Basic overview of MS-DOS commands

http://www.computerhope.com/overview.htm

MS-DOS and command line overview
Below is a listing of each of the MS-DOS commands currently listed on Computer Hope and a brief explanation of what each of the commands do. The below commands are all MS-DOS commands, which means not all the below commands will work in your version of MS-DOS or Windows command line. Clicking on the command will open the help page for that command with full details about it.

Command ansi.sys append arp assign assoc at atmadm attrib batch bootcfg break cacls call cd chcp chdir chdsk chkntfs choice cls

Description Defines functions that change display graphics, control cursor movement, and reassign keys. Causes MS-DOS to look in other directories when editing a file or running a command. Displays, adds, and removes arp information from network devices. Assign a drive letter to an alternate letter. View the file associations. Schedule a time to execute commands or programs. Lists connections and addresses seen by Windows ATM call manager. Display and change file attributes. Recovery console command that executes a series of commands in a file. Recovery console command that allows a user to view, modify, and rebuild the boot.ini Enable and disable CTRL + C feature. View and modify file ACL's. Calls a batch file from another batch file. Changes directories. Supplement the International keyboard and character set information. Changes directories. Check the hard drive running FAT for errors. Check the hard drive running NTFS for errors. Specify a listing of multiple options within a batch file. Clears the screen.

Type File External External External Internal External Internal External Recovery Recovery Internal External Internal Internal External Internal External External External Internal

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Basic overview of MS-DOS commands

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cmd color command comp compact control convert copy ctty date debug defrag del delete deltree dir disable diskcomp diskcopy doskey dosshell drivparm echo edit edlin emm386 ename

Opens the command interpreter. Change the foreground and background color of the MS-DOS window. Opens the command interpreter. Compares files. Compresses and uncompress files. Open Control Panel icons from the MS-DOS prompt. Convert FAT to NTFS. Copy one or more files to an alternate location. Change the computers input/output devices. View or change the systems date. Debug utility to create assembly programs to modify hardware settings. Re-arrange the hard drive to help with loading programs. Deletes one or more files. Recovery console command that deletes a file. Deletes one or more files or directories. List the contents of one or more directory. Recovery console command that disables Windows system services or drivers. Compare a disk with another disk. Copy the contents of one disk and place them on another disk. Command to view and execute commands that have been run in the past. A GUI to help with early MS-DOS users. Enables overwrite of original device drivers. Displays messages and enables and disables echo. View and edit files. View and edit files. Load extended Memory Manager. Recovery console command to enable a disable service or driver.

Internal Internal Internal External External External External Internal Internal Internal External External Internal Internal External Internal Recovery External External External External Internal Internal External External External Recovery

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Basic overview of MS-DOS commands

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endlocal erase exit expand extract fasthelp fc fdisk find findstr fixboot fixmbr for format ftp fType goto graftabl help if ifshlp.sys ipconfig keyb label lh listsvc

Stops the localization of the environment changes enabled by the setlocal command. Erase files from computer. Exit from the command interpreter. Expand a Microsoft Windows file back to it's original format. Extract files from the Microsoft Windows cabinets. Displays a listing of MS-DOS commands and information about them. Compare files. Utility used to create partitions on the hard drive. Search for text within a file. Searches for a string of text within a file. Writes a new boot sector. Writes a new boot record to a disk drive. Boolean used in batch files. Command to erase and prepare a disk drive. Command to connect and operate on a FTP server. Displays or modifies file types used in file extension associations. Moves a batch file to a specific label or location. Show extended characters in graphics mode. Display a listing of commands and brief explanation. Allows for batch files to perform conditional processing. 32-bit file manager. Network command to view network adapter settings and assigned values. Change layout of keyboard. Change the label of a disk drive. Load a device driver in to high memory. Recovery console command that displays the services and drivers.

Internal Internal Internal External External External External External External External Recovery Recovery Internal External External Recovery Internal External External Internal External External External External Internal Recovery

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Basic overview of MS-DOS commands

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loadfix loadhigh lock logoff logon map md mem mkdir mode more move msav msd msdex nbtstat net netsh netstat nlsfunc nslookup path pathping pause ping popd power

Load a program above the first 64k. Load a device driver in to high memory. Lock the hard drive. Logoff the currently profile using the computer. Recovery console command to list installations and enable administrator login. Displays the device name of a drive. Command to create a new directory. Display memory on system. Command to create a new directory. Modify the port or display settings. Display one page at a time. Move one or more files from one directory to another directory. Early Microsoft Virus scanner. Diagnostics utility. Utility used to load and provide access to the CD-ROM. Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT Update, fix, or view the network or network settings Configure dynamic and static network information from MS-DOS. Display the TCP/IP network protocol statistics and information. Load country specific information. Look up an IP address of a domain or host on a network. View and modify the computers path location. View and locate locations of network latency. Command used in batch files to stop the processing of a command. Test and send information to another network computer or network device. Changes to the directory or network path stored by the pushd command. Conserve power with computer portables.

External Internal Internal External Recovery Recovery Internal External Internal External External Internal External External External External External External External External External Internal External Internal External Internal External

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Basic overview of MS-DOS commands

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print prompt pushd qbasic rd ren rename rmdir robocopy route runas scandisk scanreg set setlocal setver share shift shutdown smartdrv sort start subst switches sys telnet

Prints data to a printer port. View and change the MS-DOS prompt. Stores a directory or network path in memory so it can be returned to at any time. Open the QBasic. Removes an empty directory. Renames a file or directory. Renames a file or directory. Removes an empty directory. A robust file copy command for the Windows command line. View and configure windows network route tables. Enables a user to run a program as a different user. Run the scandisk utility. Scan registry and recover registry from errors. Change one variable or string to another. Enables local environments to be changed without affecting anything else. Change MS-DOS version to trick older MS-DOS programs. Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities. Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch program. Shutdown the computer from the MS-DOS prompt. Create a disk cache in conventional memory or extended memory. Sorts the input and displays the output to the screen. Start a separate window in Windows from the MS-DOS prompt. Substitute a folder on your computer for another drive letter. Remove add functions from MS-DOS. Transfer system files to disk drive. Telnet to another computer or device from the prompt.

External Internal Internal External Internal Internal Internal Internal External External External External External Internal Internal External External Internal External External External Internal External Internal External External

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Basic overview of MS-DOS commands

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time title tracert tree Type undelete unformat unlock ver verify vol xcopy

View or modify the system time. Change the title of their MS-DOS window. Visually view a network packets route across a network. View a visual tree of the hard drive. Display the contents of a file. Undelete a file that has been deleted. Unformat a hard drive. Unlock a disk drive. Display the version information. Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been written properly. Displays the volume information about the designated drive. Copy multiple files, directories, or drives from one location to another.

Internal Internal External External Internal External External Internal Internal Internal Internal External

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