1

DOS COMMAND

A partial list of the most common commands for MS-DOS follows.
[edit] @
Commands beginning with the @ command are never echoed before running. The main
use is to prevent batch echo by placing a command @echo off at the beginning of batch
files.
[edit] :
A colon in front of a word, like :label , designates a label. Unlike remarks (REM),
labels are not processed by the command processor, so comments might be added
proceeded by a pair of colons, eg ::, or by a colon and space.
[edit] ;
Semicolons at the beginning of the line are usually processed by the command processor,
but most other programs ignore these. This might be used to add a small batch file to the
beginning of a program's data file, in the way that EXTPROC works.
[edit] /*
In PC-DOS, OS/2 thus 4OS2, 4DOS, 4NT etc, a batch file beginning with /* is treated as
a REXX script. PC-DOS 7.0, 2000 and 7.1 implement this feature.
In REXX, as in C, comments are surrounded by a matching /* comment */.
[edit] append
Displays or sets the search path for data files. DOS will search the specified path(s) if the
file is not found in the current path. This had some creative uses, such as allowing non-
CD based games to be run from the CD, using configuration/save files stored on the hard
drive.
append;
append [d:]path[;][d:]path[...]
append [/X:on|off][/E]
[edit] assign
The command redirects requests for disk operations on one drive to a different drive.
assign [x[:]=y[:]...
assign /STATUS
2

Options:
x The drive letter to reassign.
y The drive letter that x: will be assigned to.
/STATUS Displays the current drive assignments.
If typed without parameters then all drive letters are reset to original assignments.
The command is available in MS-DOS 5.00.
[edit] attrib
Attrib changes or views the attributes of one or more files. It defaults to displaying the
attributes of all files in the current directory.
ATTRIB [+R|-R] [+A|-A] [+S|-S] [+H|-H][drive:][path][filename] [/S [/D]]
Options:
To add an attribute attach a '+' in front of it.
To remove an attribute attach a '-' in front of it
Attributes include
o R - Read-only
o A - Archive
o S - System
o H - Hidden
o /D - Process folders as well.
o /S - Process matching files in the current folder and all subfolders.
Note: Everything inside a brace [option] is an optional item. Roughly equivalent to the Unix
commands chattr and lsattr.
[edit] backup and restore
Programs to back up and restore files from an external disk. These appeared in version 2,
and continued to PC-DOS 5 and MS-DOS 6 (PC-DOS 7 had a deversioned check).
In DOS 6, these were replaced by commercial programs (CPBACKUP, MSBACKUP),
which allowed files to be restored to different locations.
[edit] BASIC and BASICA
An implementation of the BASIC programming language for PCs. The Basic language as
implemented by this was a very common operating system on 8- and 16-bit machines that
were made in the 1980's.
IBM computers had BASIC 1.1 in ROM, and IBM's versions of BASIC used code in this
ROM-BASIC, which allowed for extra memory in the code area. BASICA last appeared
in IBMDOS 5.02, and in OS/2 (2.0 and later), the version had ROMBASIC moved into
the program code.
3

Microsoft released GW-BASIC for machines with no ROM-BASIC. Some OEM releases
had basic.com and basica.com as loaders for GW-BASIC.EXE.
Basic was dropped after MS-DOS 4, and PC-DOS 5.02. OS/2 (which uses PC-DOS 5),
has it, while NT (MS-DOS 5) does not.
[edit] Call
Calls one batch program from another. A new batch file context is created with the
specified arguments and control is passed to the statement after the label specified.
Syntax:
call [filespec][batch file parameters]
filespec: name and if necessary path of the new batch file
parameters: switches
[edit] cd or chdir
Change current working directory. Displays the current working directory when used
without a path parameter.
cd
displays the current working directory on the current drive.
cd directory
changes the working directory on the current drive to directory.
chdir e:directory
changes the working directory on E: to directory.
cd ..
changes the working directory to the parent directory (up one directory level).
cd \
changes the working directory to the root (top level) directory of the current drive.
Equivalent to the Unix command cd (with a path parameter), or pwd (without a
parameter). cd .. changes to the parent directory.
[edit] chcp
Changes the code page used to display character glyphs in a console window.
4

