DOS Box

What Does DOS Box Mean?

“DOS box” or “DOSBox” in IT slang is a term that gets used in more than one way. People may refer to a DOS box as some sort of emulator or software program that accommodates playing old DOS-based games on a new Windows computer or other modern device. However, people can also use the term DOS box to talk about an older computer that only runs the DOS operating system.

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Techopedia Explains DOS Box

What these two uses of the term DOS box have in common is that each of these technologies, the old retro computer and the new emulator, both support the types of DOS-based executable files that were so popular in the 1980s and early 1990s. Using a DOS box allows people to get back in touch with that technology that amazed and intrigued them at a younger age. The term DOS box belongs in the canon of retro technology jargon, as hobbyists and others use vintage computers or modern emulator tools to support an old PC-DOS environment.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…