Introduction to MS-DOS

Ms-Dos stands stands for Microsoft Disk Operating System. Ms- DOS is an operating system.
An operating system is collection of system programs, used for controlling input/output
operation. It is also known as interface between hardware and user. A operating system may be
considered as the language translator which converts the users readable codes into machine
readable codes, means machine level language or binary digits.

When we start MS-DOS, we get a symbol on the screen like this

C:\>

This symbol is known as C drive or C-prompt. similarly A:\> is called A-prompt or A drive.
Generally A:\ is used as floppy drive i.e. when we are working on floppy disk and C:\ is used for
local disk or hard disk. A small blinking bar we see on the screen. This is cursor. It is waiting for
your instruction. There few predefined words for DOS. These are known as DOS-Commands.
Our operating system can understand only these predefined commands.

These DOS-Commands are divided into two parts.

1. Internal Commands
2. External Commands

Before we go on detail in these commands, let first we understand a term called File and
Directory. A file may be known as container of information on a particular topic. A directory may
be considered as a structure or a cabinet which keeps one or more files. Directories are usually
creates for keeping one or more identical files together. Every file have a filename which helps
to recognize them. these are divided into two parts

1. File name or Primary name

2. Extension or Secondary name

The primary name can be from 1 to 8 characters long. The extension contains 1 to 3 characters
long. A filename and extension are separated by using a dot symbol. Thus it's structure looks
like

Filename . Extension

Primary name . Secondary Name

The valid characters for giving a file name are form A to Z and the digits are form 0 to 9. Special
symbols are ~ ^ % # @ ! _ - { } [ ] ' `.

Extensions or secondary names are usually used for denoting the type of files or the type of
informations stored in the file. Like the filename have extension EXE, BAT, COM are
respectively Executable, Batch and Command files, which are given high priority by DOS.
Because these files could be directly understand by operating system. Similarly the filename
having extension BMP, GIF, JPEG etc. are the extension for graphical files. The files having
extension C or CPP are the files of C/C++ language, BAS for BASIC language, PAS for
PASCAL programming and so on.

Internal Commands
These commands are automatic loaded into the memory when operating system is loaded into
the memory. Thus these are also called memory-resident commands. The command available
are all combined together and are stored in Command.com file, which is a executable command
file. These internal command are further grouped according to their properties. These are as
follows.

Genral purpose File related commands Directory related commands

1. CLS
7. COPY CON
2. DIR
8. TYPE 12. MD
3. VER
9. COPY 13. CD
4. VOL
10. REN 14. RD
5. DATE
11. DEL
6. TIME

General purpose commands

1. CLS:- (Clear the screen) This command is used to clear the screen or wipe out every thing
written on the screen.

Syntax:- C:\> CLS and press Enter

2. DIR:- (Directory) Dir command is used for listing files and directories present in the current
disk.

Syntax:- C:\> DIR [/switches]

Example:- C:\> DIR /P

Switches:-

/P Page wise
/W Widths wise
/S List all files and directory of subdirectories
/AH Display directory with hidden files
/AS Display directory with system files
/AD Display only directories present in current drive

3. VER:-(Version) Version numbers indicates that which edition of DOS we are working on.

Syntax:- C:\> VER press enter

Output:-
C:\>VER

Windows 98 [Version 4.10.2222]

4. VOL:-(Volume) Displays the disk volume label and serial number, if it exist.

Syntax:- C:\> VOL press enter

Output:-C:\>VOL

Volume in drive C is JAI

Volume Serial Number is 3E42-1907

5. DATE:- Display the current Date

Syntax:- C:\> DATE

C:\>DATE
Current date is Fri 02-15-2002
Enter new date (mm-dd-yy):

Type DATE without parameters to display the current date setting and
a prompt for a new one. Press ENTER to keep the same date.
Note:- We enter new date in the format of MM-DD-YY.

6. TIME:- Display current time

Syntax:- C:\> TIME

C:\>TIME
Current time is 8:38:47.70a
Enter new time:

Type TIME with no parameters to display the current time setting and a prompt for a new one.
Press ENTER to keep the same time.

Note:- We enter the time in the format of 24 hour clock.