chcp [codepage]
With a numeric parameter, this command changes the codepage setting to codepage. Without a
parameter, the command displays the currently active codepage. The codepage 1252 lets use the
GUI charset in the command line, while 65001 is utf-8.
[edit] chkdsk
Verifies a storage volume (hard disk, partition, floppy disk, flash drive, etc) for file
system integrity.
Options:
/F : Fixes errors on the volume (without /F , chkdsk only detects errors)
/P : Forces a full verification
/R : Searches for defective sectors and recovers legible information (applies /F)
/X : Unmounts the volume before processing if needed. (Note: Unmounting temporarily
invalidates all pointers/handlers to the volume until process is completed)
chkdsk volume letter: path filename [/F] [/P] [/R] [/X]
Equivalent to the Unix command fsck
[edit] choice
Allows for batch files to prompt the user to select one item from a set of single-character
choices.
Introduced in MS-DOS 6;
[2]
DR-DOS 7.03.
[3]
Earlier versions of DR-DOS supported this
function with the switch command (for numeric choices) or by beginning a command
with a question mark.
[3]

This command was formerly called ync. (yes-no-cancel).
[edit] cls
Clears the screen.
cls
Equivalent to the Unix clear.
[edit] copy
Copies files from one location to another. The destination defaults to the current
directory. If multiple source files are indicated, the destination must be a directory, or an
error will result.
Syntax:
copy [source\filename] [destination\folder]
Files may be copied to devices. For example, copy file lpt1 sends the file to the
printer on LPT1. copy file con outputs file to the screen ("console"), which can also be
5

done using type file. Devices themselves may be copied: copy con file takes the
text typed into the console and puts it into file, stopping when EOF (Ctrl+Z) is typed.
Files may be concatenated using +. For example, copy file1+file2 file_cat will
concatenate the files and output them as file_cat. There are two switches to modify the
command's behaviour, /a (text mode, the default) and /b (binary mode). In text mode,
copy will stop when it reaches the EOF character; in binary mode, the files will be
concatenated in their entirety, ignoring EOF characters.
Examples of usage:
copy /a alpha.txt + beta.txt gamma.txt
copy /b alpha.mpg + beta.mpg gamma.mpg
Equivalent Unix commands are cp (for copying) and cat (for concatenation). Device
files may be copied in Unix as well, e.g. cp file /dev/tty will display a file on the
screen (but cat file is more commonly used here).
Equivalent RT-11/RSX-11/OpenVMS command is copy.
Examples of usage:
copy con filename.extension
Everything typed at the console is sent to the file, until a control Z character is typed.
[edit] ctty
Defines the device to use for input and output.
Syntax:
ctty device
device: The terminal device to be used.
Example of usage:
ctty COM1
hello
[edit] defrag
(in MS/PC-DOS; diskopt in DR-DOS)
Defragments a disk drive.
Options:
-A Analyses the fragmentation of a disk drive
-F Force defragmentation even if disk space is low
-V Verbose output mode
-H Defrag hidden files
Example of usage:
defrag driveletter: -a -v
No Unix equivalent.
6

[edit] del or erase
Deletes one or more files.
This command is used to delete a particular or more files.
Syntax:
del filename
erase filename

Options
*.* All files in current folder
*.* /s all files in current folder and sub folders,
Equivalent to the Unix command rm.
Equivalent in RT-11/RSX-11/OpenVMS operating systems line is delete command
which can be contracted to del.
[edit] deltree
Deletes a directory along with all of the files and subdirectories that it contains.
Normally, it will ask for confirmation of such a drastic action.
deltree [/y] directory
The /y parameter, if present, tells the deltree command to carry out without first
prompting for confirmation.
The deltree command is included in certain versions of Microsoft Windows and
Microsoft DOS Operating Systems. It is specifically available only in versions of MS-
DOS 6.0 and higher, and in Microsoft Windows 9x.
In Microsoft Windows NT, the functionality provided exists but is handled by the
command "rd" or "rmdir" which has slightly different syntax.
However this behavior can also be achieved on almost any version Microsoft Windows
or Microsoft DOS by using the "del" or "erase" command as in the following example:
del /s /f [/q] directory && rd /s [/q] directory
In Unix, the functionality of deltree is provided by the rm command with the parameter
-r (or -rf for the /y switch).
[edit] dir
Lists the contents of a directory.
The dir command typed by itself, displays the disk's volume label and serial number; one
directory or filename per line, including the filename extension, the file size in bytes, and the
date and time the file was last modified; and the total number of files listed, their cumulative
size, and the free space (in bytes) remaining on the disk. The command is one of the few
commands that exist from the first versions of DOS.
7

