Kairuf
78161
963
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For those who don’t know, MS-DOS was released in 1981 and it’s final version came out in 2000. This specific release came out in March 1993 which means that it is older than I am.
My boss wants me to find some source files that might be on there and even if I can find them, I don’t know how the hell I’m going to get them off of it.
Edit: turns out those files do not exist so yay? No trying to debug and recompile 20 year old code for me
Edit2: now he wants me to go through old backup CDs to see if
Context: He wants me to find the source code of a in house program that was last modified in 2011 to fix a minor bug that had been bothering him for years. Also, he’s only temporarily my boss because my actual boss is on vacation, and he gets antsy because he can’t “see me doing anything”
Most viral edit: for those who are wondering, it was not an ancient machine that was being kept around. It was a dell purchased in 2009 that he loaded MS-DOS 6 onto
ballsoutflyer
Commandline FTP server, and open up proper permissions for directories. You're welcome.
DJOldguy
This might help... https://archive.org/details/microsoft-ms-dos-6 and DOS is easy, once you get the hang of it, really. Just remember to be exact in your instructions.
shmoogeeoogee
That's why.
agburanar
Was there some weird proprietary ISA or SCSI card in it? All the ancient computers at my job are something like that... "The spectrum analyzer that the chief analog engineer loves only has Windows NT drivers, so we have this one Dell from 1998 that we need to keep running until he retires." I hate it, but I'm in my 40s and have some hardware from 2010 that I like more than anything I've seen since, so I'll probably do the same to other people in 20 years.
HenryLongfellowIII
A guy I know just (like this week) built a kick-ass computer with 4080 video card, 1000W supply, 64G of DDR5 etc. and a floppy drive because his VMC uses it.
FentuckyCriedKhicken
If it was me who used a very old version of system or software, I must be hiding something that could steal core data from the company I work for, with out a trace, I would use my own cellphone for hotspot, write a program in c or one of the antient languages, then socket everything to sync up everyday. Or just encrypt data in a form you cannot decrypt, only I got the decipher code.
CyberneticWhelk
"For those that don't know..." --- Hey motherfu... oh... I am old now... I guess..
EmporerDragon
At a retail job I had, I was using Cobal for sign-making until they finally upgraded to Windows XP...in 2014.
sirava
I have fond memories of that era. DOS isnt the problem. Finding his code, understanding it, and figuring out how to compile it.... that's going to be fun.
seehemewe
And not breaking something worse.
iamserouslyoutofgoodnames
Yum spaghetti code.
WoofBastard
Don't even bother. Fart around and look like you're working until the real boss gets back and then you can tell Fake Boss to suck it.
Kairuf
Basically my plan
WoofBastard
Very wise, I applaud you.
Plagen
OH MY GOD. Your boss is that guy from that one post! The one who gets hired at the company just to fix a bug that has been annoying him as a user and then promptly quits!
Plagen
This thing. https://i.redd.it/ttoqmoshn2r61.jpg
slugworth70
I used to work for a hospital system that its main software ran on mumps up until the mid 2010's.
slugworth70
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUMPS
WoofBastard
I used to write hospital systems in VAX BASIC. --- Yeah. And yes, I had a pet brontosaurus.
euphoricopportunity
I was using MS-DOS 6 until rather later. I remember being one if the few who go Norton Desktop for a while rather than going straight to Windows 95.
nanomaus
Norton command was great.
Vatafeo
In response to the context, just pull up some code and look at your screen really angry. And if you really want to sell it, wait till hes just inside of earshot and press enter a few times and mumble fuck
CosplayComet
Dir.
CogYang
Lol oh boy are you in for some fun
meconopsia
Del *.* and you're good
Shaodyn
So since he wants you to look busy, he's giving you a pointless task.
FireArrow
Linux can read any file system DOS would know about. Put the CDs into a linux machine, and run `find -iname "*program_name*"`
WhereIsMyAppleQuava
@OP I really need to know if this would work for your situation
hartm08260
On a floppy disk
koyote2033
Yeah, if this is some temp manager: he's setting you up to fail. He doesn't like you personally and has never seen any hope for getting this resolved. Now he'll A) get the big fixed only HE cares about, all the while thrashing your (lack of) method and ability. Or B) he'll hold it against you that you call yourself a "dev" but don't know the ancient texts that nobody else even knows. End of the day: file a formal complaint about this manager, or find a new job. This doesn't end well for you, imo
NicolasKevinMac
rivitingone
I remember my dad telling me that I knew "just enough to be dangerous" . This was shortly after I had typed format C:\ . Dos didn't care. Dos did what it was told. All I heard was that I was dangerous. Hell yeah!
