D2CA.ORG - Dan's 20th Century Abandonware

About D2CA

D2CA is your premium source for legacy software

What is Dan's 20th Century Abandonware?
Dan's 20th Century Abandonware ("D2CA") is a website representing my personal collection of non-game legacy computer software, hardware, "computer artifacts," and related topics. This site was created to share with you the nostalgia of computer times gone by, and to help you acquire legacy software titles.

The legacy software titles in this collection are digitally preserved from their original commercial installation media only. There is no moral, nostalgic, useful or historical value in preserving illegal pirated "warez" copies. All copyright laws are observed and respected.

I also preserve some of the more rare shareware, freeware and Public Domain software titles.

Each legacy software title is tested for completeness, media defects and malware. If a title is not complete, has unreadable media, or has unremovable malware, it does not become a part of Dan's 20th Century Abandonware.

In order to test the legacy software programs in this collection, I have had to acquire many vintage and some very rare computer hardware systems. A legacy computer hardware section was created to allow visitors to view photos and learn about these classic computers. Many of these systems are very hard to find today and have a significant historical value.

In addition to preserving legacy software, I have also undertaken the project to allow visitors to see what many of these legacy software programs look like running in their native formats. D2CA's Screen Shot Gallery is a series of pages featuring select "exhibits" of screen shots and descriptions of programs from this collection. It's like an on-line software museum built into the site!

While collecting rare legacy computer software and hardware, I have also found many other historic "artifacts" from computer eras long since past; hardware components, computer storage media, historical publications, etc. These items are featured on Dan's 20th Century Abandonware as "computer artifacts."

Dan's 20th Century Abandonware also has other legacy computer-related content. Please be sure to explore these areas by using the menu at the top of each web page or using the main links on the home page. If you have any questions about D2CA, please contact me.

Why is it called Dan's "20th Century" Abandonware?
The software titles that make up my legacy software collection are releases dating from the early 1980's up to and including versions released in the year 2000, the end of the 20th Century. Hence, Dan's "20th Century" Abandonware.

This was the "golden age" of personal computing -- CP/M, DOS, GEM, Commodore GEOS, PC GeoWorks, OS/2, Windows, BeOS, DeskMate, DESQview, Mac OS 6.x and later, etc.

I use the term "abandonware" to illustrate these legacy software titles are "abandoned" as far as technical support and retail sale. The original businesses that created many of these legacy software titles no longer exist. Some have been gone for decades.

I am not associated with, nor do I endorse, illegal abandonware "archive" or "warez" sites.

What inspired me to create Dan's 20th Century Abandonware?
Some people collect coins, stamps, etc. Me? I had to be different.

I collect legacy computer software and hardware. I think of it as collecting "technological antiques." Now that more and more of these items are surpassing 20 years in age, they truly are becoming antiques.

During the "electronic revolution" of the 1980's and early 1990's there was a "magic" in the air when one was in a computer room of a business or lab area of a university. This was a time before computers were in elementary, middle, and high schools. Before computers were as common in homes as microwave ovens. This was even before computers were "on every desk" in businesses.

Does anyone remember the mainframe?

The concept of computers among the "common people" was new at that time. It was exciting because new discoveries in technology were inspiring the creation of computer-related items that seemed as futuristic as Star Trek.

I got to experience much of that "magic," and it left an indelible impression on my life. As a child I was able to watch people operate "big iron" mainframes that didn't even have monitors. To see what was stored in them they literally printed what they needed to look at. I got to play with Hollerith "punch cards," see reel-to-reel magnetic tape drives taller than I was, panels of blinking lights, toggle switches, and at first was intimidated with all the mechanical noise. Star Trek was on TV for the first time during those years, and at that time that was my leap into the future.

It was this childhood exposure to the thrill of early computer mainframes, combined with young adult exposure to some of the first personal computers and the software they ran, that later inspired me to try to collect and preserve some of that history as it began to slip away into obsolescence and disappear from the face of the earth. As I began to collect these "computer artifacts," I wanted to show these items to the rest of the world, to let people know these items had not vanished forever. Thus, Dan's 20th Century Abandonware was born on September 24, 1999.