dir [drive:][path][filename] [parameters]
Most commonly used parameters of dir include:
/W : Displays the listing in wide format, with as many as five filenames or directory
names on each line.
/P : Pause at every page
/S : Also look in subdirectories
/Axx: Display files with the specified attributes only
/Oxx: Modifies sort order
/B : Uses bare format (no heading information or summary)
> [drive:][path]filename : To Store Result in a text file;(c:\dir > c:\fileList.txt) (this
is not a parameter, it is output redirection)
Possible attributes for the A parameter are D (directories), R (read-only files), H (hidden files), A
(files/directories with the archive bit on), and S (system files). The prefix - negates an attribute;
attributes can be combined (e.g. /A:DA means directories with the archive bit on).
Possible sort orders are N (name), S (size), E (extension), D (date and time), A (last access date),
and G (group directories first). The prefix - reverses the order.
Other less commonly used parameters of dir include:
/D : Display wide format but sorted by column
/L : Display forced into lowercase
/N : Display forced into long file name format instead of 8.3
/Q : Displays the owner of each file
/X : Display shows 8.3 names next to long file names
The default parameters of dir can be set using the DIRCMD environment variable.
Equivalent to the Unix command ls (the option -l is "long" list format, it works in the opposite
manner to /w.)
Equivalent in RT-11/RSX-11/OpenVMS operating systems line is directory command which
can be contracted to dir.
[edit] echo
Prints its own arguments back out to the DOS equivalent of the standard output stream.
Usually, this means directly to the screen, but the output of echo can be redirected like
any other command. Often used in batch files to print text out to the user.
echo this is text Outputs 'this is text'
echo. Outputs a blank line
Another important use of the echo command is to toggle echoing of commands on and
off in batch files.
8

echo on turns on echoing of commands
echo off turns off echoing of commands
Traditionally batch files begin with the @echo off statement. This says to the interpreter
that echoing of commands should be off during the whole execution of the batch file thus
resulting in a "tidier" output. The @ symbol declares that this particular command (echo
off) should also be executed without echo. For example the following 2 batch files are
equivalent:
Batch1.bat:
@echo off
echo The files in your root directory:
dir /b /a-d c:\
Batch2.bat:
@echo The files in your root directory:
@dir /b /a-d c:\
Echo can be used to write to files directly from the console, by redirecting the output
stream:
echo text > filename
Echo can also be used to append to files directly from the console, again by redirecting
the output stream:
echo text >> filename
Echo can also be used to redirecting the output stream to a device:
echo This line will print on a line printer. >> LPT1:
To type more than one line from the console into a file, use copy con (above).
Equivalent to the Unix command echo.
[edit] edit
Full-screen text editor, included with MS-DOS 5 and 6, OS/2 and Windows NT to 4.0
Windows 95 and later, and W2k and later use Edit v 2.0
PC-DOS 6 and later use the DOS E Editor.
DR-DOS used editor up to version 7.
[edit] edlin
DOS line-editor. It can be used with a script file, like debug, this makes it of some use
even today. The absence of a console editor in MS/PC-DOS 1-4 created an after-market
for third-party editors.
In DOS 5, an extra command "?" was added to give the user much needed help.
DOS 6 was the last version to contain EDLIN, for MS-DOS 6, it's on the supplemental
disks, PC-DOS 6 had it in the base install. Windows NT 32-bit, and OS/2 have Edlin.
[edit] exe2bin
Converts an executable (.exe) file into a binary file with the extension .com, which is a
memory image of the program.
The size of the resident code and data sections combined in the input .exe file must be
less than 64KB. The file must also have no stack segment.
9

[edit] exit
Exits the current command processor. If the exit is used at the primary command, it has
no effect unless in a DOS window under Microsoft Windows, in which case the window
is closed and the user returns to the desktop.
exit [/B]
/B When used within a batch script, exits the script without closing the
calling DOS window
Exit also exists in Unix-shells. If an exit command is used in the primary command shell
under Unix, however, it will logoff the user, similar to the control-D keystroke.
[edit] extproc
Passes batch file to an external processor. This command appears in OS/2's cmd.exe, and
by way of 4OS2 and 4NT, into the 4nt system. In general, DOS has no way of passing
batches to external processors, except by a small batch file at the lead.

