DESQView (1984) 14 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.

• DESQView X 1.x
• 2.x
• DESQView X 2.x

Direct Access (1988) 2 Utility Windows

Direct Access is an easy to use menuing program designed to simplify access to applications on systems with many programs loaded on the hard drive. It is customizable, includes screen blanking, and includes password protection and usage logging. Later versions also detect common programs already installed on the hard disk.

• 1.0 (Win)

Disk Technician (1987) 0 Utility DOS

Disk Technician, from Prime Solutions Inc., is a hard disk utility and surface monitor. It contains an interleave adjuster and pattern tester similar to Spinrite. The Gold version also includes a defragmenter and disk-level virus protection.

• Gold 1.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

Diskeeper (2001) 0 Utility Windows

Diskeeper is a professional disk defragmenting tool with versions for both 9x and NT. It includes features such as scheduling and background defragmentation.

• 6.0

DiskLock (1993) 0 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

Disney Animation Studio (1992) 0 Graphics DOS

Disney Animation Studio is an animation graphics tool, that originated on the Amiga. It supports multiple VGA resolutions.

• IBM (1992)

DoubleDisk (1991) 0 Utility DOS

First released in 1989, DoubleDisk was the first real-time drive compression product for DOS. It is a fairly no-frills program and sticks to what it does best. It was relatively low cost compared to its later competitors. and Expandz! Plus

• 2.5
• 2.6

Dr Halo (1985) 4 Graphics DOS

Dr Halo, by Media Cybernetics, is a DOS based image editor. It was sometimes distributed as a value-added tool with mice or video cards. Its image editing capabilities were fairly weak, and its main strength came from its adaptability to new hardware, positioning it mainly as an entry-level product provided with new hardware.

• IV

Dr Solomons Anti-Virus Toolkit (1997) 2 Utility Windows

Dr Solomon's Antivirus was a top rated commercial virus scanning suite. There were versions for DOS, Windows 3.1, 95, 98, Novell, SCO Unix, Solaris, and OS/2.

• 7.x

Drafix (1990) 1 Graphics Engineering Windows

Drafix is a powerful, high performance, and feature rich 2-dimensional computer aided design tool. Despite being a 2-D CAD program, it had many features of high end 3-D CAD software, and competed directly with AutoCAD. Drafix was first was fist released in 1986 for DOS, and was the first professional CAD program released for Microsoft Windows.

• 2.x (Win)

EasyDesktop (1994) 0 Utility Windows

EasyDesktop, from MicroSeconds International, is an alternative desktop shell for Microsoft Windows that uses a more compact text-based file list and integrates its own file manager.

• 5.0

Expert Animator (1992) 0 Graphics DOS

Expert Animator is a budget DOS Based Animation Package. Features drawing, painting, and animating, point-and-click choreographing, generating animated electronic greeting cards, sound and music, 12 independently animated characters, and 256 color VGA support. It was published by Expert Software, who specialized in low cost budget software.

• 1992

Expert Draw (1993) 1 Graphics MacOS

Expert draw is an easy to use budget drawing programs for the Macintosh sold through Expert Software. It features a library of editable clipart, and shape based drawing tools.

• 1.x

Expert Home Design (1992) 0 Graphics DOS

Expert Home Design is a simple 2d layout program with home interior-oriented elements. It is one of a series of similar budget "design" titles published by Expert Software from RiverSoft.

• 1992

Expert Landscape Design (1992) 0 Graphics DOS

Expert Landscape Design is a simple 2d layout program with home landscape-oriented elements. It is one of a series of similar budget "design" titles published by Expert Software from RiverSoft. Design, and Expert Home Design.

• 1992

Expert Office Design (1992) 0 Graphics DOS

Expert Office Design is a simple 2d floor layout program with office-oriented elements. It is one of a series of similar budget "design" titles published by Expert Software from RiverSoft. Design, and Expert Home Design.

• 1992

Expert Paint 'n Print (1990) 0 Graphics DOS

Paint and Print, from Expert Software, is a budget drawing program for DOS.

• 1992

Expresso Calendar and Address Book (1994) 0 PIM Windows

Expresso is a budget Personal Information Manager from Berkeley Systems, makers of the After Dark Screensaver series. Expresso provides modules for managing Calendars, Notes, Address Books, and To-Do Lists. It also includes a selection of colorful visual themes and alarms with sound effects.

• 1.0

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

EZ-Tape (1992) 0 Utility Windows DOS

EZ-Tape backup system for Windows and DOS.

• 3.x (Win)
• 3.x (DOS)

Faces (1998) 3 Graphics Novelty Windows

Faces 3.0 is a face composting tool similar to that which law enforcement uses. Select from a large number of facial features and parameters to re-create almost any face.

• 3.x

Failsafe Computer Guardian (1992) 0 Utility DOS

Failsafe Computer Guardian is a DOS TSR utility that prevents programs or other users from accessing or making changes to designated files on the hard drive. It includes password control, user groups, logging, keyboard locking, screen blanking, and support for Microsoft windows. Notably, it can do all of this with minimal DOS memory overhead, only 14k of RAM.

• 1.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 3.x
• Plus 6.x

FastTrax (1987) 0 Utility DOS

FastTrax is a disk optimization program for MS-DOS on IBM PC computers. It rearranges and defragments files to make file access faster.

• 4.x