[deleted]
[deleted]
Tortoiseshell11
I know there’s one in windows now, it pretty much does what the “end task” button in task manager does.
thinkybrainpains
this shit is why i moved from programmer to analyst. i fucked shit up all the time.
Aksuuuh
But hey that's when the fun begins
thinkybrainpains
PballQhead
God, that puts sudo rm -rf * to shame.
coothlesscthulhu
Meh, just make sure you execute from / ...fun fact, one of the first things I did when windows 10 introduced the windows subsystem for Linux was trying umount /mnt/c it worked but my laptop was not too happy on reboot...
SoDark
ah yeah i bought my amstrad 64k used, among various copied games disks i found a system disk, sadly the first command i tested was format.......
MikeTran
You can’t just format c if you booted off it.
rivitingone
You could in DOS 6.22.
IMissBadlyPhotoshoppedMichaelCera
I'll decompile it for you. I could probably even fix the bug.
KrukeLord
This @op. Had to do the same thing you're describing years ago at my last company. Decompiled the dlls, fixed it, and recompiled. Done
exbenedict
I grew up on DOS. It always amazes my students when they watch me switch to a command prompt because it’s faster.
ojioni
I am a Linux system administrator. I always prefer working in a console over using a GUI.
miertam
I started with an Amiga so I am more comfortable with GUI but I am pretty computer agnostic.
H2ONerd
Haha, same. It just feels more intuitive sometimes than a GUI.
PballQhead
My dad used computers in his time with NORAD in the 70s, then didn't till the early Aughts. When I set him up with a legit UNIX terminal (OS X) in 2006, he literally said "this hasn't changed since I was doing it on a teletype, I got this." Kinda epic.
GentlemanScientist
At my work we used to have a business system written in what I think was assembly by one of the founders. To run it we needed a Windows 7 machine emulating Windows 98 emulating DOS. No-one but him and God knew how it worked and he, of course, kept no documentation. Then he died and you can imagine the rest.
JamesTDG
Honestly, good on em'. Modern Windows sucks ass. If I had the power to, I would use Linux exclusively for work.
H2ONerd
We're trying to get the powers that be let us migrate our SCADA to Linux at the treatment plant.
electronicbovine
All Linux for work is, quite honestly, the fucking best.
beaverusiv
It has been a requirement for employment for me for a while now. I will always ask if I can use Linux, if I can't I'm not accepting the offer
beaverusiv
Not only is it much more capable and faster for me, but allowing it shows they won't try put a million roadblocks between me and doing my job
Kairuf
He could have used Linux if he wanted to.
Birga
dude had a folder of .bat files for common task, guaranteed.
shastaRed
NeverEnoughFoxes
Hell, I remember building whole menu systems out of .bat files!
funkystay
@echo off
koops
ls.bat lol!
CacheRAM
Dir *.bat /a /s > c:\batlist.txt
Christx30
It felt so good when I found out how to create .bat files. I made one for my dad’s doom game. It played the sound of the doom guy screaming, then opened the game. I didn’t tell him, but let him find out of his own. He cracked up.
paladindansesgirlfriend
Thats a good prank
Kairuf
Yes yes he did
bathtubdronestrike
We're on 6? I still never finished 3.1
MrCMBrown
it was 6.22? final for DOs 3.1 was first windows maybe?. i forget after 25 years of building PCs
HenryLongfellowIII
3.1 was the first usable windows ca. 1992. DOS 6.something was the last one before it got subsumed into Win98.
MrCMBrown
thanks. i understand that.
PballQhead
Legacy is a real bitch. It's why good COBOL programmers make so much money nowadays.
kellokellsmf
You should ask for a raise
mafiacarstarter
Everyone should.
eppykaze
c:>dos c:>dos run run dos run
TheJuiceLoosener
Why is it that a man who's shirt says "c:>dos c:>dos run run dos run" spends all day watching a children's cartoon show?