[edit] fastopen
Main article: FASTOPEN
[edit] fc or comp
Compares two files or sets of files and displays the differences between them.
FC [/A] [/C] [/L] [/LBn] [/N] [/T] [/W] [/nnnn] [drive1:][path1]filename1
[drive2:][path2]filename2
FC /B [drive1:][path1]filename1 [drive2:][path2]filename2
/A Displays only first and last lines for each set of differences.
/B Performs a binary comparison.
/C Disregards the case of letters.
/L Compares files as ASCII text.
/LBn Sets the maximum consecutive mismatches to the specified number of
lines.
/N Displays the line numbers on an ASCII comparison.
/T Does not expand tabs to spaces.
/W Compresses white space (tabs and spaces) for comparison.
/nnnn Specifies the number of consecutive lines that must match after a
mismatch.
[drive1:][path1]filename1 Specifies the first file or set of files to
compare.
[drive2:][path2]filename2 Specifies the second file or set of files to
compare.
[citation needed]

Equivalent to the Unix commands comm, cmp and diff.
[edit] fdisk
10

Manipulates hard disk partition tables. The name derives from IBM's habit of calling hard
drives fixed disks. When run from the command line, it displays a menu of various
partitioning operations:
1. Create DOS partition or Logical DOS Drive
2. Set active partition
3. Delete partition or Logical DOS Drive
4. Display partition information
5. Change current fixed disk drive (only available if the computer has more
than one hard drive)
FDISK /MBR installs a standard master boot record on the hard drive.
FDISK /MBR #: where # is other partition on system. Completes above command on
indicated partition.
e.g.: "C:\FDISK /MBR D:" would install boot record on D:\
partition.
Fdisk exists under Unix with the same name, but it is an entirely different program.
However they share purposes.
[edit] find
A filter to find lines in the input data stream that contain or don't contain a specified
string and send these to the output data stream.
Find may also be used as a pipe.
find "keyword" < ''inputfilename'' > ''outputfilename''

Searches for a text string in a file or files.

FIND [/V] [/C] [/N] [/I] "string" [[drive:][path]filename[ ...]]

/V Displays all lines NOT containing the specified string.
/C Displays only the count of lines containing the string.
/N Displays line numbers with the displayed lines.
/I Ignores the case of characters when searching for the string.
"string" Specifies the text string to find.
[drive:][path]filename Specifies a file or files to search.

If a pathname is not specified, FIND searches the text typed at the prompt
or piped from another command.
Equivalent to the Unix command grep. The Unix command find performs an entirely
different function analogous to dir /s.
[edit] for
The FOR loop can be used to parse a file or the output of a command.
FOR [switches] %variable IN (set) DO command [parameters for command]

[switches] /D
Use for finding directory names if (set) contains wildcards
and is a dir command
/R [[drive:]path]
Use to recursively search directory tree
/L
11

Changes set to (start,step,end) and is used for number
sequences
/F ["options"]
["options"]
eol=c Set the end of line character
skip=n Number of lines to skip before processing
delims=xxx set the delimiters to use (default are space
and tab)
tokens=x,y,m-n Can be used to return single,multiple or
range of tokens
With this switch (set) can be a list of files,"quoted
string",command.
If a list of files is used each file will be parsed using the
["options"]

%variable Use a single letter preceded by %%
(set) List of data to parse
command command to execute