File related commands

7. COPY CON:- This command gives the facility to create a new text file.

Syntax:- C:\> COPY CON <Filename>

C:\>COPY CON Rose.txt
A clock in a office can never get stolen
Too many employees watch it all the time
^Z
1 file(s) copied

After copy con we must specify a suitable file name. Press enter. Start typing the informations of
the file. After gathering the information we press ^Z (CTRL+Z) button or F6 button to save the
file. After pressing enter key computer will show a message like 1 file(s) copied. This means that
file is stored in the disk. Suppose we don't want to save the file or we just want to abort from file
creation job, then we simply press ^C (CTRL+C) button to abort without saving the file, intend of
pressing ^Z button.

Notes:- 1. Never forget to give a suitable filename

2. You can use extension as .TXT for denoting the file as Text file.

8. TYPE:- This command is used to display the contents or text of any file to the display device.

Syntax:- C:\> TYPE <Filename>

A:\>TYPE GULAB.TXT
A clock in a office can never get stolen
Too many employees watch it all the time

9. COPY :- Copy command is used for copy any file to another location or to copy the files to
another directory. This command may also be used for copying any file to another disk with
different file name.

Syntax:- C:\> COPY <Source filename> <Target file name>

C:\>COPY ROSE.TXT ROSE.MSG
1 file(s) copied

TO copy a file from hard disk to floppy disk

C:\>COPY Rose.txt A:
1 file(s) copied

To copy a file from Floppy Disk to Hard disk

A:\>COPY LOTUS.TXT C:\
1 file(s) copied

10. REN:- (Rename) This command is used to change the name of any file or directory.
Syntax:- C:\> REN <Source filename> <Target filename>
C:\>REN ROSE.TXT GULBAL.TXT
If we get successfully C:\ that means filename or directory name is get changed. Either it will
show the error message.

To changing the filename present in floppy disk

C:\>REN A:\ROSE.TXT GULAB.TXT
Note that you cannot specify a new drive or path for your destination.

11. DEL:- This command is used for erasing any file from the disk.

Syntax:- C:\> DEL <Filename>

C:\>DEL LOTUS.TXT
If it successfully erase the file from dosk then C:\> prompt will be appear, either computer will
show an error message.

Note:- /P option is used for permission before deleting the file.

Directory related commands

12. MD:- (Make Directory)- This command allows to create a new directory.

Syntax:- C:\> MD <Dirname>

C:\> MD REPORT
C:\>

Now this directory can be used for keeping various sort of reports. Under this directory we can
create another directory which is known as subdirectory.

13. CD:- (Change Directory):- We can enter or exit from any directory using this command.

Syntax:- To access any directory

C:\> CD <Directory name>
C:\> CD REPORT
C:\REPORT>

Prompt will change with the directory name. If we keep two dots after CD command than we will
exit from the directory.

Syntax:-C:\> CD..
C:\REPORT> CD..
C:\>

14. RD:-(Remove directory):- This command is used when we want to remove any unusable
directory form our disk.
Syntax:- C:\> RD <Directory name>
C:\> RD REPORT

15. PATH:- This command is used for display or sets directories for executable files.

Synatx:- C:\> PATH

This command display current path settings.

C:\> PATH=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;C:\WINDOWS\;C:\TC
this command will sets the directories windows, the command subfolder of windows and TC
folder for executable files. Operating system will look for executable files in these directories.

NOTE:- If we need any help for above DOS commands the we put a '/?' symbol after writting the
command at DOS prompt .

Example:- C:\> DIR/? or C:\> COPY/?

External Commands
External commands are known as Disk residence commands. Because they can be store with
DOS directory or any disk which is used for getting these commands. Theses commands help
to perform some specific task. These are stored in a secondary storage device. Some important
external commands are given below-

MORE MOVE FIND DOSKEY

MEM FC DISKCOPY FORMAT
SYS CHKDSK ATTRIB
XCOPY SORT LABEL

1. MORE:-Using TYPE command we can see the content of any file. But if length of file is
greater than 25 lines then remaining lines will scroll up. To overcome through this problem we
uses MORE command. Using this command we can pause the display after each 25 lines.

