The World of DOS

Introduction

History

DOS/Win3.11/95/98 vs. NT/ME/XP/2000

Command Index

---A---

See NET.

Defines functions that change display graphics, cursor control, and reassign keys. Called by CONFIG.SYS. More.

Somewhat archaic. Allows files to be opened by programs from other directories as if they were in the same directory

Address Resolution Protocol, binds a network-layer IP address to an Ethernet address. Type ARP/? for list of commands.

Reassign one disk to another. ASSIGN A:=C: To view the current assignments: ASSIGN /STATUS

Displays and modifies file extension associations. Simply typing ASSOC will give you an alphabetical list of all the file extensions and the file types/applications they are associated with. To change one enter ASSOC .file-ext=file-type

Schedules commands and programs to run on a computer. Simply typing AT will show a list of current scheduled processes. Chances are there wont be any. Enter: AT current time + 2 minutes NET SEND your machine name Hello This will send you a network message in five minutes. If it is 3PM and your machine name "MyPC" the exact command would be AT 15:05 NET SEND Hello. Now, if you type AT you will see a list of scheduled commands. To remove one use the ID number: AT 1 /delete. You can also use this to run batch files or programs at given times and dates.

Displays file ATTRIButes. Typing ATTRIB on command line will reveal the attributes of all the files in the current directory even if they are hidden. ATTRIB will show information that DIR will not. Typing ATTRIB and a filename will reveal the attributes of that file. Example: ATTRIB C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT

There are four flags that can be set by ATTRIB:
R - Read Only
A - Archive
S - System
H - Hidden

These are turned on by the + and off by -
Example: ATTRIB +H C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT will turn the hidden flag on. ATTRIB -H C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT will turn the hidden flag off. ATTRIB +R +A +S +H C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT will turn all the flags on, ATTRIB -R -A -S -H C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT will turn them all off. In some cases you may need to add a /S to save the changes, but I have been able to do it without the s switch.

This can also be done by right-clicking a file in Windows and, selecting properties and general. More. Displays or changes file attributes.

In NT/2x many of ATTRIB's fucntions have been moved to DIR. DIR/AH will show hidden files.

---B---

Backs up files to a designated location. This has been replaced by backup programs. It was possible to use parameters like: BACKUP C:\ D: /S /D:12/31/1980, this command would backup all the files on C: to D: that were created on Dec 31, 1980 or after.

Used in CONFIG.SYS. Sets CTRL+C checking. BREAK ON and OFF to turn it on or off. Just typing BREAK will reveal the current setting. More. Sets or clears extended CTRL+C checking.

Allocates memory for a specified number of disk buffers. Called from CONFIG.SYS

---C---

Displays and modifies Access Control Lists. WINNT

Calls a batch file or program from within a batch file. the calling batch file does not continue until contol is returned by the program/file being called. More. Calls one batch program from another.

"Change Directory" - navigates through windows directories(folders). More

Certificate utility for digital certificates. See MAKECERT

Extends the windows character set by setting the Active Code Page which is usually determined by the COUNTRY command in config.sys. Can also be done with GRAFTABL.

CHCP in NT: Displays or sets the active code page number. Accepts a three digit code for a regional character set:
437 United States
850 Multilingual (Latin I)
852 Slavic (Latin II)
855 Cyrillic (Russian)
857 Turkish
860 Portuguese
861 Icelandic
863 Canadian-French
865 Nordic
866 Russian
869 Modern Greek

Displays the name of or changes the current directory. Same as CD.

"Check Disk" Scans hardrives(or other disks) for errors, bad files, damage, etc. May not work in some versions of Windows, use SCANDISK. There are lots of options with this utility so check the switch parameters. Checks a disk and displays a status report. More.

Checks a disk at boot and modifies the disk parameters

Sets up a selection menu and structure in batch files. Has been removed from most new versions More.

Disk cleanup utility.

Clears previous entries in the DOS window. More.

