DOS Commands You Should Know 

I just love DOS/command prompt. It just feels like home and always will. Right back where I began with PC’s. I agree it’s important for aspiring technicians to have at least a basic command line knowledge. Glad to see content like this exists in 2023. Nicely done.

An abbreviated MD command can also be used to create a directory. And RD to remove directory. 😊😉 Love CMD. This is classic. And i love win 3.11 😊 And if you want to be like Neo from the matrix, just write: color A

If you're doing ping -t, you can press ctrl+pause to have it output statistics so far without stopping it. Useful if you're looking for packet loss % or whatever

Superb, Rich. One of the best instructional Videos you've ever done. Learned a lot.

Correction at 4:46. "CD .." will not always go to the previous directory. It will always go to the parent directory of where ever you entered the command from. Thanks for the tip of using tab to autocomplete a folder name in the command prompt. I learned something!

Hi. Rich hope you are well, I just wanted to say thank you so much for this video. I appreciate the time you took to make it. I think you did an excellent job on it. I really enjoyed your explanations. Easy to understand, I took notes throughout the video. I must have backed it up about 1000 times.😁

DOS is very powerful. Some would say too powerful for the everyday User. It still remains the only way to solve some issues however. Cool video Rich, a walk down memory lane back to a time I had a full head of hair and it wasn't grey!

As someone who's first computer ran DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.11, I still find something new. Namely, the shutdown -ro option.

the greatest infos always with you

My experience with computers started at the tail end of the 9x era, so I never "needed" to figure out anything outside of a GUI. From around 2017-2022 I didn't do much serious computing because my PC was ancient and tired, and I started watching a ton of retro computing videos, mostly on the hardware side and less on the software side (mainly Adrian and The 8-Bit Guy) Now I've got a beast of a computer and my heart is telling me that it's time to go full Linux, but I'm scared to take that plunge until I know how to do command line stuff. So far, all I've confidently used is Diskpart and BCDedit which isn't really that impressive, but this video is kinda exactly what I needed to start figuring more out, so thank you so much for the helpful info!

Remember deltree? Could remove an entire directory loaded with files without first having to cd and del *.* first. I never knew about pathping at first I though it replaced tracert but then directly after you covered it. Great list of commands. I use them all quite often. Coming from using dos 3.3 and onward it’s just hard coded in me. Also there is dir/w for wide view of files and can also add the /p to pause at each full page.

These are always awesome to know. Last time I tried to have a conversation about it someone practically threw a Powershell book at me and was like 'get with the times'.

Hope to see in the next video some PowerShell commands!

I absolutely love the terminal app. I do a lot of powershell work and have ver 7 installed for Microsoft 365 administration. This is great for when a clients email gets hacked and I need to delete client side rules that the hackers have installed. But anyway it is very cool to be able to have several tabs of powershell and command prompt open.

Great vid. I learned some new commands all these years later. Windows Terminal is great. Using it now. Cheers!

When I changed career in 2000 from Paper Engineer to Programmer we worked all the time with CMD batch files to run the programs we wrote in sequence. It made the business. And it is still used a LOT in the days of bigger software. Powershell is used by some but it's a new thing and, though powershell is more powerful it is NEW and some of us are stuck in our ways... I work in a big listed company and we all still use cmd commands for background and monitor tasks at some point. Good idea to learn CMD language skills even for people that come into new tech roles now.

I didn't know about the tab key while changing directories. Cool!

CD\ also gets you back to root. Great video by the way. Always look forward to these. Keep up the great work.

It's been a few years....ermm mmmm decades actually, since I had to be familiar with DOS. Dos 6.2, Win 3.1, Win 95 (remember Rolling Stones Start Me Up.....). It was at Win 98 that you actully start forgetting DOS commands per say (and I did). Fun times!

Been using dos since 83 and still use it every day to back up files using a batch file!

I like to stretch the CMD window to full screen height for some commands and I also use the scroll bar or mouse wheel to move up and down through the history. Also the up-arrow can be pressed more than once to go back a few command to avoid some backspacing and typing

Windows NT was the first version of Windows that didn't run on top of MS-DOS. Most consumers didn't use NT since it wasn't really intended for home/end users. Win2000 was much more user-friendly for end users, but also was geared for admins/IT. So XP was the first consumer version of Windows that used the NT kernel that was marketed to the public.

For the command mkdir, you can also just type md to make a new directory and rd to remove a directory

I like to use the built-in Administrator account. So, from the Command Prompt, type "net user Administrator /acitve:yes" and the Administrator account can then be found on the log-on menu. :D

brings me back to the old days.

Do you recommend a book on Dos Commands to help an individual learning these commands??? Thanks

This takes me back in 93-94 when I got my first PC (PC486) running only DOS 😂🤣. For a while DOS was only OS I used hehe.