What is the primary goal of Dan's 20th Century Abandonware?
The primary goal of Dan's 20th Century Abandonware is to see that computer software history is not lost to obsolescence, the extraction of precious metals from old computer hardware, or apathy. My goal is to make sure that the history of computers is as important as any other category. After all, history is a record of our achievements. History should be a record of all our achievements.

That means that an old computer program on a 5Ľ" floppy disk is just as precious as a clay pot made 5,000 years ago. That means a KAYPRO II transportable computer that runs the program on that 5Ľ" floppy disk is just as precious as a Ford Model-T automobile. And while a great majority of people think that obsolete computer software and hardware are worthless, items to be given away at yard sales and thrift stores, would they think the same for old items important in their lives? Their relative's old car? A 100-year-old hope chest filled with items others would consider trinkets? Grandpa's old pocket watch? Aunt Jemima's 50-year- old waffle griddle?

If nobody feels an item has value then the item is worthless. My goal is to show that computer software history is just as valuable as any other category, and that old computer-related items are valuable because of the history they represent.

So how do I preserve a piece of software history?
Preservation and usefulness

My approach to preserving some of the computer software history of this world might be different from the approach others would take. While many would collect all the shrinkwrapped box sets of software packages and store them on shelves in buildings, I take a different approach for a very good reason.

One day, the magnetic media of older floppy-based legacy computer software will degrade to the point it will no longer be readable. Those who just collect titles in sealed packaging and do nothing to preserve the ability to use the software or the hardware platforms they run on will one day no longer be able to run the software. Even if they manage to find an old computer system that is still working, when they unseal the shrinkwrap of the software packages and discover that system will not read the media inside because the magnetic signal has degraded, then that part of computer history will be lost.

I collect all the open software media I can find. I test the media to make sure it is whole, readable, and malware-free. Then, I make digital disk images of that media and store these disk image files on retrievable storage units -- hard drives, removable mass media, etc. -- and preserve this collection of disk images as a digital archive with backup copies. Should the original legacy software media fail, copies of the programs can be recreated on blank computer media -- 5Ľ" & 3˝" floppies, CDs, etc -- and be installed on computer hardware capable of running that legacy software.

When the magnetic media within shrinkwrapped packages of legacy computer software has long since degraded to the point of being unusable, the digital images of this software collection will still be completely useable. While I may not have all the manuals or boxes, I have one key feature collectors of sealed packages do not -- the ability to continue to run the software.

How will a collection of sealed packages be able to recover legacy data? How will someone with a collection of sealed legacy software packages, not willing to part with them, be able to help others acquire these programs for their use? They can't. I can.

Where do I find this legacy software?
Where D2CA finds legacy software

Surprisingly, I have found a great share of these old, rare, and historic software titles at "second-hand" thrift stores. Many of these titles were other's discarded software.

Since 1999, I have acquired literally thousands of legacy software titles at these stores. Most are in like-new condition even though they are many years old. Some packages were never opened, still in their original shrinkwrap. All the titles I have kept and archived have media that is fully readable.

The generous.
Not long after Dan's 20th Century Abandonware first went live in 1999, something happened I never expected. I began receiving e-mails from people offering to donate legacy software to D2CA. This is perhaps the greatest compliment I could ever receive for the effort put into this endeavor -- others inspired to donate their old software to this cause. Many generous people have legally donated legacy software titles to this collection. I cannot thank these great people enough. Were it not for their thoughtfulness, this collection would not have many of the legacy software titles it does. Thank you!

I do not partake of illegal "archive" or "warez" sites.
All commercial software acquired for preservation in my digital legacy software archive is the original, legal media. I do not preserve non-original copies of commercial software titles. I also do not acquire legacy software from illegal Internet "archive" or "warez" sites. As I stated earlier, there is no historical value in illegal software.

To avoid the risks of illegal software sites, please just say NO to warez.