Network management tool.

CLUSTER /LIST[:domain-name]
CLUSTER [[/CLUSTER:]cluster-name] < options >

< options > =
  /PROP[ERTIES] []
  /PRIV[PROPERTIES] []
  /PROP[ERTIES][:propname[,propname ...] /USEDEFAULT]
  /PRIV[PROPERTIES][:propname[,propname ...] /USEDEFAULT]
  /REN[AME]:cluster-name
  /VER[SION]
  /QUORUM[RESOURCE][:resource-name] [/PATH:path] [/MAXLOGSIZE:max-size-kbytes]
  /SETFAIL[UREACTIONS][:node-name[,node-name ...]]
  /REG[ADMIN]EXT:admin-extension-dll[,admin-extension-dll ...]
  /UNREG[ADMIN]EXT:admin-extension-dll[,admin-extension-dll ...]
  NODE [node-name] node-command
  GROUP [group-name] group-command
  RES[OURCE] [resource-name] resource-command
  {RESOURCETYPE|RESTYPE} [resourcetype-name] resourcetype-command
  NET[WORK] [network-name] network-command
  NETINT[ERFACE] [interface-name] interface-command

< prop-list > =
  name=value[,value ...][:] [name=value[,value ...][:] ...]
< format > =
  BINARY|DWORD|STR[ING]|EXPANDSTR[ING]|MULTISTR[ING]|SECURITY|ULARGE
CLUSTER /?
CLUSTER /HELP

Opens a command line or process in WINNT systems. Go to Start, Run and type CMD. Replaces COMMAND. Typing it on an already open DOS prompt shows the version information. More.

Changes the background and text colors in a DOS window. Use COLOR followed by a two digit hex code. The first is the background, the second is the text.

Compares the contents of two files or sets of files. Also see FC. More.

Displays or alters the compression of files on NTFS partitions. More.

See NET.

Opens a command line or process in Windows systems. Go to Start, Run and type COMMAND. Replaced by CMD. Typing it on an already open DOS prompt shows the version information. More. Bug: In some versions of NT COMMAND will produce an error and so the same thing as CMD.

See NET.

See NET.

See NET.

Sets environment variables. config.sys

Converts FAT volumes to NTFS. You cannot convert the current drive. More.

Copies files.

Sets the language/character set used on the computer. Often not used in later Windows versions. config.sys

Somewhat archaic, not available in Win2K and above. Stands for "Change Teletype." The command was/is used to change the I/O location, usually from the monitor to somewhere else.
More: 1, 2, 3

---D---

Show the system date and alows you to change it. Type with no parameters to change the date, enter DATE/t to show the time without propmting the change. You may also enter DATE followed by a new date, but it must be formatted properly. Example: DATE 12/25/2004. The highest date that can be entered is 12/06/8907, the earliest 01/01/1980. No clue what the significance is.

More.

Distributed COM Configuration. More.

A command-line testing and editing interface for writing assembly code. Type DEBUG and then ? at the new prompt to get a list of commands.
More

DEFRAGment the hard drive.
More.

DEL is the Delete program in DOS. DEL allows you to delete files. For example, typing DEL TEMP.TMP will delete the file temp.tmp. Warning! Using the DEL command in DOS is not like deleting in Windows, there is no Recycle Bin, the files are gone. If you accidentally delete systems files, you are going to have some problems. Only delete files that you are sure about. Deletes one or more files. Note that DELTREE is not available in many NT systems.

Deletes old versions of DOS during an upgrade

Deletes a directory, its subdirectories and files. Does not work in NT.

Loads a device driver in DOS. config.sys

Loads a device driver in DOS upper memory. config.sys

"Directory" - Displays information about windows directories(folders). More. Displays a list of files and subdirectories in a directory.

