Installation for desktop usage is the primary target of the official FreeDOS distributions. Although FreeDOS is a lightweight operating system, the more complete distribution is a better option for dedicated use of the operating system and available programs. To allow installation of FreeDOS next to other operating systems, great effort has been made to ensure FreeDOS can be part of dual boot scenarios. Dedicated use of the (Free)DOS environment can be anything ranging from and including:

• playing various DOS games
• putting an old computer to good use
• develop and/or test DOS programs

For these kinds of goals, performing the installation is an optimal method to use FreeDOS.

On the other hand, if you only need to carry out a "one time" DOS task such as flashing your system BIOS or run a particular program from a removable medium, you're better off with a self-contained FreeDOS diskette. Please see the BootDisks section.

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