Suddenly I get flashbacks of tuning my config.sys and autoexec.bat with some strategic loadhighs and devicehighs to get that precious kilobytes of memory some games demanded 😅

What an awesome video, thanks

Having started with MS-DOS 5.0 (I believe?) with my 80286, ages ago, this is like walking down Memory Lane... 🙂

The rstrui.exe command and diskpart command with the commands within diskpart would be the ones that i would have shown . But well documented video as allways Rich 🙂

Those of us who actually remember using DOS have anadvantage, as the Command Prompt does not appear like a scary jungle, but familiar old territory. One thing to be wary of: The newer "PowerShell" is touted as being a command prompt but better. This is not true for Dos old hands, as Power Shell does not recognize many of the Dos cammands you may be used to using.

a good command to know is powercfg and add /request to see what is causing your PC not to go to sleep. powercfg is the power configuration

Thank you for this reminder of cooler days! The era of OOPS programing is sad, even if aptly named.

MS DOS and the good ol days, when there weren't any Windows or cool GUIs. I remember when DOS Shell came out, man that was cutting-edge stuff, yep it's been a minute.

Pretty sure my first venture into "DOS" was actually CP/M on a 380Z Research Machine. Those were the days - writing assembly for a Z80. ZASM was awesome.

I know you said you've already made a video on it, and I've watched it, but there's so much of the DISM command that you never even touched on. It's such a useful tool, and I'd love to learn more about it. There's also other tools like netsh and maybe even the WMIC api(despite it supposedly being depreciated). A powershell tutorial also wouldn't be remiss xd

I recently discovered this channel and so far really enjoying all the content. I love the BTTF license plate :)

Any Chance you could show us how to do symbolic links? Loved the DOS command refresh

yes, Windows XP was the first consumer version of Windows not on top of DOS. This made Windows XP made a true operating system and it was much more stable and reliable since it wasn't on top of DOS. Windows 95 was a just a major redesign of the Windows graphic shell, but still on top of DOS

Ahhh, DOS. The memories. I tried to hold on to DOS as long as I could, but once Win95 came out, it was pretty much done, DOS was dead…I was sad. 😂🤣

When using parameters like \ or .. you don't need to use a space, so cd.. is the same as cd .. and cd\ the same as cd \ Nonetheless, it is very useful to know a limited set of command line tools. Way better than Linux, which is too heavy on the use of the command line/terminal that IMO puts many people off.

Very helpful video, it is very important as a windows user to know these commands. What I also find funny is how, it feels like you are actively avoiding using PowerShell, however most (if not all) of these commands can be used from PowerShell just the same. There are probably still a few commands that are specific to the ol' command prompt, but a most of the good ones can still be used from the modern terminals (like PowerShell) as well. Not meaning to criticize, just wanted to point out, that cmd is not the only place where these commands can be used, the newer PowerShell, can run these too, and can do additional stuff on top of that.

Ha, I remember about 90 when the 1st DOS Shell I ever saw came out. I jumped on a new computer as I refused to use DOS.

Right up until I built my Windows 7 workstation, about 10 years ago, every machine I put together included an install of DOS, because there is so much you could do there that just can't happen under Windows. Nowadays, my workstation has multiple versions of DOS under VMware, plus DOSbox-X for when I just need to run a DOS tool real quick.

My favorite 😍 command. Format c: /q

One tip I have, is if you have a few of these commands which you run all the time. Write them into a notepad and change the file extension to .bat. You will then be able to run the commands like an executable.

hello, you are very good at what you do, congratulations!!!

Valuable video sir Thankyou so much

Memories from 80's

21:38 Keep in mind this only affects your local IP address on your local network on the computer you're using. This will not change your public IP that the rest of the internet sees you on. For that you'd have to connect to your router/hotspot and diddle with it, some times power-cycling your modem will do it, but often you have to contact your ISP to get your public IP changed. If you're on a VPN then that's another network layer that can be changed with your VPN software to change what VPN server you're on that will also change your public IP.

When typing cd / moves you to the root menu you don’t need the / just type cd then enter Type time to change the time Type date to change the date Type edit to change txt documents and batch files Type sys insert drive letter here to make the computer boot to the hdd or ssd when booting from a usb drive

Very helpfull video. I enjoyed watching it. You've got a lot of videos. So i'm not bored anymore. Thanks!

My most recent use of the DOS prompt was to rename a LOT of file suffixes (using the "*" wild-card for the file name) from .m4v to .mp4. Some of my video utilities created files with the .m4v suffix, but while the file contents are apparently the same, I actually found an application that would play the .mp4 files, but not .m4v. I'm sure that there are other occasions to use this - but making the suffix change in file-manager one at a time would have taken "forever".

Do you think learning these would help me develop my Win 10/11 skills, or would starting with PowerShell be a better decision?

I remember having floppy disks that used MS DOS If I wanted to play my barbie game I had I had to learn it and doom as well, I learnt though I did forget sometimes what I had to put into MS DOS to get whatever game I want to play play, but I did get it eventually regardless...

