Single-floppy GUI for 386+, *4 MB RAM* (FreeDOS base) [ALPHA - testers wanted]
Hi all,
Posting the first public alpha of Rescue-D2, a single-floppy
FreeDOS rescue disk targeted at 386+, 4+ MB RAM machines.
It's been through a full QEMU test pass and I want
real-hardware eyes on it before promoting to beta.
What it does
Boots a machine from a 1.44 MB floppy and gives you tools to
recover what's on the hard drive. Three boot modes selectable from
the FDCONFIG menu at startup:
Mode 1 - DESKTOP2 GUI rescue (recommended) - graphical file
manager with mouse support, ~2 MB RAM disk holding the GUI binaries
Mode 2 - FreeDOS shell only - fast boot, no GUI, no RAM disk
Mode 3 - Emergency - no drivers, smallest footprint
What's on the disk:
* NTFS read via Active@ NTFS Reader for DOS 1.0.2 (NT 4.0 SP6a-era
NTFS 1.2 only; modern NTFS 3.1 from mkfs.ntfs is not supported)
* FAT32 support
*
* TCP/IP networking add-on with mTCP DHCP + FTPSRV. Eleven Crynwr
packet drivers shipped: NE2000, NE1000, 3C501, 3C503, 3C509, 3C523,
SMC EtherCard / WD800x, NE2100/LANCE, IBM Token Ring, ARCnet
* Long filename support via DOSLFN (loaded in all modes)
*
* Standard DOS toolkit: FDISK, FORMAT, ATTRIB, XCOPY, GZIP, plus
TREE, MEM, MORE, FIND, DELTREE, LABEL, WHICHFAT in an EXTRAS dir
* USB rescue via Bret Johnson's USBDOS suite (UHCI host
controllers ONLY - OHCI from NEC, Opti, ALi, SiS will not work;
EHCI-only systems will not work)
Hardware target
Primary era: 386-486. The DESKTOP2 GUI base was Phase 1-validated on
86Box at 386SX-16. Pentium-class works as the upper end where
hardware permits, but the disk doesn't take advantage of anything
newer than 486 ISA.
CPU: 386 minimum (any speed)
RAM: 4 MB for Mode 1 (GUI), 2 MB for Modes 2 / 3
Floppy: 1.44 MB 3.5" drive bootable as A:
VGA for the Mode 1 GUI; any text mode for Modes 2 / 3
What's tested
Full pass on QEMU 8.2.2 with -cpu 486 -m 4. (QEMU dropped -cpu 386
in version 6.0; 486 was the closest available proxy.) Eight bugs
were caught and fixed during emulator testing, including some
FreeCom 0.86 quirks I haven't seen documented anywhere - IF EXIST
X:\ and IF EXIST X:\dir are both broken, 2>NUL produces "Syntax
error" plus a stray "1)" file, REM lines containing < > get parsed
as redirects, and && doesn't work as a separator after ECHO. Worth
knowing if you write FreeDOS BAT scripts.
What's NOT tested - this is where you come in
Real 386 silicon, any speed - everything from a 386SX-16 to a
DX-40 would be useful data
Real 486 silicon (DX, DX2, DX4, SX) - same
Ten of the eleven packet drivers. Only NE2000 was exercised,
against QEMU's emulated NIC. A real 3C509 or NE1000 in a 386 / 486
would be especially valuable
Real NTFS volume reads (the wrapper launches the reader; nobody
has tried it on an actual NTFS 1.2 disk yet)
USB ATTACH / MOUNT on real UHCI hardware - only USBHOSTS
controller detection has been verified
Token Ring or ARCnet on real iron - the drivers are shipped, but
realistically I expect nobody on this forum still has those
Mouse interaction inside DESKTOP2 (cursor visibility was
verified; clicks and drags weren't)
Where to get it
https://simple-filehost.pages.dev/shared/4ab19e65-4070-4fd0-a80a-a2b265545acb
Image: rescue-d2-v1.7.1-alpha.1.img
Size: 1,474,560 bytes (1.44 MB FAT12)
SHA256: 65f32b504c776c0bc84334ca59c124290af9231376e64409e47c36699362d061
Full release notes (test methodology, FreeCom quirks, license map,
complete changelog, quick-start workflows for NTFS / USB /
networking) are in the bundled Rescue-D2-v1.7.1-alpha.1-RelNotes.txt.
