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MS-DOS, also known simply as DOS, was developed to run singleuser, stand-alone desktop computers. When the personal computer
market exploded in the 1980s, MS-DOS was the standard operating
system delivered with millions of these machines. In many ways,
MS-DOS exemplifies early operating systems because it manages
jobs sequentially from a single user
Internal and External Commands
The commands that are a part of resident DOS are known as internal
commands. Because they are always in internal memory, DOS
always knows where to find them. Also, it does not have to load them
from disk storage into internal memory before it can execute them.
To use one of these commands, all you ever have to do is to enter the
command name at the command prompt.
If a command isn't in resident DOS, it's called an external command.
Each of these commands is stored in a disk file called a command
file. On a MSDOS system, the names of command files always
have an extension of COM or EXE. Usually, these command files are
stored in the DOS directory on one of the drives of your Pc.
.
Internal commands
1. DIR command to display a list of the names of files stored on a
diskette in the current drive, another drive, or a hard drive
DIR /P command (Pause switch) to display directory
listings/filenames one screen at a time
DIR /W command (Wide switch) to display directory
listings/filenames in five columns

Syntax
C:\> Dir
2. MD : This command is used to create a folder/directory in the DOS
Syntax :
C:\> MD foldername
3. CD command to change from one directory to another
C:\> CD foldername
4. CD.. command to change to the directory above the current
directory
C:\> CD..
5. CD\ command to change from the current directory to the root
directory
6. Copy con: This command is used to create thefile
C:\> copy con filename
----------------type data
Ctrl+z (to save files) or F6
7. DEL command to delete a file or a group of files;
C:\> del filename
8. COPY command copies the contents of a file (called the source
file) and produces a new file (called the destination, or target, file).
You can copy files to the same diskette, a different diskette, and a
hard drive or other storage media using a different or the same
filename
c:\> copy srcfile

destfile

9. MOVE command moves one or more files to another drive,

directory, or drive and Directory
c:\> move srcfile dest
10. type: command to view the contents of a file.
C:\> type filename
11. Ren this command is used to rename the name of a file
C:\> ren oldname newname
2. External Command
1. FORMAT command to prepare a diskette for use on a computer
system. The Format
capacity switch allows for formatting double-density diskettes in
high-density or extrahigh
density disk drives and high-density diskettes in extra-high density
drives. Changing
a default drive by specifying the name of the drive to be used as the
new default drive
C:\> Format directoryname
2. DISKCOPY command used to make duplicates copies of a
diskette
[DOS command]/? Help switch to obtain help information on
any DOS command
3. DEFRAG command, a DOS utility that optimizes directories
and eliminates or reduces
File fragmentation.

4. BACKUP command backs up an entire hard drive, a directory, a

group of files, or a
Single file onto a set of backup diskettes or other storage media
5. RESTORE command restores an entire hard disk, a directory, a
group of files, or a single
file from a set of backup diskettes or other storage media
6. DELTREE command deletes a directory tree, all of its
subdirectories, and all files in the
specified directories
7. XCOPY command copies a directory and its subdirectories and
files, a group of files, or
A single file to another disk or other storage media