Example:
for /f "Skip=4 tokens=1" %%i in ('NET FILES') do if not "%%i" EQU "The" NET
FILE %%i /CLOSE
Will close open network shared files
Bold text=== format ===
Delete all the files on the disk and reformat it for MS-DOS
In most cases, this should only be used on floppy drives or other removable media. This
command can potentially erase everything on a computer's hard disk.
/autotest and /backup are undocumented features. Both will format the drive without a
confirmation prompt.
format [options] drive
FORMAT drive: [/V[:label]] [/Q] [/F:size] [/B | /S] [/C]
FORMAT drive: [/V[:label]] [/Q] [/T:tracks /N:sectors] [/B | /S] [/C]
FORMAT drive: [/V[:label]] [/Q] [/1] [/4] [/B | /S] [/C]
FORMAT drive: [/Q] [/1] [/4] [/8] [/B | /S] [/C]
/V[:label] Specifies the volume label.
/Q Performs a quick format.
/F:size Specifies the size of the floppy disk to format (such
as 160, 180, 320, 360, 720, 1.2, 1.44, 2.88).
/B Allocates space on the formatted disk for system files.
/S Copies system files to the formatted disk.
/T:tracks Specifies the number of tracks per disk side.
/N:sectors Specifies the number of sectors per track.
/1 Formats a single side of a floppy disk.
/4 Formats a 5.25-inch 360K floppy disk in a high-density drive.
/8 Formats eight sectors per track.
/C Tests clusters that are currently marked "bad."
There is also an undocumented /u parameter for "unconditional" that will write strings of
zeros on every sector. This is now an official switch in Windows Vista and 7 but with the
parameter /p instead.
12

Equivalent to the Unix command mkfs.
Equivalent in RT-11/RSX-11/OpenVMS operating systems line is format command
which can not create filesystem. After formatting one should use initialize (contracted
to init) command to create filesystem (Equivalent to MS-DOS command format /q or
"quick format").
[edit] help
Gives help about DOS.
MS-DOS
help 'command' would give help on a specific command. By itself, it lists the contents of
DOSHELP.HLP. Help for a specific command invokes the command with the /? option.
In MS-DOS 6.x this command exists as FASTHELP.
MS-DOS 6.xx help command uses QBASIC to view a quickhelp HELP.HLP file, which
contains more extensive information on the commands, with some hyperlinking etc. The
MS-DOS 6.22 help system is included on Windows 9x cdrom versions as well.
PC-DOS
PC-DOS 5,6 help is the same form as MS-DOS 5 help command.
PC-DOS 7.xx help uses view.exe to open OS/2 style .INF files (cmdref.inf, dosrexx.inf
and doserror.inf), opening these to the appropriate pages.
DR-DOS
In DR-DOS, help is a batch file that launches DR-DOS' reference, dosbook.
Microsoft Windows
Windows NT, all versions, uses DOS 5 style help, but versions before VISTA have also a
Windows help file (NTCMDS.HLP or NTCMDS.INF) in a similar style to MS-DOS 6.
FreeDOS
FreeDOS uses an HTML help system, which views HTML help files on a specified path.
The path is stored in HELPPATH environment variable, if not specified, default path is
\HELP on the drive which HELP is placed.
Partially equivalent to the Unix command man.
[edit] intersvr & interlnk
(in MS-DOS; filelink in DR-DOS)
Network PCs using a null modem cable or LapLink cable. The server-side version of
InterLnk, it also immobilizes the machine it's running on as it is an active app (As
opposed to a TSR) which must be running for any transfer to take place. DR-DOS'
filelink is executed on both the client and server.
New in PC-DOS 5.02, MS-DOS 6.0
[4]

No direct Unix equivalent, though some Unices offer the ability to network computers
with TCP/IP through null modem or Laplink cables using PLIP or SLIP.
[edit] join
Attaches a drive letter to a specified directory on another drive.
[4]

13

JOIN d: [d:\path]
JOIN [/D] (removes drive assignment)
If JOIN a: c:\floppy were executed, c:\floppy would display the contents of the a:
drive. The opposite can be achieved via the subst command.
[edit] label
Changes the label on a logical drive, such as a hard disk partition or a floppy disk.
In Unix and Unix-like systems, this differs from filesystem to filesystem. e2label can be
used for ext2 partitions.
[edit] loadfix
Loads a program above the first 64K of memory, and runs the program.
loadfix [drive:][path]filename
Included only in MS/PC-DOS. DR-DOS used memmax, which opened or closed lower,
upper, and video memory access, to block the lower 64K of memory.
[5]