How to report bugs
Please email bug reports to bugs@tekguru.us, not in this
thread, not in DMs, not in chat rooms. The thread is great for
general discussion, questions, and "tried it on my [insert rig
here] and here's what happened" reports. But actionable bugs
need to go to the inbox - reports outside the bug mailbox tend
to get lost. If you've already posted somewhere else, a duplicate
to bugs@tekguru.us is far better than a lost report.
A useful bug report has:
Hardware: CPU type/speed, RAM, NIC chipset, USB host controller
chipset (where relevant), HDD/HBA
Which mode you used (1, 2, or 3)
Exact command sequence that triggered the issue
What you expected vs what happened
A phone photo of the screen for visual issues; a serial console
capture for text where you can manage it
Coming later in May 2026: 286 branch alpha
A separate 286 branch alpha is planned for later in May 2026
for 286 and early-386 systems that can't meet the 386+ branch
requirements. Watch this forum for the announcement when it's
ready.
Acknowledgments
This disk stands on the shoulders of:
The FreeDOS project (kernel, FreeCom, HimemX, FDISK,
FORMAT, GZIP, XCOPY, the entire base)
Felix Ritter - DESKTOP2 (the GUI)
Bret Johnson - USBDOS suite
Michael Brutman - mTCP (DHCP, FTPSRV, and the rest of the
suite I haven't shipped yet)
Russell Nelson and Crynwr Software - the packet
drivers and TERMIN
LSoft Technologies - Active@ NTFS Reader for DOS
Markus Haftmann and J. M. Hagman - DOSLFN
The XMSDSK author (Franck Uberto, public domain release)
The CuteMouse team
Many thanks to those devs and especially Felix Ritter, who graciously
replied to my emails.
Full license map and credit list in LICENSES/CREDITS.TXT on the disk.
Thanks in advance for testing. Every report on real silicon is
valuable; the more variety of 386 / 486 motherboards, NICs, and USB
controllers we cover, the more confident the v1.7.1 final release
will be.
- Arthur Clark
Posting the first public alpha of Rescue-D2, a single-floppy
FreeDOS rescue disk targeted at 386+, 4+ MB RAM machines.
It's been through a full QEMU test pass and I want
real-hardware eyes on it before promoting to beta.
What it does
Boots a machine from a 1.44 MB floppy and gives you tools to
recover what's on the hard drive. Three boot modes selectable from
the FDCONFIG menu at startup:
Mode 1 - DESKTOP2 GUI rescue (recommended) - graphical file
manager with mouse support, ~2 MB RAM disk holding the GUI binaries
Mode 2 - FreeDOS shell only - fast boot, no GUI, no RAM disk
Mode 3 - Emergency - no drivers, smallest footprint
What's on the disk:
* NTFS read via Active@ NTFS Reader for DOS 1.0.2 (NT 4.0 SP6a-era
NTFS 1.2 only; modern NTFS 3.1 from mkfs.ntfs is not supported)
* FAT32 support
*
* TCP/IP networking add-on with mTCP DHCP + FTPSRV. Eleven Crynwr
packet drivers shipped: NE2000, NE1000, 3C501, 3C503, 3C509, 3C523,
SMC EtherCard / WD800x, NE2100/LANCE, IBM Token Ring, ARCnet
* Long filename support via DOSLFN (loaded in all modes)
*
* Standard DOS toolkit: FDISK, FORMAT, ATTRIB, XCOPY, GZIP, plus
TREE, MEM, MORE, FIND, DELTREE, LABEL, WHICHFAT in an EXTRAS dir
* USB rescue via Bret Johnson's USBDOS suite (UHCI host
controllers ONLY - OHCI from NEC, Opti, ALi, SiS will not work;
EHCI-only systems will not work)
Hardware target
Primary era: 386-486. The DESKTOP2 GUI base was Phase 1-validated on
86Box at 386SX-16. Pentium-class works as the upper end where
hardware permits, but the disk doesn't take advantage of anything
newer than 486 ISA.