In NT/2x DIR has been expanded to take on functions that were in ATTRIB before. DIR/A will show items that are hidden or have special attributes. DIR/AD will show all directories, hidden or not. R, A, S, H switches are also available just as in ATTRIB. - can be used for "not", example: DIR/A-D will show directories that are not hidden.

Compares the contents of two floppy disks. More.

Copy the entire contents of a disk to another. Example: DISKCOPY A: B:

Copies the contents of one floppy disk to another.

Enables the display of international character sets. Not present in many later versions of DOS. More.

Loads DOS in the high memory area. config.sys

Type in DOSKEY at the prompt, the DOSKEY program is now loaded. DOSKEY keeps a history of all the commands you type in each session so you can reuse them without typing them in over and over again. You may view your history by hitting the Up-arrow on your keypad. DOSKEY is active in NT by default, but not in WIN2K. More. Edits command lines, recalls Windows NT commands, and creates macros.

See HELP.

More.

A 386 DOS extender.

Used for adding new divices to a PC that originally did not support them.

Supresses default device drives when config.sys is loaded

---E---

Echos commands. More. Displays messages, or turns command echoing on or off.

At the command prompt type EDIT. The screen should turn blue with a menu bar at the top. This is the DOS EDIT program and it can come in handy. Click on the "File" menu then click "Exit". You should be back at the prompt. With EDIT you can view and alter just about any file on your system, even ones Windows will not allow you to. Warning! Altering system or program files in EDIT can have serious consequences. Make copies of any file you edit and work on the copy so the original remains intact incase you screw up. Believe me, making copies is much easier that reloading your operating system. This time EDIT TEST.TXT this will open the editor and create a text file called "test.txt". Type in some random text. For a moment stop using your mouse. Press <-Alt-> and then the Down-arrow on your key pad. This will dropdown the "File" menu. This is how navigation was done before the mouse. Learning how to use the keyboard for navigation can be useful something goes wrong with your computer or your mouse wont work. Save your work and exit the editor. Also see EDLIN. More. Text-level file editor.

A command line editor that came before EDIT and disapeared for a while but is has been resurected in recent versions of NT. WINNT.
EDLIN tutorial. EDLIN commands. Old style command line file editor. Does not open a new window like EDIT

Ends localization of environment changes in a batch file.

Saves display when configuring EGA monitors.

Extended memory manager for older PCs with less memory.

Works the same as DEL, I have seen no differences between the two in the options or switches. Deletes one or more files.

Converts .EXE files to binary format.

Exits command shell. General. Batch file use. Quits the command line prompt, closes the DOS window, quits CMD.EXE, stops batch files.

Expands compressed files. Specifically Windows .cab files. Similar to unzip.

---F---

Not present in most new versions. Gave quick access to DOS command help, listed all commands with brief descriptions.

FASTOPEN will keep track of the last location of designated files. After applying FASTOPEN you can type the name of the file in any directory and it will open, unless the file has been moved. It may only be possible to access FASTOPEN from system32.

"File Compare", this compares the contents of two files and displays the differences(displayed as text) between them. Compares two files or sets of files, and displays the differences between them.

Sets the number of File Control BlockS that a program can have open. config.sys

Set up hard drive partitions. More.

See NET

Sets the number of files that may be open at any given time. config.sys.

Search for a string in a file or files. More.

Search for a string in a file or files. More powerful than FIND.

Display information about a user on a remote system.
FINGER user@domain

Runs a specified command for each file in a set of files. More.

Runs a specified command for each file in a set of files. More

FORCEDOS [/D directory] filename [parameters]

/D directory Specifies the current directory for
the specified program to use.
filename Specifies the program to start.
parameters Specifies parameters to pass to the program.

Formats fixed and removable disks. More. Formats a disk for use with Windows NT.

DOS FTP utility. More.

Displays or modifies file types used in file extension associations.

---G---

Jump to a section in a batch file. More. Directs the Windows NT command interpreter to a labeled line in a batch program.

