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 and/or Windows command line. Clicking on the command
will open the help page for that command with full details about
it.
| Command |
Description |
| Aansi.sysNSI.SYS |
Defines functions that change display graphics, control cursor movement,
and reassign keys. |
| append |
Causes MS-DOS to look in other
directories when editing a file or running a command. |
| arp |
Displays, adds, and removes arp
information from network devices. |
| assign |
Assign a drive letter to an
alternate letter. |
| assoc |
View the file associations. |
| at |
Schedule a time to execute
commands or programs. |
| atmadm |
Lists connections and
addresses seen by Windows ATM
call manager. |
| attrib |
Display and change file
attributes. |
| batch |
Recovery console command that
executes a series of commands in a file. |
| bootcfg |
Recovery console command that
allows a user to view, modify, and rebuild the boot.ini |
| break |
Enable / disable CTRL + C
feature. |
| cacls |
View and modify file ACL's. |
| call |
Calls a batch file from
another batch file. |
| cd |
Changes directories. |
| chcp |
Supplement the International keyboard and character set
information. |
| chdir |
Changes directories. |
| chdsk |
Check the hard disk drive
running FAT for errors. |
| chkntfs |
Check the hard disk drive
running NTFS for errors. |
| choice |
Specify a listing of multiple
options within a batch file. |
| cls |
Clears the screen. |
| cmd |
Opens the command interpreter. |
| color |
Easily change the foreground
and background color of the MS-DOS window. |
| command |
Opens the command interpreter. |
| comp |
Compares files. |
| compact |
Compresses and uncompress
files. |
| control |
Open Control Panel icons from
the MS-DOS prompt. |
| convert |
Convert FAT
to NTFS. |
| copy |
Copy one or more files to an
alternate location. |
| ctty |
Change the computers
input/output devices. |
| date |
View or change the systems
date. |
| debug |
Debug utility to create
assembly programs to modify hardware settings. |
| defrag |
Re-arrange the hard disk drive
to help with loading programs. |
| del |
Deletes one or more files. |
| delete |
Recovery console command that
deletes a file. |
| deltree |
Deletes one or more files
and/or directories. |
| dir |
List the contents of one or
more directory. |
| disable |
Recovery console command that
disables Windows system services or drivers. |
| diskcomp |
Compare a disk with another
disk. |
| diskcopy |
Copy the contents of one disk
and place them on another disk. |
| doskey |
Command to view and execute
commands that have been run in the past. |
| dosshell |
A GUI to help with early
MS-DOS users. |
| drivparm |
Enables overwrite of original
device drivers. |
| echo |
Displays messages and enables
and disables echo. |
| edit |
View and edit files. |
| edlin |
View and edit files. |
| emm386 |
Load extended Memory Manager. |
| ename |
Recovery console command to
enable a disable service or driver. |
| endlocal |
Stops the localization of the
environment changes enabled by the setlocal
command. |
| erase |
Erase files from computer. |
| exit |
Exit from the command
interpreter. |
| expand |
Expand a Microsoft Windows
file back to it's original format. |
| extract |
Extract files from the
Microsoft Windows cabinets. |
| fasthelp |
Displays a listing of MS-DOS
commands and information about them. |
| fc |
Compare files. |
| fdisk |
Utility used to create
partitions on the hard disk drive. |
| find |
Search for text within a file. |
| findstr |
Searches for a string of text
within a file. |
| fixboot |
Writes a new boot sector. |
| fixmbr |
Writes a new boot record to a
disk drive. |
| for |
Boolean used in batch files. |
| format |
Command to erase and prepare a
disk drive. |
| ftp |
Command to connect and operate
on a FTP server. |
| ftype |
Displays or modifies file types used in file extension associations. |
| goto |
Moves a batch file to a
specific label or location. |
| graftabl |
Show extended characters in
graphics mode. |
| help |
Display a listing of commands
and brief explanation. |
| if |
Allows for batch
files to perform conditional processing. |
| ifshlp.sys |
32-bit file manager. |
| ipconfig |
Network command to view
network adapter settings and assigned values. |
| keyb |
Change layout of keyboard. |
| label |
Change the label of a disk
drive. |
| lh |
Load a device driver in to
high memory. |
| listsvc |
Recovery console command that displays
the services and drivers. |
| loadfix |
Load a program above the first
64k. |
| loadhigh |
Load a device driver in to
high memory. |
| lock |
Lock the hard disk drive. |
| logoff |
Logoff the currently profile using the computer. |
| logon |
Recovery console command to
list installations and enable administrator login. |
| map |
Displays the device name of a
drive. |
| md |
Command to create a new
directory. |
| mem |
Display memory on system. |
| mkdir |
Command to create a new
directory. |
| mode |
Modify the port or display
settings. |
| more |
Display one page at a time. |
| move |
Move one or more files from
one directory to another directory. |
| msav |
Early Microsoft Virus scanner. |
| msd |
Diagnostics utility. |
| msdex |
Utility used to load and
provide access to the CD-ROM. |
| nbtstat |
Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using
NBT |
| net |
Update, fix, or view the network or
network settings |
| netsh |
Configure dynamic and static
network information from MS-DOS. |
| netstat |
Display the TCP/IP network
protocol statistics and information. |
| nlsfunc |
Load country specific
information. |
| nslookup |
Look up an IP
address of a domain or host on a network. |
| path |
View and modify the computers
path location. |
| pathping |
View and locate locations of
network latency. |
| pause |
Command used in batch files to
stop the processing of a command. |
| ping |
Test / send information to
another network computer or network device. |
| popd |
Changes to the directory or
network path stored by the pushd
command. |
| power |
Conserve power with computer portables.
|
| print |
Prints data to a printer port. |
| prompt |
View and change the MS-DOS prompt. |
| pushd |
Stores a directory or network
path in memory so it can be returned to at any time. |
| qbasic |
Open the QBasic. |
| rd |
Removes an empty directory. |
| ren |
Renames a file or directory. |
| rename |
Renames a file or directory. |
| rmdir |
Removes an empty directory. |
| route |
View and configure windows
network route tables. |
| runas |
Enables a user to execute a
program on another computer. |
| scandisk |
Run the scandisk utility. |
| scanreg |
Scan registry and recover
registry from errors. |
| set |
Change one variable or string to another.
|
| setlocal |
Enables local environments to
be changed without affecting anything else.
|
| setver |
Change MS-DOS version to trick
older MS-DOS programs. |
| share |
Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities.
|
| shift |
Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch
program.
|
| shutdown |
Shutdown the computer from the
MS-DOS prompt. |
| smartdrv |
Create a
disk cache in conventional memory or extended memory. |
| sort |
Sorts
the input and displays the output to the screen. |
| start |
Start a separate window in Windows from
the MS-DOS prompt. |
| subst |
Substitute a folder on your computer for another drive letter.
|
| switches |
Remove add functions from
MS-DOS. |
| sys |
Transfer system files to disk
drive. |
| telnet |
Telnet
to another computer / device from the prompt. |
| time |
View or modify the system
time. |
| title |
Change the title of their MS-DOS window. |
| tracert |
Visually view a network
packets route across a network. |
| tree |
View a visual tree of the hard
disk drive. |
| type |
Display the contents of a
file. |
| undelete |
Undelete a file that has been
deleted. |
| unformat |
Unformat a hard disk drive. |
| unlock |
Unlock a disk drive. |
| ver |
Display the version
information. |
| verify |
Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been written properly.
|
| vol |
Displays the volume information
about the designated drive.
|
| xcopy |
Copy multiple files,
directories, and/or drives from one location to another. |
