Example MS/DOS Commands

In the following examples of DOS commands the actual words or letters you type are inclosed in brackets and highlighted in blue.   DO NOT include the brackets [ ] in your command.


Command Menu
The Type Command
Copy and Rename a File
Copy a File to Another Directory
Copy a File to Another Drive
Copy Groups to Another Directory
Copy All Files to Another Drive
Check System Memory
Set the DOS Path
Check the DOS Version
Set the System Date
 Set the System Time
Rename a File
Delete a File
Undelete a File
Undelete Protection
Display a Volume Lable
Change a Volume Label
Check Disk Space
The Directory Command

The Type Command
From time to time you will have a requirement to look at the contents of a text file. Normally you would think the only way to do this is to open a word processor program and view the contents by opening the file.

While this method is valid, there is a way to do the same from the MS-DOS command level. The TYPE command tells DOS to display the contents of a text file.

The steps taken below will display the contents of the Autoexec.bat file.

The Basic Command
Looks Like This

  1. Type [CD\] and press the [Enter] Key - This step moves you to the root directory. (see Change Directory Command)

  2. Then Type [Type] - This is the command word.

  3. Press the [Space Bar] once - Pressing the space bar once inserts a space between the command and the file that you want to display.

  4. Type [AUTOEXEC.BAT] - AUTOEXEC.BAT is the name of the file you want to display the contents of.

  5. Press the [Enter key] - Pressing Enter confirms the command.

You will see the contents of the file Autoexec.bat displayed on the screen. (You may have different commands in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.) The TYPE command only displays the contents of a file. You can not edit the file.

Note: Some files (especially program files) contain characters that DOS cannot display. You may hear beeps and see strange characters onscreen if you display this type of file. Press CtrlC to stop the display.

Copy and Rename the File - (Internal Command)
The copy command can be used to copy one file to another file with a different name. (Make a backup copy of the file) The steps taken below will copy a file and rename the copy to another name.

The Basic Command Looks Like This

  1. Type[CD\] and press the [Enter] Key - This step moves you to the root directory. (see Change Directory Command)

  2. Then Type [Copy] - This is the command word. The COPY command tells DOS to make a copy of the file.

  3. Press the[Space Bar] once. - Pressing the space bar once inserts a space between the command and the file that you want to copy.
  4. Type [AUTOEXEC.BAT] - AUTOEXEC.BAT is the name of the file you want to copy and rename.

  5. Press the[Space Bar] once

  6. Type [AUTOEXEC.old] - AUTOEXEC.OLD is the name you want to assign the copy of the file. This command makes a copy of the file AUTOEXEC.BAT and names the file AUTOEXEC.OLD.

  7. Press the [Enter key] - Pressing Enter confirms the command. You will see the message 1 file(s) copied appear on the screen. Now you have two versions of the same file. Each has a different name. To confirm that a copy has been made follow the next step.

  8. Type [DIR AUTOEXEC.*] and press [Enter]. This command tells DOS to display all files with the file name AUTOEXEC and with any extension. You should see both AUTOEXEC.BAT and AUTOEXEC.OLD.

Copy a File To Another Directory
The copy command is also used to copy files from one directory to another. The steps taken below will copy a file to another directory area on the hard disk.

The Basic Command Looks Like This

  1. Type [CD\] and press the [Enter] Key - This step moves you to the root directory. (see Change Directory Command)

  2. Then Type [Copy]- This is the command word. The COPY command tells DOS to make a copy of the file.

  3. Press the [Space Bar] once - Pressing the space bar once inserts a space between the command and the file that you want to copy.

  4. Type [Autoexec.old] - AUTOEXEC.old is the name of the file you want to copy.

  5. Press the [Space Bar] once

  6. Type [C:\DATA] - Typing C:\DATA tells DOS to place the copy in the directory C:\DATA. The file will have the same name.

  7. Press the [Enter key] - Pressing Enter confirms the command. You will see the message 1 file(s) copied appear on the screen. Now you have two versions of the same file: one in the [ROOT] directory and one in the [DATA] directory. Both files have the same name.

Copy A Group of Files To Another Directory
The copy command is also used to copy a group of files from one directory to another. The steps taken below will copy a group of batch (Bat) files to another directory area on the hard disk.

The Basic Command Looks Like This

  1. Type [CD\] and press the [Enter] Key
    This step moves you to the root directory. (see Change Directory Command)

  2. Then Type [Copy]
    This is the command word. The COPY command tells DOS to make a copy of the file.

  3. Press the [Space Bar] once
    Pressing the space bar once inserts a space between the command and the file that you want to copy.

