4DOS (2004) 11 Utility DOS

4DOS is a command line interpreter replacement for command.com that adds many new features.

• 7.50

Back-It (1986) 4 Utility DOS

Back-It, from Gazelle Systems, is a fast and compact hard disk backup utility. It was sometimes part of OEM system bundles. It was kind of low-end, and changed backup formats between releases but otherwise did what it was supposed to do.

• 4.x

Backup Exec (1993) 8 Utility DOS

Backup Exec is an easy to use backup program. It can back up files to floppy disks or certain tape drives. companies including Maynard Electronics, Archive Corp, Quest Development Corporation, Conner Peripherals, Arcada Software, Seagate Technology, Veritas Software, and Symantec. On top of that, Microsoft bundled a version with MS-DOS 6.

• 2.x (DOS)

Change Directory Plus (1993) 1 Utility DOS

Change Directory Plus is a small commercial utility distributed with Softdisk publishing's Big Blue Disk magazine. It indexes all folders on your hard drive, and permits you to change in to a deep subdirectory simply by specifying the final subdirectories name.

• 1.x

CheckIt (1988) 22 Utility DOS

CheckIt, from TouchStone Software Corporation, is a diagnostic tool for generic PC/XT/AT compatible computers. It can perform tests on RAM, hard disks, video cards, floppy disks, motherboard resources, and I/O devices. It has an easy to use menu interface but can also run tests non-interactively. It was followed up by the product WINCheckit.

• Pro 1.x

Colorado Backup (1996) 6 Utility DOS Windows

Colorado Backup is the software provided with HP Colorado tape drives.

• Set
• 4.x for DOS

Computer Shopper FastFiler (1993) 0 Utility DOS

FastFiler, from Ziff-Davis Publishing Company and Strange Software LTD, is a rudimentary easy to use file manager shell. It was sold alongside Computer Shopper magazines. While it offers a friendlier interface than the DOS command prompt, it has fewer features and abilities than competing file managers.

• 1.x

Conner Backup Basics (1993) 2 Utility DOS

Conner Backup Basics is a dumbed down version of Conner Backup Exec that only works with their tape drives. This software will not run at all without the appropriate tape drive attached.

• 1.1 (DOS)

DECTalk PC (1993) 1 Utility DOS

DECTalk was a text to speech system used in automated telephone, radio, and TV systems. It was notably used as an artificial voice by Stephen Hawking. Most DECTalk devices were standalone serial devices, however DEC did produce an ISA expansion card for the IBM PC that contained this functionality. This software is required to operate these ISA cards.

• 4.x

DESQView (1984) 37 Utility DOS

DESQView, from Quarterdeck, was a DOS application multi-tasker and in later versions functioned as an X client for applications on remote UNIX systems. It competed against IBM Topview. The original DESQ was just a task switcher, but subsequent versions offered preemptive multitasking of well behaved DOS programs on real-mode 8088 PCs. It gained popularity when DESQView 386 added virtual x86 support. This enabled the ability to multi task many poorly behaved programs, and was often used on BBSes due to its excellent COM port handling. It was later overtaken by OS/2 and Windows.

• 2.x
• DESQView X 2.x

DiskClone (1998) 1 Utility DOS

DiskClone, from Quarterdeck, is a simple, professional, small, powerful, and easy to use hard disk cloning tool. It can copy a drive to another internal or external drive of different sizes. It can be used as a backup, or a migration tool to a new drive. It all fits on a single floppy disk. "Corporate" editions.

• 1.0

DiskLock (1993) 2 Utility DOS Windows

DiskLock, From Fifth Generation Systems, and later from Symantec as Norton DiskLock, is a data security tool that can lock a hard disk or individual files or directories so that it requires a password to access any data. It can also log activity to detect unauthorized access attempts. It also features the ability to lock the system after an idle usage period. There were versions for PC and Mac.

• 2.x
• 3.x

EZ-Drive (1996) 2 Utility DOS

EZ-Drive is a hard disk partitioning tool bundled with new hard drives. It detects, partitions, formats drives, and installs BIOS overlays, all in one easy to use program. Such setup programs were often necessary due to the complexity of BIOS size limitation and the skyrocketing size of new hard drives. EZ-Drive is similar to Ontrack Disk Manager.