Extends the windows character set by setting the Active Code Page which is usually determined by the COUNTRY command in config.sys. Can also be done with CHCP. Enables Windows NT to display an extended character set in graphics mode.

Loads a program that can prints graphics.

See NET.

---H---

Call up help files for DOS commands.
Simply type HELP on the command line to view a list of commands. Type command/? or command/HELP or HELP command to see a help file on a specific command. In some cases the help file will be displayed if you type a command without a parameter when one is required. Alone, shows a list of documented commands. Use HELP commandname to view that help file or commandname/?.

See NET.

See NET.

See NET.

---I---

Used within config.sys.

Performs boolean operations in batch files. More. Performs conditional processing in batch programs.

More.

More.

Loads a TSR. config.sys

In older windows versions it is winipconfig. Shows and modifies IP configuration. More. WINNT.

---J---

Connects 2 disk drives

---K---

More. Configures a keyboard for a specific language.

---L---

Labels disks. More. Creates, changes, or deletes the volume label of a disk.

Determine the last usable drive letter on a system. More. config.sys.

Load and run a program above the first 64k of memory.

Load a program in the high area of memory.

See NET.

For specifying an output location. LTP1, LTP2, LPT3, PRN. More.

---M---

For creating certificates on the MS Server 2003 Certificate Service. MAKECERT usually has to be downloaded and does not come installed with Server 2003. Using MAKECERTAbout Public Keys.

More.

Program which optimises memory. Type HELP MEMMAKER to open the GUI interface.

Used with SUBMENU.
More.

Used with SUBMENU.
More.

Creates directories(folders). More.

Configures a system device.

Controls the output of a DOS command when preceded by the pipe: '|'. More. Displays output one screen at a time. Preceded by the pipe "|" character. MORE is a filter.

Moves files from one location to another, as opposed to copying. The MOVE command combines COPY and DELETE by copying a file then deleting the original.
MOVE C:\test.txt A:\test.txt, moves the file "test.txt" from C:\ to the A: drive.
You may also use MOVE to rename files in the new location. Example: MOVE C:\test.txt C:\windows\myfile.txt creates a copy with a new name and deletes the original. Copies and deletes a file at the same time. More.

MicroSoft AntiVirus that runs from DOS. Type MSAV C: to run it on your C: drive.

More.

Creates a copy of your drive to prevent data loss. The drive may be restored from the mirror file: MIRROR.FIL if the drive is erased.

MicroSoft Backup software that runs in DOS. Type HELP MSBACKUP to open the GUI interface.

A DOS interface which provides information about your computer, specifically information about serial and parallel ports. MSD.EXE is not part a typical installation. Type MSD at a command line to open the interface. More.

---N---

Obtains network protcol information using NETBios instead of TCP/IP

See NET.

Various network utilities.

NET ACCOUNTS, NET CONFIG SERVER, NET COMPUTER, NET CONFIG, NET CONFIG WORKSTATION, NET CONTINUE, NET FILE, NET GROUP, NET HELP, NET HELP SERVICES, NET HELP SYNTAX, NET HELPMSG, NET LOCALGROUP, NET NAME, NET PAUSE, NET PRINT, NET SEND, NET SESSION, NET SHARE, NET STATISTICS, NET START, NET STOP, NET TIME, NET USE, NET USER, NET VIEW

A network tool.

Shows local network activity. More.

Turns the keyboard number pad lock on or off. More.

More.

More.

---O---

---P---

Sets a directory search order, a batch command. More. Displays or sets a search path for executable files.

Prompts for user input during a batch file run. More. Also see NET. Suspends processing of a batch file and displays a message.

Send a bit stream to a remote host. More.

Restores the previous value of the current directory saved by PUSHD.

For laptops and portable devices, to conserve batteries.

See NET. Prints a text file.

Modifies the DOS prompt. More. Changes the Windows NT command prompt.

Saves the current directory then changes it.