  4. Type [*.bat]
    The *.bat is the group of files you want to copy to another directory. notice we are using on of the wild cards we spoke of before. By using the Asterix we are saying search for any combination of letters before the period and include them if the three letters after the period are [bat].

  5. Press the [Space Bar] once

  6. Type [C:\DATA]
    Typing C:\DATA tells DOS to place the files in the directory C:\DATA. Be sure to type a directory name. If the directory does not exist or is typed incorrectly, DOS adds all the files together and places them in another file.

  7. Press the [Enter key
    Pressing Enter confirms the command. You will see the message(#) file(s) copied appear on the screen. The (#) indicates the actual number of files copied.

Note: Use these same steps to copy a group of files to another drive and directory. To do so, type the new drive name instead of C:\data. If you leave off the file name, DOS uses the same name for the files copied. As an example the command might look like this:

Copy All Files to a Different Drive
The copy command is also used to copy all files from one directory to another drive. The steps taken below will copy all files in the data directory on the hard disk to another drive called A: Insert a formatted disk in drive A.

The Basic Command Looks Like This

  1. From the Root directory type [CD\batch] and press the [Enter] Key This step moves you to the batch Sub-directory. (see Change Directory Command)

  2. Then Type [Copy] - This is the command word. The COPY command tells DOS to make a copy of a file.

  3. Press the [Space Bar] once - Pressing the space bar once inserts a space between the command and the file that you want to copy.

  4. Type [*.*] - The *.* is used to specify all files in the directory.

  5. Press the [Space Bar] once.

  6. Type [A:] - Typing A: tells DOS to copy all the files in the directory C:\batch to the A: drive.

  7. Press the [Enter key] - Pressing Enter confirms the command. You will see the message (#) file(s) copied appear on the screen. The (#) indicates the actual number of files copied. Now you have two versions of each file: one in the original directory (batch) and one on (drive A.)

    To verify the files have been copied:

  8. Type [A:] and press the [Enter] key. This step makes drive A: the current drive.

  9. Type [DIR] and press the[Enter] key - This step displays a directory listing of the contents of the disk in drive A: so that you can verify that the copies were made.

Rename A File
Lets assume that you want to change the name of the Autoexec.old file in the C:\data directory to a name such as (autoexec.cpy). You would use the RENAME command as described below.

The Basic Command Looks Like This

  1. Type [CD\ data]and press the [Enter] Key - This step moves you to the data Sub-directory. (see Change Directory Command)

  2. Then Type [Ren] - This is the command word. The Rename command tells DOS to rename a file or directory.

  3. Press the [Space Bar]once - Pressing the space bar once inserts a space between the command and the file that you want to copy.

  4. Type [Autoexec.old] - Autoexec.old id the name of the file you want to rename.

  5. Press the [Space Bar] once.

  6. Type [Autoexec.cpy] - Autoexec.cpy is the new name for the file autoexec.old.

  7. Press the [Enter key]- Pressing Enter confirms the command. The name autoexec.old is now changed to autoexec.cpy.


Delete a single File
Lets assume that you want to delete the autoexec.cpy file from the C:\data directory You would use the Delete command as described below.

The Basic Command Looks Like This

  1. Type [Del] - This is the command word. The DEL command tells DOS you want to delete a file.
    Note: In earlier versions of DOS (before Version 4.0) you could spell out the comand [Delete]

  2. Press the [Space Bar] once

  3. Type [Autoexec.cpy] - Autoexec.cpy is the name of the file you want to delete.

  4. Press the [Enter key] - Pressing Enter confirms the command. The name autoexec.cpy is now deleted from the C:\data sub-directory. To verify,

  5. Type [DIR] and press [Enter]. This step displays a directory listing of the subdirectory C:\data so that you can verify that the file has been deleted.

    To delete all files in a Subdirectory:

  6. Type the command Delete *.*The wild cards used here (*.*) specify all files. Be careful with this command, you can end up deleting file you will need later.

  7. Press the [Enter] key- Pressing Enter confirms the command. You will see the message All files in directory will be deleted! Are you sure (Y/N)? Answer yes by pressing the [Y] key if you want to delete all files.