• 8.x

FastBack (1986) 5 Utility DOS

Fastback, by Fifth Generation Systems, Inc, is a backup utility for DOS. Its key feature is that it can read and write both a floppy disk and hard disk at the same time by making use of dual-channel DMA. Combined with speedy data compression, it can make a very fast backup.

• Plus 6.x

Ghost (2000) 20 Utility DOS

Ghost, originally released in 1995 by Binary Research and later under Symantec with the "Norton" title, is a PC cloning and imaging tool. It can image and restore drives to drives of different sizes, supports many different file systems, and supports many different archiving and communications methods. Ghost 7.5 and earlier support running from DOS. Later versions are Windows-only.

• 7.x

Helix Netroom (1995) 0 Utility DOS

Helix Netroom is a memory manager, similar to their Helix Headroom product, but specifically targeted at machines running DOS networking software. Unlike other 386 memory managers that simply page in extra high/UMB RAM, Netroom moves specifically supported TSRs in to an invisible background virtual machine. As a result, large DOS network stacks may be loaded yet not take up any conventional memory needed to run DOS applications. Netroom supported Novell NetWare, Banyan VINES, and LAN Manager networks.

• 3.x

hTest-hFormat (1998) 1 Utility DOS

hTest-hFormat is a set of disk tools for low level formatting, and testing hard disk drives. Include a performance analyzer, interleave optimizer, partition tool, and tools for reading and writing individual sectors.

• 2.0

IBM AntiVirus (1995) 3 Utility DOS OS2

IBM AntiVirus is a comprehensive but easy to use virus scanner that supports DOS, OS/2, and Windows. It features the use of "Neural Network" technology, whatever that means, heuristic analysis, change detection, and false alarm elimination. It supports scanning e-mail, attachments, macros, and the ability to run suspicious programs without spreading infections.

• 2.x

Max Blast (1999) 4 DOS

Max Blast is a utility for setting up Maxtor hard drives. It includes a partitioning tool, BIOS overlay, bad sector re-mapping, and an advanced diagnostic program. It also includes 32-bit mode IDE drivers for Windows 3.1.

• Plus 1.x
• Plus II

McAfee VirusScan (1995) 6 Utility DOS Windows OS2

McAfee VirusScan was a very popular and reliable virus scanner during the late 90s. Notably, they distributed a free shareware version of their product. VirusScan was often pre-loaded with OEM computers.

• 2.x
• 4.x

Memory Commander (1992) 10 Utility DOS

Memory Commander, from V Communications, Inc, is a memory manager similar to QEMM or 386MAX, but can expand the DOS base memory beyond 640K with some kinds of applications.

• 4.x

Norton Commander (1986) 138 Utility DOS

Norton Commander is a MS-DOS based file shell that was widely popular due to it's two column design. You could easily copy and move files between one folder or another, execute DOS commands and more. It competed against many other file managers including Gazelle Q-DOS and Xtree

• 4.x
• 5.x
• 5.5x

Norton Utilities (1983) 85 Utility DOS

The Norton Utilities is a suite of disk and system utilities designed to enhance system performance and stability. It started off as a set of disk utilities written by Peter Norton, and later was sold by Symantec. It competed against Central Point PC Tools and the Mace Utilities. In 2003, Norton Utilities was merged with Norton SystemWorks, but later split back out.

• 8.0

Packard Bell Navigator (1993) 12 Utility Other DOS

Packard Bell Navigator is an alternate user interface that replaces the Windows 3.1 Program Manager shell. It presents the content of your computer as a series of rooms.

• 3.5

PartitionMagic (1995) 46 Utility DOS Windows

A tool from PowerQuest, and later Symantec, that enables manipulation of partitions through its own bootable media. PartitionMagic can shrink, grow, or move partitions without the need to backup and restore files in that partition. It supported a variety of file systems, and the core DOS-based parition tool fit on a bootable 1.44mb floppy disk. It was extremely popular, and made installing or removing multiple OSes much easier.

• 2.x
• 3.x
• 4.x