Microsoft Windows hasn’t natively used DOS
since the days of Windows98. However, for a computer technician DOS
commands are still very useful even in the XP and Vista environment.
For many techies this stuff is old hat and is mainly for the younger
generation, however the old hats may see some commands that they didn’t
know about. By no means is this exhaustive list of DOS commands are
there are thousands more (Google them if you need them). This list has
commands that are particularly useful to technicians repairing
computers.
Networking
ipconfig – Windows IP Configuration
This has to the DOS command I use most today. ipconfig will tell you
the IP settings for the current computer such as what your current IP
is and what subnet/gateway you are on. It is great for troubleshooting.
Here are the two most useful commands for ipconfig and usage:
ping – Check a connection or computer
Ping is used to check the health of a connection. The ping command will
tell you whether a network device is responding and how fast it is
running. The ping tool can also be used to convert a web address into
an IP (eg. www.google.com = 74.125.19.99). Usage:
be reached or is responding. I personally use this to see if the
computer I am on can reach the internet.
netstat – Displays current TCP/IP connections
active on the system. Useful for spotting programs calling back to base
such as spyware.
File Management
type – Open texts files
Similar to Unix’s cat command, this command will display the contents of a text file in DOS as read-only. Usage:
attrib – Make hidden files visible
Attrib can change the attributes of a file, such as whether its a
system file or its hidden. This is especially useful to technicians
because critical files such as the boot.ini is a hidden system file:
For more options with this command, type
find – Advanced file search
The find command is a very powerful one with many options such as the
ability to search for something, but exclude certain files. The
following command will find all files with .pdf in their name on C:\
For more information in this command and its usage, type
move – Move files
Normal usage of the move command would be:
However, you can also use it to move only certain files. For example,
if I wanted to get all the PDF’s out of a folder and move them to
another location, but leave all other file types alone, I would do:
tree – View the tree structure
Type
to see the folder and file structure of the folder you are currently
in. You can also use this command to make prints of the directory
structure by sending the information to a text file with the following
command
System
systeminfo – Displays information about the system
tasklist / taskkill – Shows what programs are running on the computer and can kill them
sfc – Launches Windows’ system file checker utility
computer for any damaged or missing windows system files. Useful to run
after a virus, adware or spyware attack has damaged core files. Have an
XP CD handy for this one.
chkdsk – Can check a disk and attempt to recover data in bad sectors.
For further information/usage on any of these commands, you can bring up the help for each one of them by typing:
since the days of Windows98. However, for a computer technician DOS
commands are still very useful even in the XP and Vista environment.
For many techies this stuff is old hat and is mainly for the younger
generation, however the old hats may see some commands that they didn’t
know about. By no means is this exhaustive list of DOS commands are
there are thousands more (Google them if you need them). This list has
commands that are particularly useful to technicians repairing
computers.
Networking
ipconfig – Windows IP Configuration
This has to the DOS command I use most today. ipconfig will tell you
the IP settings for the current computer such as what your current IP
is and what subnet/gateway you are on. It is great for troubleshooting.
Here are the two most useful commands for ipconfig and usage:
ipconfig /release – This will release any IP information that the computer was given and make your IP address 0.0.0.0ipconfig /renew – This will ask any DHCP servers (usually your modem/router) for a new IP address.ping – Check a connection or computer
Ping is used to check the health of a connection. The ping command will
tell you whether a network device is responding and how fast it is
running. The ping tool can also be used to convert a web address into
an IP (eg. www.google.com = 74.125.19.99). Usage:
ping www.google.com – Pings a webserver to see if it canbe reached or is responding. I personally use this to see if the
computer I am on can reach the internet.
ping 192.168.0.1 – Pings a local address, often a modem, router or another computer.netstat – Displays current TCP/IP connections
netstat – Will display what connections are currentlyactive on the system. Useful for spotting programs calling back to base
such as spyware.
File Management
type – Open texts files
Similar to Unix’s cat command, this command will display the contents of a text file in DOS as read-only. Usage:
type c:\sometextfile.txtattrib – Make hidden files visible
Attrib can change the attributes of a file, such as whether its a
system file or its hidden. This is especially useful to technicians
because critical files such as the boot.ini is a hidden system file:
attrib -H c:\boot.ini – To unhide the boot.iniattrib -S c:\boot.ini – To make remove its system file attributeFor more options with this command, type
attrib /?find – Advanced file search
The find command is a very powerful one with many options such as the
ability to search for something, but exclude certain files. The
following command will find all files with .pdf in their name on C:\
dir c:\ /s /b | find ".pdf"For more information in this command and its usage, type
find /?move – Move files
Normal usage of the move command would be:
move file.txt c:\TextFiles\However, you can also use it to move only certain files. For example,
if I wanted to get all the PDF’s out of a folder and move them to
another location, but leave all other file types alone, I would do:
move *.pdf c:\WorkPDFs\tree – View the tree structure
Type
treeto see the folder and file structure of the folder you are currently
in. You can also use this command to make prints of the directory
structure by sending the information to a text file with the following
command
tree > textfile.txtSystem
systeminfo – Displays information about the system
systeinfo – Will display information about the system such as the name, version, uptime, specifications and patches installed.tasklist / taskkill – Shows what programs are running on the computer and can kill them
tasklist – Will display all the processes running and their memory usage.taskkill – Will kill a process. Usage would be: taskkill firefox.exesfc – Launches Windows’ system file checker utility
sfc /scannow – This command will start scanning yourcomputer for any damaged or missing windows system files. Useful to run
after a virus, adware or spyware attack has damaged core files. Have an
XP CD handy for this one.
chkdsk – Can check a disk and attempt to recover data in bad sectors.
chkdsk /f /r – This will check a disk for errors and try and fixes information from bad sectorschkdsk /x – Forces the volume to dismount first.For further information/usage on any of these commands, you can bring up the help for each one of them by typing:
command /?