Undelete A File (External Command)
If for some reason you accidentally delete the wrong file or directory, don't panic. There is something you can do to retrieve your files. With MS-DOS versions 5, 6, and 6.2 an Undelete command is included. When files are deleted on a floppy or hard disk only the first letter of the name is removed. the file is still on the disk until it is written over by another file.

The Basic Command
Looks Like This

  1. From the root directory type [CD\ data] and press the [Enter] Key - This step moves you to the data Sub-directory. (see Change Directory Command)

  2. Type [UNDELETE] and press the [Enter] key. If you are using MS-DOS version 6.0 or greater, you will see a screen similar to the following:

    UNDELETE - Delete Protection Facility
    Copyright (C) 1987-1993 Central Point Software Inc.
    All Rights Reserved

    Directory: C:\data
    File Specification: *.*
    Delete sentry not found
    Deletion tracking file not found
    MS-DOS directories contain [#} deleted files:
    Of Those Files [#] Files May Be Recovered
    Using the MS-DOS Directory Method:

    ?utoexec.cpy 2100 11-13-95 11:46a ...A Undelete (Y/N)?
    [#] = Number of Files

  3. The blue line shows the first deleted file that MS-DOS found. The file name, extension, size, date, and time are listed. The first character of the file name is replaced with a question mark.

  4. Press the [Enter] Key - The next line will appear on the screen. It will say

    Please type the First Character of the file ?utoexec.cpy :

  5. At this point type an [a] and press the [enter] key. - your file will be undeleted. Press the [esc] key at any time to stop the undelete program.

    Note: If you don't know the first letter of the file, assign any letter. Then after you see what the file contains, use the RENAME command to rename the file.

    CAUTION: Once you delete a file from your disk, you may not be able retrieve it. Although the UNDELETE command can recover deleted files, it can do so with certainty only if no other files have been created or changed on the disk. If you accidentally delete a file that you want to keep, stop what you are doing and immediately use the UNDELETE command to retrieve the file.

MS-DOS Undelete Protection
MSDOS provides three levels of protection against accidental file deletion
  • Delete Sentry - Provides the highest level of protection. Delete Sentry requires a small amount of memory and disk space.

    The UNDELETE Command moves the file from its current location to the SENTRY directory without changing the record of the file's location in the file allocation table (FAT). If you undelete the file, MSDOS moves the file back to its original location.

  • Delete Tracker - The next level of protection is Delete Tracker, which requires the same amount of memory as Delete Sentry, but minimal disk space. It uses a hidden file named PCTRACKER.DEL to record the location of deleted files.

    When you delete a file, MSDOS changes the file allocation table (FAT) to indicate that the location of the file is now available for another file.

    You can recover the deleted file provided that another file has not been placed in that location. If another file has been placed there, you may be able to partially recover the deleted file.

  • Standard - The lowest level of protection, standard, requires neither memory nor disk space, but still allows you to recover deleted files, provided that their location on the disk has not been taken by other files. The standard level of protection is automatically available when you switch on your computer.

    Of the three levels of guarding against accidental file deletion, it provides the lowest level of protection. However, it does not require you to load a memoryresident program. It also has the advantage of requiring neither memory nor disk space.

    CAUTION:
    UNDELETE cannot restore a directory that has been removed, and it cannot retrieve a file if you have removed the directory that contained the file.

    If the directory was an immediate subdirectory of the root directory, you may be able to retrieve the directory and its files if you first use the UNFORMAT command to restore the directory and then use UNDELETE to retrieve the files.

    You must use caution because you can lose data if you use UNFORMAT incorrectly.

    Usually, UNFORMAT can restore only immediate sub-directories of the root directory. However, when you use UNFORMAT to recover an accidentally formatted disk, UNFORMAT recovers all rootlevel files and subdirectory names.


Display a Volume Label
There are times when you might need to know what the volume label is on the disk you are working on.

The Basic Command Looks Like This


  1. Type [VOL]. VOL is the volume command. Volume is another name for drive.

  2. Press the [ Enter.] key. Pressing Enter confirms the command. You see the volume label
    (which is the volume name) assigned to the disk. You also see the volume serial number.

Change The Volume Label
  1. From the root directory type [LABEL]. LABEL is the label command. You use this command to change the volume label for the disk.

  2. Press the [Enter] key. Pressing Enter confirms the command. You see the volume label (which is the name) currently assigned to the disk and the volume serial number. You also see the prompt Volume label (11 characters, ENTER for none)?

