MS-DOS in Windows 9x

MS-DOS 7.00 is a build of MS-DOS 7.x. It is included as part of Windows 95 RTM and is not available as a standalone product. MS-DOS 7.0 was originally a separate project, but later combined with the Chicago project to act as the basis for booting and running real-mode applications under Windows. Some features added (as needed by Windows 95) are VFAT (long file name) support and CD-ROM boot support.

The original MS-DOS 7 was planned to add features like multi-tasking, networking, and better support to MS-DOS 6.x for Windows haters, command-line lovers and highly price conscious OEMs. The project started roughly around the same time as Chicago. It is unknown whether any builds were distributed to testers or developers but there are evidence suggesting builds were made. In Windows 95 Build 189,  has the branding of MS-DOS 7.00 suggesting MS-DOS 7 was still under development in late 1994.

There were a few fake versions of MS-DOS 7 betas on the internet in the past years, some are still online today. Most of those fakes were made by modifying files from early Chicago builds and adding files from other versions of MS-DOS. KenOath posted many pictures of the famous 01-01-1994 fake with an installer onto BetaArchive Screenshots Gallery and screenshots can still be accessed online. ComputerHunter on BetaArchive also posted a set of images of MS-DOS 7 beta but they were disagreements about the authenticity as the version numbering is strange but it is impossible for it to be a string hack as the displayed version strings are longer than version strings from any version of DOS.

Although MS-DOS 7.00 is a part of Windows 95, it is possible to boot separately with modifications. Older versions of Windows can run on unmodified MS-DOS 7.00 extracted from Windows 95 RTM.