---Q---

The QBasic development shell. This program is probably not present or not loaded with Windows unless requested. This is the BASIC language development environment. It has been replaced by various "visual basic" programs that allow for the creation of Windows applications. QBASIC is a command-line editor that allows you to write some powerful executable programs. You may download it from various sites if you don't have it. More.

---R---

Create a virtual drive in memory.

Removes a directory.

Recovers data from a corrupted disk. This is not an "undelete" command. Recovers readable information from a bad or defective disk.

Registers DLLs with the system.

Calls the Windows Registry Editor. More.

"REMark", Records comments in batch files. More.

REN is short for "rename" and is used to rename files. More. Renames a file or files.

Replaces one designated file with a second designated file. Replaces files.

Restores files that were backed up by using the BACKUP command.

Remove directory More.

Manipulates network routing tables More.

Used to start a program on another machine as if it were being run locally, or under a different profile. RUNAS is often disabled for security reasons. Disable RUNAS. More: 1, 2

More.

---S---

"Configure Services" on a WINNT server. Services can be found Start, Settings, Control Pannel, Administrative Tools, Services. Services are typically background processes that are started automatically when a machine is booted. Services exist on client machines, but the SC command is usually only available to administrator accounts. Services are often created through installation/setup scripts. The SC command allows you to create and configure services on the command line since the Services GUI generally has no interface for creating services although you can stop/start and modify services through the interface. Example:

DESCRIPTION:
        SC is a command line program used for communicating with the
        Service Control Manager and services.
USAGE:
        sc <server> [command] [service name] <option1> <option2>...


        The option <server> has the form "\\ServerName"
        Further help on commands can be obtained by typing: "sc [command]"
        Commands:
          query-----------Queries the status for a service, or
                          enumerates the status for types of services.
          queryex---------Queries the extended status for a service, or
                          enumerates the status for types of services.
          start-----------Starts a service.
          pause-----------Sends a PAUSE control request to a service.
          interrogate-----Sends an INTERROGATE control request to a service.
          continue--------Sends a CONTINUE control request to a service.
          stop------------Sends a STOP request to a service.
          config----------Changes the configuration of a service (persistent).
          description-----Changes the description of a service.
          failure---------Changes the actions taken by a service upon failure.
          qc--------------Queries the configuration information for a service.
          qdescription----Queries the description for a service.
          qfailure--------Queries the actions taken by a service upon failure.
          delete----------Deletes a service (from the registry).
          create----------Creates a service. (adds it to the registry).
          control---------Sends a control to a service.
          sdshow----------Displays a service's security descriptor.
          sdset-----------Sets a service's security descriptor.
          GetDisplayName--Gets the DisplayName for a service.
          GetKeyName------Gets the ServiceKeyName for a service.
          EnumDepend------Enumerates Service Dependencies.

        The following commands don't require a service name:
        sc <server> <command> <option>
          boot------------(ok | bad) Indicates whether the last boot should
                          be saved as the last-known-good boot configuration
          Lock------------Locks the Service Database
          QueryLock-------Queries the LockStatus for the SCManager Database
EXAMPLE:
        sc start MyService


QUERY and QUERYEX OPTIONS:
        If the query command is followed by a service name, the status
        for that service is returned.  Further options do not apply in
        this case.  If the query command is followed by nothing or one of
        the options listed below, the services are enumerated.
    type=    Type of services to enumerate (driver, service, all)
             (default = service)
    state=   State of services to enumerate (inactive, all)
             (default = active)\n"
    bufsize= The size (in bytes) of the enumeration buffer
             (default = 4096)
    ri=      The resume index number at which to begin the enumeration\n"
             (default = 0)
    group=   Service group to enumerate
             (default = all groups)

SYNTAX EXAMPLES
sc query                - Enumerates status for active services & drivers
sc query messenger      - Displays status for the messenger service
sc queryex messenger    - Displays extended status for the messenger service
sc query type= driver   - Enumerates only active drivers
sc query type= service  - Enumerates only Win32 services
sc query state= all     - Enumerates all services & drivers
sc query bufsize= 50    - Enumerates with a 50 byte buffer
sc query ri= 14         - Enumerates with resume index = 14
sc queryex group= \"\"    - Enumerates active services not in a group
sc query type= service type= interact - Enumerates all interactive services
sc query type= driver group= NDIS     - Enumerates all NDIS drivers 

Check a disk for errors and repair. More.

