DOS ain't dead

I have two questions:
When I boot DOS 6.22, a lot of routines happen very quickly after the memory check, and by the time I get to the C:> prompt, I can't view all of the messages to see if there are any errors. Is there a way to page through the startup process so I can actually see all of the messaging?

Also, I'm looking for a DOS e-mail client that can actually connect to comcast.net. Arachne won't because I think you need to connect over SSL, which Arachne can't do. The only SSL capable e-mail client I can find is FLMAIL (same developer as DilloDOS). That program can be very slow to download because of the way it processes mail (I believe it tries to render everything in HTML). I could live with that, but when I attempt to send an e-mail, the program crashes. So, it's of limited use. From what I can tell, all the other e-mail clients cannot do SSL, or are otherwise incapable of connecting to comcast. I'm fine if its text only. My setup is:

MS-DOS 6.22 via VirtualBox 6
MSClient 3.0 w/PCNTND.DOS and NWLink IPX compatiable transport protocol
Packet Driver: DIS_PKT9.COM

Any suggestions?

Many thanks!!!!!!!

> I have two questions:
> When I boot DOS 6.22, a lot of routines happen very quickly after the
> memory check, and by the time I get to the C:> prompt, I can't view all of
> the messages to see if there are any errors. Is there a way to page
> through the startup process so I can actually see all of the messaging?

In MS-DOS 6.0+, you can enter a "Step-by-Step" boot mode that will let you see the boot messages.


> Also, I'm looking for a DOS e-mail client that can actually connect to
> comcast.net. Arachne won't because I think you need to connect over SSL,
> which Arachne can't do. The only SSL capable e-mail client I can find is
> FLMAIL (same developer as DilloDOS). That program can be very slow to
> download because of the way it processes mail (I believe it tries to render
> everything in HTML). I could live with that, but when I attempt to send an
> e-mail, the program crashes. So, it's of limited use. From what I can
> tell, all the other e-mail clients cannot do SSL, or are otherwise
> incapable of connecting to comcast. I'm fine if its text only. My setup
> is:
>
> MS-DOS 6.22 via VirtualBox 6
> MSClient 3.0 w/PCNTND.DOS and NWLink IPX compatiable transport protocol
> Packet Driver: DIS_PKT9.COM

It's been a long, long time since I've set up an email client on DOS. But, you might want to try Pegasus or Pine or one of the applications here or here.

Thanks for your help!!

OK, finally figured out how to get FLMAIL to send mail. Had to change the smtp port to 587 and de-selected TLS. Works pretty well actually. I don't believe there are any other e-mail clients that can connect to secure servers like comcast. Not Pegasus, not Pine. Someone would have to modify these older clients to incorporate SSL and there obviously isn't much demand.