc]

C:\MYDOCU~1>
PKZIP C:\WINDOWS\DESKTOP\DOCS401.ZIP *.*
Is that good enough demonstration?

[MacGyver]

I'll do you one better, Jason T:

pkzip -&u a:\target.zip c:\download\*.*

My brothers and I used this quite often to span a large file across multiple floppy disks. This was in the days before CD-R's, ZIP drives, or multi-megabyte emails over high speed net connections. Man, do I feel old! If I was a computer, I'd probably be in a dump by now! or maybe a museum

[BurnFEST]

EDIT, FORMAT, FDISK and DIR

[WebHead]

notepad.exe
calc.exe (calculator)
sol.exe (solitaire)

[Windowscrash]

Format C:\.exe

Fdisk.exe

Setup.exe

[Mr_Miyagi]

Originally posted by Jubii:
I've got a buddy who still uses Norton Commander in dos. He claims that it's still as much of a useful program as it was the day he first got it. Oh, by the way... is there any dos left in WinME? Sooner or later it will be a thing of the past...

i could never understand people liking XTREE GOLD, biggest heap of crap ever made.

[jmani]

format c: /s /u /c /autotest

rconsole.exe

and of course OS/2 but thats only for voice mail...by the way did you know that OS/2 is a piece of crap?

[Lcars]

Quarterdeck3 for dos multi-tasking