Disk operating system

A disk operating system (DOS) is a computer operating system that resides on and can use a disk storage device, such as a floppy disk, hard disk drive, or optical disc. A disk operating system provides a file system for organizing, reading, and writing files on the storage disk, and a means for loading and running programs stored on that disk. Strictly, this definition does not include any other functionality, so it does not apply to more complex OSes, such as Microsoft Windows, and is more appropriately used only for older generations of operating systems.

This article is about disk operating systems in the broadest sense. For the disk operating system used by IBM PC compatibles, see DOS. For IBM mainframe operating systems, see DOS/360 and successors.

Disk operating systems for mainframes, minicomputers, microprocessors, and home computers are usually loaded from the disks as part of the boot process.

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