How To Find A List Of Simple DOS Commands

Posted on August 12th, 2008 by Susan Olsen
by Michael Collins

It’s easy to find a list of simple DOS commands – however most of them only list a few of the more popular commands – they are not complete. A complete DOS command list is quite extensive.

MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corp. DOS stands for Disk Operating System. It is software, and it was written to control hardware – being the IBM PC. It was introduced in 1981 before Microsoft Windows was barely even thought of. DOS runs with a command line user interface. The last update of DOS was in 1994 to version 6.22.

You will be presented with a DOS command prompt on the DOS command line eg C:\>. This indicated that DOS will search on drive C which is usually your hard disk for the command you are going to run. If your files you want to run are stored in a different location, then you will need to change to the drive where they reside eg typing D: will get you to a D:\> prompt, or E: will get you to a E:\> prompt.

Throughout the years there have been many versions of DOS. These include:

1. PC-DOS version

2. MS-DOS version

3. DR-DOS version

4. 4DOS version

DOS will run very happily within windows if need be. Sometimes, issuing a DOS command on the command line can be a quicker option than going through the attractive interface Windows presents us with. It is in this situation that it could be advantageous to have a list of simple DOS commands on hand.

Another great use for DOS in today’s era, is when Windows spits the dummy and simply won’t co-operate, DOS commands is what you are left with to communicate with your computer.

Virtually most things you really need to do, can be done with a DOS prompt. So in reality, a list of simple DOS commands can be a great thing to have.

Microsoft Windows XP actually comes with a DOS command shell. This shell contains 71 DOS commands. The most frequently used DOS commands are all about file management and directory management.

The best source for a list of simple DOS commands and their uses is your DOS user manual.

About the Author:
MS DOS is something that everyone should really have some knowledge on. It’s often hard to remember all the terms and their syntax when you are not using them all the time. This is why everyone should really have a DOS reference. Check this one out at www.easycomputersolution.com

Filed under: Computers & Technology

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