<s>
MSDOS.SYS	O
is	O
a	O
system	O
file	O
in	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
Windows	O
9x	O
operating	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
versions	O
of	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
from	O
1.1x	O
through	O
6.22	O
,	O
the	O
file	O
comprises	O
the	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
kernel	B-Operating_System
and	O
is	O
responsible	O
for	O
file	O
access	O
and	O
program	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MSDOS.SYS	O
is	O
loaded	O
by	O
the	O
DOS	O
BIOS	O
IO.SYS	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
boot	B-Operating_System
procedure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
some	O
OEM	O
versions	O
of	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
,	O
the	O
file	O
is	O
named	O
MSDOS.COM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
(	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
7.0	O
)	O
through	O
Windows	B-Device
ME	I-Device
(	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
8.0	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
DOS	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
has	O
been	O
combined	O
with	O
the	O
DOS	O
BIOS	O
into	O
a	O
single	O
file	O
,	O
IO.SYS	O
(	O
aka	O
WINBOOT.SYS	O
)	O
,	O
while	O
MSDOS.SYS	O
became	O
a	O
plain	O
text	O
file	O
containing	O
boot	B-Operating_System
configuration	O
directives	O
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
a	O
WINBOOT.INI	B-Device
file	O
exists	O
,	O
the	O
system	O
will	O
retrieve	O
these	O
configuration	O
directives	O
from	O
WINBOOT.INI	B-Device
rather	O
than	O
from	O
MSDOS.SYS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
Windows	O
9x	O
is	O
installed	O
over	O
a	O
preexisting	O
DOS	O
install	O
,	O
the	O
Windows	O
file	O
may	O
be	O
temporarily	O
named	O
MSDOS.W40	O
for	O
as	O
long	O
as	O
Windows	O
 '	O
dual-boot	O
feature	O
has	O
booted	O
the	O
previous	O
OS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Likewise	O
,	O
the	O
MSDOS.SYS	O
of	O
the	O
older	O
system	O
is	O
named	O
MSDOS.DOS	O
for	O
as	O
long	O
as	O
Windows	O
9x	O
is	O
active	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
DOS	O
utilities	O
expect	O
the	O
MSDOS.SYS	O
file	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
minimal	O
file	O
size	O
of	O
at	O
least	O
1	O
KB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
the	O
reason	O
why	O
a	O
large	O
dummy	O
comment	O
is	O
typically	O
found	O
in	O
the	O
MSDOS.SYS	O
configuration	O
file	O
since	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
default	O
,	O
the	O
file	O
is	O
located	O
in	O
the	O
root	B-Application
directory	I-Application
of	O
the	O
bootable	B-Operating_System
drive/partition	O
(	O
normally	O
C:\	O
for	O
hard	O
disks	O
)	O
and	O
has	O
the	O
hidden	O
,	O
read-only	O
,	O
and	O
system	O
file	B-Application
attributes	I-Application
set	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
derivative	O
(	O
DCP	O
)	O
by	O
the	O
former	O
East-German	O
VEB	O
Robotron	O
used	O
a	O
filename	O
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	B-Operating_System
PC	I-Operating_System
DOS	I-Operating_System
as	O
well	O
as	O
DR	B-Application
DOS	I-Application
since	O
5.0	O
(	O
with	O
the	O
exception	O
of	O
DR-DOS	B-Application
7.06	O
)	O
used	O
the	O
file	O
IBMDOS.COM	O
for	O
the	O
same	O
purpose	O
,	O
whereas	O
DR	B-Application
DOS	I-Application
3.31	O
to	O
3.41	O
used	O
DRBDOS.SYS	O
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FreeDOS	B-Application
uses	O
the	O
file	O
KERNEL.SYS	O
for	O
the	O
same	O
purpose	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	O
NT-based	O
operating	O
systems	O
(	O
NT	O
3.1	O
–	O
4	O
,	O
2000	O
,	O
XP	O
,	O
and	O
2003	O
)	O
use	O
the	O
NTLDR	B-Application
file	O
and	O
NT	O
6+	O
operating	O
systems	O
(	O
Vista	O
,	O
2008	O
,	O
7	O
,	O
8	O
,	O
8.1	O
,	O
and	O
10	O
)	O
use	O
bootmgr	B-Operating_System
instead	O
,	O
as	O
they	O
have	O
a	O
different	O
boot	B-Operating_System
sequence	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
