What is DOS? DOS stands for Disk Operating System. DOS was the operating system used by many PCs when computers first became available. Following are some standard DOS commands.
| cd | A DOS command which will change the directory in which you are working dependant upon the commands following the change directory command. |
| copy | A DOS command which will copy a file. For example "copy command.com a:" will copy the "command.com" file to the A: drive. |
| del | A DOS command which will delete a file. For example, "del example.doc" will delete the file called "example.doc". |
| deltree | A DOS command which will delete all files, folders and subfolders. |
| dir | A DOS command which will list all files and folders located in a particular directory. |
| dir /p | A DOS command which will list all files and folders located in a particular directory broken up by page breaks. |
| edit | A DOS command which will allow you to edit a file. |
| exit | A DOS command which will allow you to exit DOS. This command is only good if you have entered DOS through a Windows command. |
| fdisk | The program provided by Microsoft through DOS to create partitions on hard drives for systems using non-NT versions of Windows. Fdisking will allow a 20 GB hard drive to be broken up into smaller, partitioned drives so that older Operating Systems can use the drives. |
| format | A hard drive, floppy disk and other items must be formatted before they can be used. Some formats completely erase all the information from a drive while others setup the framework for information to be written to the drive. Formatting can be done through Windows or DOS. |
| md | A DOS command which will make a directory. For example, "md test" will create a folder called "test" which will reside in the directory you are currently in. |
| mem | A DOS command which will list the amount of memory on a computer. |
| rd | A DOS command which will remove a directory. For example, "rd test" will delete the folder called "test". |
| ren | A DOS command which will rename a folder or file. For example "ren example.doc example1.doc" will rename the file called "example.doc" to a new file called "example1.doc" |
| sys | A DOS command which will load system files onto a hard drive or floppy drive. The system files "command.com", "io.sys" and "msdos.sys". |
| type | A DOS command which will allow you to see the ASCII / text of a file. |