  3. Type [new name]. where [new name] is the new volume label you want to use.

  4. Press the [Enter] key. Pressing Enter confirms the new volume label.

  5. Type [VOL] and press [Enter]key. This step verifies that the volume label has been changed. You see the volume label listed as[ new name.]


CHECK THE DOS VERSION

  1. Type [VER]. VER is the version command. You use this command to display the current DOS version.

  2. Press [Enter]. Pressing Enter confirms the command. You see the current DOS version number. The After screen shows the current version as MSDOS Version 6.20. Your version will be different from the one that appears in the After screen if you use a different DOS version.

CHECK DISK SPACE AND MEMORY

  1. Type [CHKDSK]. CHKDSK is the check disk command. You use this command to display some basic information about the disk.


  2. Press [Enter]. Pressing Enter confirms the command. DOS checks the disk and displays information in three sections. The first section displays the following information:

    • total disk space (in bytes)
    • number of hidden files (and number of bytes)
    • number of directories (and number of bytes)
    • number of user files (and number of bytes)
    • number of bad sectors if any (in bytes)
    • number of bytes available on disk

    Remember that about 1 million bytes equals one megabyte (M). So if the display shows 1998848, that number would equal about 2M.

    The middle section displays information about how space is allocated (assigned).

    The last section displays the following information about memory: total bytes memory total bytes free.

    Remember that roughly 1 thousand bytes equals one kilobyte (K). So if the display shows 655360, that number would equal about 640K.

SET THE DATE

  1. Type [DATE]. DATE is the command that you use to set the date.


  2. Press [Enter]. Pressing Enter confirms the command. You see the prompt Current date is, followed by the current date. You also see the prompt Enter new date (mmddyy):

  3. Type [ 090494]. This is the new date you want to enter.

  4. Press [Enter]. Pressing Enter confirms the new date.

SET THE TIME

  1. Type [TIME]. TIME is the command that you use to set and display the time.

  2. Press [Enter]. Pressing Enter confirms the command. You see the prompt Current time is, followed by the current time. You also see the prompt Enter new time:

  3. Type [16:00:00]. This is the new time you want to set.

  4. Press [Enter]. Pressing Enter confirms the new time.


SET THE PATH

  1. Type [PATH]. PATH is the command that you use to tell DOS which directories it should search to find programs. If a directory is listed in the PATH, you don't have to change to that directory to use a command or start a program.

  2. Press the [space bar] once. Pressing the space bar once inserts a space between the command and the path statement.

  3. Type [C:\DOS]. DOS is the directory that contains all the DOS program files. Your DOS directory might be named differently. If so, type that directory name.

  4. Press [Enter]. Pressing Enter confirms the path.

  5. Type [PATH] and press [Enter]. This step displays the new path. Notice that if you set the path this way, the new path overrides the path in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. When you restart the computer, however, the AUTOEXEC.BAT file overrides the path.

    Note: To include more than one directory in the path, separate the directories by a semicolonfor example, C:\DOS;C:\WORD. Don't include a space between directory names.

CHECK MEMORY INFORMATION

  1. Type [MEM]. MEM is the command to check memory information.

  2. Press [Enter]. This step executes the command. Onscreen you see the total amount of memory your computer has, the amount that is used, and the amount that is free.

    Different types of memory are reported: conventional, upper, adapter RAM/ROM, extended, and expanded. This information might come in handy if you are calling for support or if a program requires a certain amount of memory.

The DIR Command
The Command "DIR" is the directory command. It tells DOS to list all the files in the current directory. In this example, the current directory is the root (or main directory). The Basic Command Looks Like This

DIR

To use the directory command:
  1. Type DIR - At The C:/> Prompt- type [DIR].

  2. Press Enter. Pressing Enter confirms the command. You will see a list of the files and directories in the root directory. (Your list will vary, depending on the files and directories you have created. You may not be able to see all of the directories on your screen at the same time.) Notice that the following information appears on-screen:

    • File name - The root of the file name (up to eight characters) appears first.

    • Extension - The extension is listed in the second column.

    • File Size - The next column lists the size of the file. The size is measured in bytes. One byte equals about one character. If the entry is a directory, nothing is listed.

    • Directory - If the entry is a directory, you see in the next column.

    • Date - The next column displays the date when the file was created or last modified.

    • Time - The final column displays the time when the file was created or modified.

      Note: The two lines at the end of the directory listing display the number of files, bytes taken, and bytes free (disk space remaining).The DOS prompt appears at the bottom of the listing so that you can type the next command.