What about FreeDOS, of which there is even a bootable CD ISO version you can download ? It is the platform used by DFSEE for its own bootable CD version. Using an ISO editor may be slightly advanced for some, but it's really not rocket science. One of these can be used to re-do such an ISO, adding apps and utilities. While I haven't tried doing that with XyWrite, it ought to be possible, just as I believe there was a way to do something similar with Portable Xy and a thumbdrive.
What I was thinking of initially along these lines was this one, because of its relative simplicity and the fact that it is free:
http://www.askvg.com/iso-toolkit-freeware-to-create-convert-copy-and-extract-iso-image-files/It also happens to be portable, as in no install, no Registry involvement,
etc. I've used it to mount ISOs, in lieu of something like Daemon Tools, but on closer inspection I see that this may not (?) be a full-fledged editor. Ultra-ISO or Power-ISO are, but they are neither free nor quite as easy to just start using.
From: Kari Eveli
To: xywrite@xxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2014 5:59 AM
Subject: Re: DOS on modern equipment
Actually it is already there and I have been using it for several years and extolling its merits on this list every so often, perhaps even too often. The marveleous thing is a combo that runs like DOS, multitasks DOS apps like Win 3.1 and sits on 32-bit or 64-bit operating systems for compatibility with modern hardware. It is free, mature, and needs no further development. For more information, google for "virtual pc 2007 xywrite" to get started.
Best regards,
Kari Eveli
LEXITEC Book Publishing (Finland)
lexitec@xxxxxxxx