CPU: 386 minimum (any speed)
RAM: 4 MB for Mode 1 (GUI), 2 MB for Modes 2 / 3
Floppy: 1.44 MB 3.5" drive bootable as A:
VGA for the Mode 1 GUI; any text mode for Modes 2 / 3
What's tested
Full pass on QEMU 8.2.2 with -cpu 486 -m 4. (QEMU dropped -cpu 386
in version 6.0; 486 was the closest available proxy.) Eight bugs
were caught and fixed during emulator testing, including some
FreeCom 0.86 quirks I haven't seen documented anywhere - IF EXIST
X:\ and IF EXIST X:\dir are both broken, 2>NUL produces "Syntax
error" plus a stray "1)" file, REM lines containing < > get parsed
as redirects, and && doesn't work as a separator after ECHO. Worth
knowing if you write FreeDOS BAT scripts.
What's NOT tested - this is where you come in
Real 386 silicon, any speed - everything from a 386SX-16 to a
DX-40 would be useful data
Real 486 silicon (DX, DX2, DX4, SX) - same
Ten of the eleven packet drivers. Only NE2000 was exercised,
against QEMU's emulated NIC. A real 3C509 or NE1000 in a 386 / 486
would be especially valuable
Real NTFS volume reads (the wrapper launches the reader; nobody
has tried it on an actual NTFS 1.2 disk yet)
USB ATTACH / MOUNT on real UHCI hardware - only USBHOSTS
controller detection has been verified
Token Ring or ARCnet on real iron - the drivers are shipped, but
realistically I expect nobody on this forum still has those
Mouse interaction inside DESKTOP2 (cursor visibility was
verified; clicks and drags weren't)
Where to get it
https://simple-filehost.pages.dev/shared/4ab19e65-4070-4fd0-a80a-a2b265545acb
Image: rescue-d2-v1.7.1-alpha.1.img
Size: 1,474,560 bytes (1.44 MB FAT12)
SHA256: 65f32b504c776c0bc84334ca59c124290af9231376e64409e47c36699362d061
Full release notes (test methodology, FreeCom quirks, license map,
complete changelog, quick-start workflows for NTFS / USB /
networking) are in the bundled Rescue-D2-v1.7.1-alpha.1-RelNotes.txt.
How to report bugs
Please email bug reports to bugs@tekguru.us, not in this
thread, not in DMs, not in chat rooms. The thread is great for
general discussion, questions, and "tried it on my [insert rig
here] and here's what happened" reports. But actionable bugs
need to go to the inbox - reports outside the bug mailbox tend
to get lost. If you've already posted somewhere else, a duplicate
to bugs@tekguru.us is far better than a lost report.
A useful bug report has:
Hardware: CPU type/speed, RAM, NIC chipset, USB host controller
chipset (where relevant), HDD/HBA
Which mode you used (1, 2, or 3)
Exact command sequence that triggered the issue
What you expected vs what happened
A phone photo of the screen for visual issues; a serial console
capture for text where you can manage it
Coming later in May 2026: 286 branch alpha
A separate 286 branch alpha is planned for later in May 2026
for 286 and early-386 systems that can't meet the 386+ branch
requirements. Watch this forum for the announcement when it's
ready.
Acknowledgments
This disk stands on the shoulders of:
The FreeDOS project (kernel, FreeCom, HimemX, FDISK,
FORMAT, GZIP, XCOPY, the entire base)
Felix Ritter - DESKTOP2 (the GUI)
Bret Johnson - USBDOS suite
Michael Brutman - mTCP (DHCP, FTPSRV, and the rest of the
suite I haven't shipped yet)
Russell Nelson and Crynwr Software - the packet
drivers and TERMIN
LSoft Technologies - Active@ NTFS Reader for DOS
Markus Haftmann and J. M. Hagman - DOSLFN
The XMSDSK author (Franck Uberto, public domain release)
The CuteMouse team
Many thanks to those devs and especially Felix Ritter, who graciously
replied to my emails.
Full license map and credit list in LICENSES/CREDITS.TXT on the disk.
Thanks in advance for testing. Every report on real silicon is
valuable; the more variety of 386 / 486 motherboards, NICs, and USB
controllers we cover, the more confident the v1.7.1 final release
will be.
- Arthur Clark