DaveMeowthewz
The simpsons did it first.
FireSolvesProblems
I actually spent the summer of 2016 using a DOS system. It was.... interesting.
EatsBees
i worked for Citibank from 2016-2020 in the home equity department as an escalation lead. the program we used to review loans and lines of credit was DOS-based, and from what i remember, there was no conversation about changing it to something more modern
H2ONerd
I remember getting our first computer running DOS. Before that we had the C64 with BASIC. I still run an emulator for old school gaming and do a lot of stuff through Command or Bash depending on the OS.
kickmyballsrealhard
RUN
H2ONerd
No, that's Basic
WaterUnderTheRocketAppliances
GuerrillaschaukelnInDerTodeszone
*bass drops*
whyforetho
I AM SINISTAR
miertam
He knew how to navigate it. So it was probably faster and more stable than a GUI for him. They are not going to fire him if they are going to lose the ability to maintain critical programs that only he knows how to fix.
PapiChuloNumeroUno
Oh yes, the ol "Im used to this so no need to learn new stuff" while the security is looking like swiss cheese.
petresun
Thats job security, right there.
umbabrahattasil
Which is garbage; these days he should’ve been forced to migrate. Security is probably non existent.
kraeftig
MSDOS6 did not have an integrated networking solution. To put it simply, it didn't have the internet unless you put it on deliberately.
avastmehearty
That OS is so old I wonder if it is immune to most hacks (sarcasm!!! I can joke like this because I used to use forth on a dual 8” floppy PDP-11)
Kairuf
He made himself irreplaceable by coding everything himself. Which is a small problem considering he retired.
rokucitymayor
Yea but he got to see retirement
ActionJohnnie
Learn from the best
skathir
Oooh yeah common trick. Fun for you…….!
Yoganmahew
Nobody is irreplaceable, the trick is to leave so much damage behind when you are booted out to appease the gods of finance, that management is terrified to ditch long serving people. Complexity is your union. You don't even have to invent complexity, just do what they tell you to do, how they tell you to do it, as quickly as possible.
Cargobiker530
Did you try a Github search? https://xkcd.com/979/
OutlawGerman
Not for him.
Redisia
Buddy of mine works at a major car manufacturer... lol they run unstable hard coded software that crashes non stop. I hear ya lol
HamburgerWelper
What a legend
jzbstl
But he was there long enough to retire. And it’s somebody else’s problem now.
InfocalypseRising
But surely everything was properly documented!
WaterUnderTheRocketAppliances
besn
fraggles9000
41 year old programmer here. Thanks for that. I laughed. And then cried a little.
uniquepseudonym
Knew a guy who wrote all his comments in Hungarian.
kickmyballsrealhard
Hahahaha hahahaha yeah…
PaulManley101
Over 7 years I wrote 1,100 in our confluence. Including pages such as "How to setup your dev machine", "how to access the databases", "standards for SSRS report formats", "Incident Management Playbook". Nobody reads it, and the manager after me deleted it.
eponra
ough... my condolences. At my work, we have thousands of articles in confluence about every piece of software we have, what is a lot of software, from about 25y. But as time moves on most of it was just migrated, but wasnt updated. So, as the new guy, i find faults in the documentation like every day. But, we at least have documentation, so you have a point to start.
Qrader
What do you mean? The code is the documentation.
Kairuf
NeverEnoughFoxes
imnotinthewitnessprotectionprogram
Kairuf
Honestly it is remarkably throughly commented, unfortunately it appears to be some form of personal shorthand
Mechman13
Mine always had loads of profanity, and sometimes /// I don't know why this is necessary but if you delete it you're fucked
landbaronness42
I took a job where my predecessor wrote 175 scripts that ran in circles and didn’t document anything plus .exes. Linux. On a 10 year old physical server with no replacement parts. They were in panic mode because if it died, poof. No source code control. He got fired charging 80 hours a week. I spent a month or two documenting all 175 scrips then redid it from scratch on a virtual machine. Ran better. Got a $16K raise. I can DOS in my sleep.
nopost
Someone, somewhere, sometime told him he needed to document his code so it could be sustained...and he still found a workaround that kept him irreplaceable. Respect.