Microsoft KB Archive/11956

Microsoft Press: Running MS-DOS, 2nd Edition PSS ID Number: Q11956 Article last modified on 08-01-1989 PSS database name: PRESS

Running MS-DOS, 2nd edition by Van Wolverton

Price: $21.95 Pages: 448 ISBN: 0-914845-68-3 Pub. Date: November 29, 1985

Microsoft Press to Release the Updated Edition of Van Wolverton’s Best-Selling “Running MS-DOS”

With more than 140,000 copies sold to date, RUNNING MS-DOS is recognized as the definitive introductory volume on the operating system used on over five million personal computers. Jim Seymour, writing in “PC Week,” named “Running MS DOS” as the “Best PC-Related Book of 1984,” said the following:

“Running MS-DOS” by Van Wolverton, proves how-to books don’t have to be pedantic, ugly and full of mistakes. A book even the PC-DOS mavens turn to, it is written by a human being, for human beings, in a strange and wonderful tongue: English.

Following the recent IBM-Microsoft Joint Development Agreement – which ensures the continued success of MS-DOS as the microcomputer industry’s standard operating system – Microsoft Press will publish an updated edition of this classic in November. The new edition of “Running MS-DOS” has been chosen as an Alternate Selection by Macmillan’s Small Computer Book Club, and will be supported by a major print advertising campaign and author appearances.

“Running MS-DOS” is the most complete guide available for mastering all the features of the system software that controls the complex operations of a personal computer. Van Wolverton worked closely with the developers of MS-DOS to provide a rich sourcebook that is authoritative, comprehensive, and easy to use. The book is organized according to what the reader wants the computer to do – not by the structure of MS-DOS. Dozens of real-life examples have been provided to illustrate the capabilities of MS-DOS (versions through 3.10). Van Wolverton explains all the commands and techniques the user needs to know for the following:

Managing Files and Disks
Manipulating display, printer, and telecommunications devices

Creating Custom Commands
Automating execution of frequently-used commands

Managing Fixed Disk to Take Advantage of Its Increased Speed, Capacity
In addition, this new edition of “Running MS-DOS” contains detailed information on the latest releases of MS-DOS: Version 3.00, which supports the IBM PC AT’s high-capacity floppy disk drive and Version 3.10, which enables users to set up a local area network (LAN) of several microcomputers.

A professional writer since 1963, Van Wolverton has had bylines as a newspaper reporter, editorial writer, political columnist, and technical writer. He wrote his first computer program – one that tabulated political polls – for the Idaho State Journal in Pocatello, Idaho, in 1965. His interests in computers and writing have been intertwined ever since. Van has worked at IBM and Intel, and has written numerous manuals and books for the major national software companies, including Microsoft Corporation.

Microsoft Corporation, based in Redmond, Wash., develops and sells a wide range of operating systems, languages, application programs, and hardware products, as well as books, for the microcomputer marketplace.

Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1989.