[edit] loadhigh, lh
Main article: loadhigh
hiload in DR-DOS.
[edit] md or mkdir
Makes a new directory. The parent of the directory specified will be created if it does not
already exist.
md directory
Equivalent to the Unix command mkdir.
[edit] mem
Displays memory usage.
mem
Options:
/CLASSIFY or /C - Lists the size of programs, provides a summary of memory in use
and lists largest memory block available.
/DEBUG or /D - Displays status of programs, internal drivers, and other information.
/PROGRAM or /P Displays status of programs currently loaded in memory.
Equivalent to the Unix command free.
[edit] memmaker
14

Starting from version 6, MS-DOS included the external program MemMaker which was
used to free system memory (especially Conventional memory) by automatically
reconfiguring the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. This was usually done by
moving TSR Programs to the Upper memory. The whole process required three system
restarts. Before the first restart the user was asked whether he/she wanted to enable EMS
Memory.
The use of MemMaker was popular among gamers who wanted to enable or disable
Expanded memory in order to run a game.
Options:
/BATCH Runs MemMaker in batch (unattended) mode. In batch mode, MemMaker takes
the default action at all prompts.
/UNDO Instructs MemMaker to undo its most recent changes.
PC-DOS uses another program RamBoost to optimize memory, either the
HIMEM/EMM386 or a third-party memory manager.
[edit] mode
Configures system devices. Changes graphics modes, adjusts keyboard settings, prepares
code pages, and sets up port redirection.
[6]

[edit] more
Pages through the output so that you can view more than one screen of text.
command | more
Equivalent to the Unix commands more and less.
More may also be used as a filter.
more < inputfilename
[edit] move
Moves files or renames directories.
move filename newname
move driveletter:\olddir driveletter:\newdir
Example of usage:
move c:\old c:\new
Equivalent to the Unix command mv. DR-DOS used a separate command for renaming
directories, rendir.
[edit] msd
Main article: Microsoft Diagnostics
Provides detailed technical information about the computer's hardware and software.
msd
15

New in MS-DOS 6;
[7]
the PC-DOS version of this command is QCONFIG.
[citation needed]

The command appeared first in Word2, and then in Windows 3.10.
No Unix equivalent, however in GNU/Linux similar type of information may be obtained
from various text files in /proc directory.
[edit] path
Displays or sets a search path for executable files.
[edit] pause
Suspends processing of a batch program and displays the message 'Press any key to
continue. . .'. This command exists in all versions of Microsoft Windows and has the
exact same function.
[edit] pcpark
Parks the hard disk heads in order to enable safe shutdown; only used on early versions.
pcpark
No Unix equivalent.
MS-DOS 3.2 (and possibly others) used the command HHSET
[edit] print
Adds a file in the print queue.
Options:
/D device : Specifies the name of the print devices. Default value is LPT1
/P filename : Add files in the print queue
/T : Removes all files from the print queue
/C filename : Removes a file from the print queue
This command was introduced in MS-DOS version 2. Before that there was no built-in support
for background printing files. The user would usually use the copy command to copy files to
LPT1.
Equivalent to the Unix commands lp and lpr.
[edit] Readline
Reads a line from input, and sets the variables %1 to %9, as if the line had been set as
batch parameters.
Use the READLINE command to read a line of text from the
keyboard and place it in the batch file variables to
This command can only be used from within a batch file.
16


SYNTAX: READLINE [/V]