Syntax:- C:\> TYPE <File name> | MORE

C:\> TYPE ROSE.TXT | MORE
or
C:\> DIR | MORE

2. MEM:-This command displays free and used amount of memory in the computer.

Syntax:- C:\> MEM

the computer will display the amount of memory.

3. SYS:- This command is used for copy system files to any disk. The disk having system files
are known as Bootable Disk, which are used for booting the computer.
Syntax:- C:\> SYS [Drive name]
C:\> SYS A:
System files transferred
This command will transfer the three main system files COMMAND.COM, IO.SYS,
MSDOS.SYS to the floppy disk.

4. XCOPY:- When we need to copy a directory instant of a file from one location to another the
we uses xcopy command. This command is much faster than copy command.

Syntax:- C:\> XCOPY < Source dirname > <Target dirname>

C:\> XCOPY TC TURBOC

5. MOVE:- Move command is used for moving one file or multiple files from one location to
another location or from one disk to another disk.

Syntax:- C:\> MOVE <file name> <path name>

C:\SONGS> MOVE *.MP3 C:\ SONGS\OLD SONGS\

C:\>

6. FC:-(File Compare) This command is capable for comparing two set of files and display
difference between two files.

Syntax:- C:\> FC <First set of file> <Second set of file>

C:\> FC ROSE.TXT GULAB.TXT

7.CHKDSK:-(Check disk) - This command is used to check the status of a disk and show the
report of result status.

Syntax:- C:\> CHKDSK

C:\>CHKDSK

CHKDSK has NOT checked this drive for errors.

You must use SCANDISK to detect and fix errors on this drive.

Volume JAI created 10-19-2001 7:14p

Volume Serial Number is 3E42-1907

4,203,073,536 bytes total disk space

381,988,864 bytes available on disk

4,096 bytes in each allocation unit

1,026,141 total allocation units on disk
93,259 available allocation units on disk

651,264 total bytes memory

610,784 bytes free

Instead of using CHKDSK, try using SCANDISK. SCANDISK can

reliably detect
and fix a much wider range of disk problems.

8. SORT:- This command is useful when we want to sort a file. When we run this command the
result can be get to display device or file.

Syntax:- C:\> SORT /R < Input file name> <output file name>
Suppose we have a file Player.txt which having the list of a cricket player team and we want to
sort the list of players, then we uses this command
C:\> SORT Player.txt

If we not specify the output file name then result will show to the screen.

/R- switch is used for sorting the file in descending order like from Z to A or from 9 to 0.

9. FIND:- The FIND command is used to search a file for a text string.

Syntax:- C:\> FIND "String to search" <File name>

C:\TEST>find "office" gulab.txt

---------- gulab.txt
A clock in a office can never get stolen

10. DISKCOPY:- DISKCOPY copies the contents of a floppy disk to another.

Syntax:- C:\> DISKCOPY <Drive1> <Drive2>

C:\> DISKCOPY A: B:

This command will be copy all contents of A drive to B drive.

11. ATTRIB:- Sets the various type of attribute to a file. Like Read only, Archive, Hidden and
System attribute.

Syntax:- C:\> ATTRIB [± r] [± a] [± h] [± s] <File name>

here r - for read only, a- for archive, h - for hidden, s - for hidden attribute.
C:\> ATTRIB +r Gulab.txt
This command will change the attribute of file gulab.txt to read only mode. To remove the read
only attribute we will follow this command.
C:\> ATTRIB -r Gulab.txt

12. LABEL:- If you are not happy with the volume label of hard disk, you can change it.

Syntax:- C:\> LABEL

C:\>LABEL
Volume in drive C is JAI
Volume Serial Number is 3E42-1907
Volume label (11 characters, ENTER for none)? INFOWAY
13. DOSKEY:- Once we install doskey , our dos will star to memorize all commands we uses.
We can recall those commands using up or down arrow keys. It also gives the facility to create
macros, which creates a short key for long keyword or command.