See NET.

See NET.

More.
See more in Parameters

Begins localization of environment changes in a batch file.

Set the DOS version reported to a program.

See NET.

Specify which COMMAND.COM file to use

Changes the position of replaceble parameters in a batch file. More. Shifts the position of replaceable parameters in batch files.

Allows disk space to be used for virtual memory

SORT < textfile.txt > sortedfile.txt
Let's assume that "textfile.txt" is a list of items that are not in any order. Running it through the SORT filter will produce a file in alphabetical order.
More on SORT and redirection. SORT is a filter.

Specifies the size and number of stacks used for hardware interupts. config.sys

Open a process or command in a new DOS window. Exampe: "START CMD" would open DOS in a second window. Starts a separate window to run a specified program or command. Also see NET.

See NET.

See NET.

Set in config.sys.
More.

Associate a path with a drive letter.

A way of extending limited PC resources. SWAPDISK=drive location would designate space to be used to swap applications.
More.

Place system files on a disk. More.

---T---

Windows terminal emulator. For connecting to remote hosts with varying operating systems. More.

Show the system time and alows you to change it. Type with no parameters to change the time, enter TIME/t to show the time without propmting the change. You may also enter TIME followed by a new time, but it must be the full time including seconds, mircoseconds and am or pm. Example: TIME 12:30:00.00 PM. More. Also see NET Displays or sets the system time.

Changes the title of the command window.
TITLE HELLO changes the window title to "HELLO." Sets the window title for a CMD.EXE session.

Trace a network path. Graphically displays the directory structure of a drive or path. More.

Displays a graphic direcotry map. More.

TYPE is a program that will show the contents of a file without opening it for editing. Try entering TYPE MYFILE.DOC. More.

---U---

Restore deleted files. When you DEL on a file, it does not actually delete the file but rests the disk area occupied by the file to be reused. UNDELETE Does not seem to be present in many versions of NT.

More.

Windows uninstall from command line, for removing registered programs. Found in C:\windows or C:\WINNT. Programs often come with a custom version of UNINST.EXE.
C:\WINNT\UNINST.EXE -f some application
There are switches, but different versions have different options and /? will not always yeild a help file. For example NSUninst and IEUninst are used specifically for removing IE or Netscape. Applications will often have an .isu file that holds the application information and this is the usual target of UNINST. Example:

See NET

See NET.

---V---

This program will reveal what version of DOS you are using. Type VER. Displays the Windows NT version.

If turned on, reports whether or not files were saved correctly. VERIFY is usually off. Type VERIFY to see if it is on or off. VERIFY ON or OFF to change the setting. Tells Windows NT whether to verify that your files are written correctly to a disk.

See NET

Shows the volume name of a drive or disk. Type VOL C: or VOL A: if you have a disk in the floppy drive. Displays a disk volume label and serial number.

Virus protection software.

---W---

Laucnhed Windows from older DOS systems. Was run manually at first, then the command was in the AUTOEXEC.BAT. Some DOS users were annoyed at the forced start-up of Windows and removed the WIN command form the AUTOEXEC.BAT. I have noticed that in some versions of NT the WIN command does not generate an error but also does not do anything.

Shows and modifies IP configuration. This is not supported in NT/ME/XP/2000, use IPCONFIG. Typical Microsoft annoyance, there is no warning or support if you type winipconfig in WINNT, it should direct you ipconfig.

---X---

Extends the COPY command. Copies files and directory trees. More.

---Y---

---Z---

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