In Windows is the big boss the kernel of the system, but in DOS no protection violation exist and the only one big boss is the user.

I used Oscdimg the other day. Very helpfu!

I'm very old at IT and found some functionalities which I didn't know about.

We managed to do what we had to with both DOS and CP/M in the days before Windows. I remember getting a Windows 3 on a new 286 PC and wondered why I needed it. After all, it was just a DOS front end in those days.

4:47 cd .. specifies that you want to change to the _parent_ directory.

Great video

The MK command should have been MD for make directory. to use the MK commend it should be mkdir. The mkdir is left over from the Unix days and is still used in most Linux distros.

Run a program with elevated priviledges from start menu , open start menu type in ex. cmd and press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER 🙂

Thank you for your vids... They learn me so many new things. 🙂

Thumbs up if he helped you make the command prompt your biotch! 😋 Nostalgia for me as I first started 'playing' with computers in the windows 95 era where most installations were on top of DOS or 3.1.

I love your content and yes I hope you do a video on malware. Thanks for all you do.

Digging into the olden days - Awesome! How do I get it open as a new tab and not a new instance?

The first DOS command that i used was Debug to learn how to use an intel 80286 CPU with 4 mb RAM.

Most important command is "color 0a" to get the green text for the ultimate hackerman aesthetic

Pipe to text file using > filename at the end. Robocopy, which could be 5 videos on its own, xcopy which has some network uses. Oh, and net use commands to map / unmap and make persistent shared network "drives".

I Liked DR. Dos...... it was nice and had a lot of utils in it.

Great content, bro! One question... why did you blank out your Connection-specific DNS Suffix? What uses can a person do with that info? Thanks!

I use MSDOS commands in a DOS emulator called "DOSBOX" (it's freeware). I can run most all of my old MSDOS games on my Windows 11 computer, like Blake Stone, Duke Nukem, Wolfenstein, etc.

what about list or dir command with a redirect to a text file or printer, which includes all subdirectories and file names. This is how I generate a list of mp3s or movies from my private folders

Flashback to DOS 1.0 and Basic 1.0 on my very expensive IBM PC with a whopping 64 K of memory, long before Windows existed.

love these videos keep it up.

I could have used this video a couple days ago, while I prefer PowerShell to Command Prompt, I literally had Windows explorer crash on me in the back ground, Chrome was still running, Terminal which I was in at time of incident was fine, for the record I had just used winget to update 7Zip when it broke, I could bring up Task Manager but the taskbar, start menu, and curiously my desktop background were just gone. Finally just gave it the old three finger salute and said come back when you sort yourself out and sure enough everything booted right back up as if nothing happened.

awesome stuff!!

omfg MS_DOS that wake up memories. i use both Powershell and CMD

Thanks mate

thank you

I like to use the path command in DOS to put all executable that i want to use into a specific folder to start the executable from inside any sub folder without to specify the location.

Good stuff as usual Rich. That Terminal app on the taskbar? is that a windows 11 thing? I'm on Windows 10. Scratch that. My brain started working again and I got it on Microsoft Store 😵‍💫😉

Man, if I knew those commands in the early 90's when I used to build my PC's! Got any bandwidth monitor apps? Something that can look at a router from a desktop and give a breakdown of what's going on without going into the SOHO router. I don't have a dance Ubiquity router I am just a home gamer. You should make a chart of these.

operating system for controlling disks (and later, other storage devices). it's not necessary that they are contained on disks. they are disk/file managers. fdisk, format, dir, del, etc., and loading programs stored as files.

I like to make very special batch files for DOS and the DosBox emulator that create new executable files with a little help from debug and i made some video(no speech) to share the batch files. Have fun.😊

MS-DOS is Version 2 of QDOS (The "Quick and Dirty Operating System")

Mkdir? What was wrong with the md command? Rd to delete a directory Ren to rename files. Xcopy a dos program that provides a better copy command.

Windows Terminal and PowerShell!!

Very useful info/video. Still have some books on it. Go black screen.

i already know this i had a dos in the early 90's

/p is for PAUSE not PAGE

the first command one should learn is set

dir /s /o /a /p is helpful or why not bring up Copy con the hail mary command when you don't have any other way to make a text file? Or attrib on the file you made with the copy con command.

I might be wrong, but I think /r with chkdsk is not necessary on modern SSD's. I think it was useful just with hard drives with bad sectors.

Can you do a video on how to dual boot Linux and Windows. Thanks.

I am not sure if the latest versions of command prompt can handle filenames with spaces. Previously a file called for example, My Files would need to be inside quotes as "My Files" or would produce an error due to the space being seen as a separater rather than part of the file name.

I am not getting install button, instead getting Update Office LTSC 2024 Preview to Office LTSC 2024 - Office

I seem to remeber joining video files with MSDOS.