DOS for Dummies (Paperback)

by Dan Gookin (Author) "You know the type: The person who tells a long story?..." (more)
Key Phrases: data word format, undo disk, black box program, Program Manager, File Manager, Caps Lock (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The book that changed the way computer books are written and marketed has come out in a third edition. By and large, it's the same as the previous edition (advances in MS-DOS have not been numerous), but there is some new information here. Further, DOS for Dummies remains an entertaining book and if you use DOS, it's the book you want to assist you.

The basic idea of this book is that you can identify a problem you're having with your computer, ranging from how to turn the thing on to how to back up only the files that have changed since the last backup. You can then turn to the relevant section--the table of contents is very detailed--read a few pages, carry out some procedure, and move on to the next problem. You'll find sections on hardware, file management, text editing, and software installation. Later chapters deal with troubleshooting.

The newest material in this release of DOS for Dummies deals with DOS 6.22 and the DOS-like shell that you can use under Windows 95 and Windows 98. For users of the latest versions of Windows, Gookin demonstrates some relevant procedures. But most of the coverage deals with DOS itself and programs that are designed to run under DOS. There's even stuff about WordStar here (it's a little-known fact of history that the Rosetta stone was written with WordStar).

DOS for Dummies is funny, too, in a wry sort of way. What kind of joke is appropriate to a section about parallel ports, anyway? The author manages to infuse practically every passage with humor. Other computer books should make an effort to take themselves less seriously. The verdict: if you're using DOS--and more of you are than the Windows people would have us believe--this book will provide you with valuable help. --David Wall

Review
“…excellent and fun to read…” (Mourne Observer & County Down News, 23 July 2003)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 3 edition (June 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764503618
• ISBN-13: 978-0764503610
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #266,825 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for beginners, bad for everyone else, November 5, 2000

By	Jacob D (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This book is a good book for becoming familiar with the DOS operating system and all the commands, but it lacked any information that would be helpful to people who want to become intermidiate-advanced users. For example, the author refuses to tell you anything about BATCH files, which really annoyed me. There are over 10 commands that had to do with BATCH files that there was only the most basic information about, and the book said that if you wanted to write a BATCH file executing a program with another name (doom.exe instead of doom2.exe, for example) then ask a friend to do it. What kind of advice is that for a book about DOS?

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The dummy books are the "cliff notes" of computing., June 11, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: DOS for Dummies (V02) (Paperback)

-----DOS for dummies is the most helpful computer guide I have ever laid my brown eyes apon. It has everything from turning on the computer to editing you configuration files. It has several jokes about PC's and even some cartoons! Whether you just got your computer yesterday or you MAKE computers this book is helpful. In the front it has some cheat sheets and quick refrence guides that are really helpful. I have had this book for 2 years now and still find myself reading it. -----So even if you don't plan on spending time in DOS (which you always end up doing anyways) GET THIS BOOK!!!!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Book, but pertains more toward the Prehistoric Age, December 19, 2001

By	Anthony Defex "Tony the Tiger" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

like I said, good book, but a bit outdated. The author talks about 50 MByte disk drives as being huge and about 5 inch floppy disks. This is like reading Aristotle's physics instead of Newton's. If you use DOS it will help you of course, but ignore most of the talk about hardware. Covers DOS commands very well. Contains interesting trivia about computers too (the life span of a hard drive is about 4 years, unless this is outdated too). To conclude, if you use DOS, it will suite you. Even better seem to be the DOS reference book for Dummies.