where:
/V converts the input line to upper case.
The command occurs in the OS/2 command.com and cmd.exe, but not in other systems.
[edit] rd or rmdir
Remove a directory (delete a directory), by default the directories must be empty of files
for the command to succeed. The deltree command in some versions of MS-DOS and all
versions of Windows 9x removes non-empty directories.
rmdir /s
The [/s] parameter enables rmdir to function in the same way as deltree, deleting all
sub folders and Files, and by default requiring confirmation.
rmdir /s /q
The [/q] parameter, if present, tells the rmdir command to carry out the deletion without
first prompting for confirmation. This is the same as running deltree [/y].
[edit] rem
Remark statement, normally used within a batch file, and for DR-DOS, PC/MS-DOS 6
and above, in CONFIG.SYS.
The REM command is processed by the command processor, the output can be redirected
to create a zero-byte file.
rem This creates a zero-byte file in some command processors.
rem > newfilename
:: This never creates a file
:: > filename.ext
REM is also useful in logged sessions or screen-captures.
One might add comments by way of labels, usually starting with double-colon ::. These
are not processed by the command processor.
In Unix, the # sign can be used to start a comment.
[edit] ren
Renames a file. Unlike the move command, this command cannot be used to rename
subdirectories, or rename files across drives.
ren filename newname
You can rename files in another directory by using the PATH parameter:
ren [[path\]filename] [newfilename]
This example renames c:\windows\filex.txt to c:\windows\filey.txt
ren c:\Windows\filex.txt filey.txt
Using a path in the destination newname will move the file to the new path, if this is on
the same device. This renames the file to the c:\temp directory.
ren c:\windows\filex.txt \temp\filey.txt
On DOS with long filename support, care must be taken when directories have spaces in
their names like "Documents and Settings". In these cases double-quotes are used to
enclose them. Note it is necessary only to enclose blocks including spaces.
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ren c:\"Documents and Settings"\"All Users"\Desktop\filex.txt filey.txt
ren "c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\filex.txt" filey.txt
Wildcards in the destination are replaced by the corresponding part of the original name,
so the command below will change the extension of the file from .doc to .txt, here
myfile.doc becomes myfile.txt.
ren myfile.doc *.txt
Mass renames can be accomplished by the use of wildcards. For example, the following
command will change the extension of all files in the current directory which currently
have the extension htm to html:
ren *.htm *.html
In Unix, this functionality of a simple move is provided by the mv command, while batch
renames can be done using the rename command.
[edit] scandisk
Disk diagnostic utility. Scandisk was a replacement for the chkdsk utility, starting with
later versions of MS-DOS. Its primary advantages over chkdsk is that it is more reliable
and has the ability to run a surface scan which finds and marks bad clusters on the disk. It
also provided mouse point-and-click TUI, allowing for interactive session to complement
command-line batch run.
chkdsk had surface scan and bad cluster detection functionality included, and was used again on
Windows NT based operating systems.
Equivalent to the Unix command fsck.
[edit] set
Sets environmental variables. See Environment variable.
CMD.EXE in Windows NT 2000, 4DOS, 4OS2, 4NT, and a number of third-party
solutions allow direct entry of environment variables from the command prompt, in the
manner of set /p.
set /p choice=Type your text.
echo You typed: "%choice%"
From at least Windows 2000, the set command with the /A switch allows the evaluation of
strings into variables, thus providing inter alia a means of performing integer arithmetic.
[8]

[edit] setver
TSR designed to return a different value to the version of DOS that is running. This
allows programs that look for a specific version of DOS to run under a different DOS.
Setver appeared in version 4, and has been in every version of DOS, OS/2 and Windows
NT since.
[edit] share
18

Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities.
share [/F:space] [/L:locks]

/F:space Allocates file space (in bytes) for file-sharing information.
/L:locks Sets the number of files that can be locked at one time.
[edit] smartdrive
Main article: SmartDrive
[edit] sort
A filter to sort lines in the input data stream and send them to the output data stream.
sort < inputfilename > outputfilename
Similar to the Unix command sort. Handles files up to 64k. This sort is always case
insensitive.
[9]

[edit] subst
A utility to map a subdirectory to a drive letter.
[4]

subst <d:> <path>
subst <d:> /D (Deletes the substitute drive)
If SUBST e: c:\edrive were executed, a new drive letter e: would be created, showing
the contents of c:\edrive. The opposite can be achieved via the join command.
[edit] sys
A utility to make a volume bootable. Sys rewrites the Volume Boot Code (the first sector
of the partition that Sys is acting on) so that the code, when executed, will look for Io.sys.
Sys also copies the core DOS system files, Io.sys, Msdos.sys, and Command.com, to the
volume. Sys does NOT rewrite the Master Boot Record, contrary to widely-held belief.
[edit] time and date
Display and set the time and date
time
date
When these commands are called from the command line or a batch file, they will display
the time or date and wait for the user to type a new time or date and press RETURN. The
commands time /t and date /t will display output without waiting for input.
The Unix command date displays both the time and date, but does not allow the normal
users to change either. Users with superuser privileges may use date -s <new-date-
time> to change the time and date.
The Unix command time performs a different function.
[edit] tree
19