What kind of software do I collect for preserving at Dan's 20th Century Abandonware?
- Any "non-game" software, fonts, image/symbol collections, operating systems, et al
- Vintage legacy games (for my personal collection separate from the D2CA archive)

Software I do not collect includes:
- Software with copyright dates of 2001 or newer
- Adult-oriented software or images:
- My software collection is "PG-13" and "clean."
- All graphics images are suitable for all ages.
- Software to conduct illegal activities: hacking, phreaking, phishing, spamming, etc.

Is Dan's 20th Century Abandonware's software safe to use?
Yes.

At the risk of repeating myself, every legacy software title I acquire is:
- Tested for completeness. No partial media sets are accepted.
- Tested for media errors. If the media cannot be read it is not accepted.
- Tested for malware. If there are any unremovable threats it is not accepted.

And while some sites offer downloads of legacy commercial software, often illegally, they do not offer many of these legacy titles in their original installation format. Their offerings are usually ZIP, RAR, TAR, GZ, SIT, SEA and other types of archives of previously installed programs or install files of several disks dumped into a single archive. Some contain viruses, spyware, adware, "document files" containing vulgar language, and other malware. Some of their archives of previously installed programs, "ripped" from computer hard drives, often are customized from their default state and in many cases cannot be used in a real-world environment. Many of these "ripped" programs do not contain their help, sample, graphics, fonts, and other files included with the original installation media.

Every legacy software title in D2CA's collection that was released on floppy disks or CD-ROM is digitally archived as standard disk images, ISO images for CD-based titles (and BIN/CUE images for Macintosh-based CD titles). Every title is the complete media set as originally released when it was new.

The legacy software titles in D2CA's collection containing "bootable" media can be recreated from these disk images as their original bootable format. Other sites offering non-disk-image archives of what was once bootable media lose that ability because those archive formats do not retain the boot sector and logical label information from the original media.

So where are the games?
Abandonware ... it's not just for GAMES anymore!

Abandonware ... it's not just for GAMES anymore!

Sorry, D2CA is not about games.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of sites featuring old games.
I choose not to be another one talking about "the same ol' same ol'."

Dan's 20th Century Abandonware offers something different:
- Legacy software so old it was never meant to be installed on hard drives
- Legacy graphics collections in formats most people have never heard of
- Legacy operating systems that won't even recognize computer hardware from the 1990's
- And while they aren't games, even old practical joke programs so you know I am not all work and no play

Sure, I likes games, too, and have many -- old and recent. But my website is about non-game legacy software.

Abandonware is not synonymous with games.

D2CA makes its own screen shots & photos

D2CA makes its own screen shots & photos

Where Do The Screen Shots Come From?
I make my own screen shots from the actual titles of my legacy software collection.

This is done by installing the actual legacy software titles from this collection on one or more of my legacy computer systems and capturing screen shots. Some very old legacy software titles in this collection are hardware and software specific, requiring certain CPUs and operating systems and certain OS versions to run.

I also make all the photos of computer hardware, software items, "computer artifacts," etc.

Why Aren't There Any Downloads Of Commercial Software?
No illegal downloads at D2CA

Dan's 20th Century Abandonware does not offer downloads of commercial software titles that are under non-distributable copyright protection. That means any legacy software title, no matter how old, whose copyright owner does not allow distribution of that title except under their guidelines. I also go by the rule if I don't know if the title is still under non-distributable copyright protection it is not offered for download. If in doubt, don't.

The penalty for copyright infringement is a fine of US$150,000.00 and up to five years in prison for each software title violating copyright law.

Illegal "archive" and "warez" sites are being shut down every day. Many illegal sites constantly move from one provider to another and sometimes change their names to avoid prosecution.

Dan's 20th Century Abandonware has been legally distributing legacy software since its beginning in 1999. To quote a phrase I saw on another site, "I am at work, not on the run."

If you need legacy software you can visit D2CA's Legacy Software Catalogs page or the Surplus Legacy Software page and contact me for information on how to acquire these titles.

Questions? Comments? Contact me.