Shows the directory tree of the current directory
Syntax:
tree [options] [directory]
Options:
/F (Displays the names of the files in each folder.)
/A (Use ASCII instead of the extended characters.)
/? (Shows the help)
Note: Does not work on some computers with Windows 7 OS.
[edit] truename
truename
or
truename drivename
or
truename filename
or
truename directory
If typed without a parameter then the current active drive pathname is displayed.
MS-DOS can find files and directories given their names, without full path information,
if the search object is on a path specified by the environment variable PATH. For example,
if PATH includes C:\PROGRAMS, and file MYPROG.EXE is on this directory, then if MYPROG is
typed at the command prompt, the command processor will execute
C:\PROGRAMS\MYPROG.EXE
the TRUENAME command will expand a name in an abbreviated form which the command
processor can recognise into its full form, and display the result. It can see through SUBST
and JOIN to find the actual directory. In the above example,
TRUENAME MYPROG
would display
C:\PROGRAMS\MYPROG.EXE
and for a substituted drive set up by
subst d: c:\util\test
the command
truename d:\test.exe
will display
c:\util\test\test.exe
This command also displays the UNC pathnames of mapped network or local CD drives.
This command is an undocumented DOS command. The help switch "/?" defines it as a
"Reserved command name". It is available in MS-DOS 5.00.
This command is similar to the Unix which command, which, given an executable found
in $PATH, would give a full path and name. The C library function realpath performs
this function.
The Microsoft Windows command processors do not support this command.
[edit] type
20

Display a file. The more command is frequently used in conjunction with this command,
e.g. type long-text-file | more.
type filename
Equivalent to the Unix command cat. Note that you can use this to concatenate files
(type file1 file2 > file3) however this won't work for large files--use copy command
instead.
[edit] undelete
Restores file previously deleted with del. By default all recoverable files in the working
directory are restored. The options are used to change this behavior. if the MS-DOS
mirror TSR program is used, then deletion tracking files are created and can be used by
undelete.
Syntax:
undelete [filespec] [/list|/all][/dos|/dt]
Options:
/list : lists the files that can be undeleted.
/all : Recovers all deleted files without prompting. Uses a number sign for missing first
character.
/dos : Recover only MS-DOS aware files, ignore deletion tracking file.
/dt : Recover only deletion tracking file aware files.
In Unix and Unix-like systems this differs from filesystem to filesystem. People who use
the ext2 filesystem can try the command e2undel.
[edit] Ver
An internal DOS command, that reports the DOS version presently running, and since
MS-DOS 5, whether DOS is loaded high. The corresponding command to report the
Windows version is winver.
Options: DOS 5 and later
/r : revision level, also shows whether DOS is loaded high
/? : shows command line help.
Value returned:
MS-DOS up to 6.22, typically derive the DOS version from the DOS kernel. This may be
different from the string it prints when it starts.
PC-DOS typically derive the version from an internal string in command.com (so PC-
DOS 6.1 command.com reports the version as 6.10, although the kernel version is 6.00.)
DR-DOS reports whatever value the environment variable OSVER reports.
21

OS/2 command.com reports an internal string, with the OS/2 version. The underlying
kernel here is 5.00, but modified to report x0.xx (where x.xx is the OS/2 version).
Windows 9x command.com report a string from inside command.com. The build version
(e.g. 2222), is also derived from there.
Windows NT command.com reports either the 32-bit processor string (4nt, cmd), or
under some loads, MS-DOS 5.00.500, (for all builds). The underlying kernel reports 5.00
or 5.50 depending on the interrupt. MS-DOS 5.00 commands run unmodified on NT.
The Winver command usually displays a Windows dialog showing the version, with
some information derived from the shell. In windows before Windows for workgroups
3.11, running winver from DOS reported an embedded string in winver.exe.
[edit] verify
Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been correctly written to disk.
If no parameter is provided, the command will display the current setting.
[10]

verify [on|off]
[edit] xcopy
Copy entire directory trees.
Xcopy is a version of the copy command that can move files and directories from one location to
another.
xcopy directory [destination-directory]
Equivalent to the Unix command cp when used with -r parameter.