Key function for Doskey are given as-

UP,DOWN arrows recall commands

Esc clears current command
F7 displays command history
Alt+F7 clears command history
F9 selects a command by number
Alt+F10 clears macro definitions

Syntax:- C:\> DOSKEY

DOSKey installed

Creating Macros:-
C:\>doskey t=time

C:\>t
C:\>time
Current time is 3:39:05.97p
Enter new time:

To list out all macros defined just type DOSKEY/MACROS at dos prompt and press enter.
C:\>DOSKEY/MACROS
$D=date
T=time

14. FORMAT:- This command creates new Track & Sectors in a disk. Every

Syntax:- C:\> FORMAT [drive name] [/S]

C:\> FORMAT A:
this command will create new track & sectors.
C:\> FORMAT A: /S
This command will transfer system files after formatting the disk.

Wild card commands

Wildcard commands are used when we are working with multiple files instant of a single file at a
time. These commands uses '?' and '*' symbol.

The '?' wildcard character

Suppose we want to list out all the files and directories which have primary file name made of
four characters and secondary name made of 3 characters. then here we use DIR command
with following switches

C:\> DIR ????.???

Here a '?' symbol represent that ? can be a any character or it may be special symbols.

Suppose we want to list out all the files which primary field name made of 4 characters, the first
character start with 'C' and secondary name is 'EXE'. Then we uses

C:\> DIR C???.EXE

The '*' wildcard character

If we want to list all the files with extension .EXE the the command we give is-

C:\> DIR *.EXE

If we want to display all files with first character 'D' and extension 'EXE' in floppy disk, then we
give the command

C:\> DIR A: D*.EXE

Some Internal commands with wild card

COPY:-If we have to copy the songs from our CD drive to our Hard disk. Then we suppose E:\
is our CD drive and we have to store all the songs in C:\ SONGS directory.

C:\> COPY E:\ *.MP3 C:\ SONGS

REN:- If we want to rename all the files which have extension of 'TXT' to extension 'MSG' then
we give the command

C:\> REN *.TXT *.MSG

DEL:- If we want to erase those files which have the extension of 'TMP' from our disk then we
uses the command

C:\> DEL *.TMP

If we use /p switch the computer give ask every time before deleting the file. If we enter 'Y' the it
will erase the file from disk either it will leave the file.

Edit
Edit is an external way to create or modify any file. Edit meant Editor is very good utility for
creating or modifying any file.
To start Edit type Edit on dos prompt and press enter. Then a full screen window will appear
like this-

File label displays the current file name which is open in the current window. If file name is not
specified then Untitled will be show.

A menu bar contains various commands. Which are given in detail. Select the items from menu
and click.

FILE- We can activate File menu by pressing Alt+F key.

New:- New command open a new window for creating new file with file name Untitled.

Open..:- If we want to open any existing file

for modification or for any purpose then we
choose this option. After selecting this option
a dialog box will be appear, which looks like

We enter the file to be open in File

Name box and press enter, or press down
arrow key to choose from the
given Files menu.
Save:- Suppose we have do some editing
in the file and want to store it in disk then If
the file which is currently in use have a file
name. the editor will store all these editing
with this specified file name either if it is
Untitled then a save as dialog box will be
appear which will ask a new file name to
store these editing, which looks like this-

We enter a new file name in File

Name field and press enter.

Save As...:- Some time we need a copy of any existing file with minor changing. Like if we are
writing a letter to few consumers with same message but with different name and address. At
that time Save As option helps us to save our time. We create a letter for one consumer and
save that file with his name, again after changing the name and address of file for next
consumer we Save As the file with next consumer name and so on for others.

This option is same like as copy command of DOS. But it helps when we are going to use the
file systems like Mail Merge.

Close:- Close option is give for close the current open file.

Print...:- Edit have a very excellent feature to

print a file. Open the file and from File->Print
chose the complete document option and press
enter. This will print all the document at a time.

If we want to print only selected text means only

a small part of file then we choose Selected Text
Only option after selecting the text and press
enter.

Exit:- To close Edit and return to DOS prompt.

Edit:-All the commands available in this menu are related to editing the current open document.
Before start editing we must need to select the text. The key combination for selecting the text
are as given below-

SHIFT + LEFT ARROW Select one character left

SHIFT + RIGHT ARROW Select one character right
SHIFT + DOWN ARROW Select one line below the current line
SHIFT + UP ARROW Select one line up to the current line
SHIFT + CTRL + LEFT ARROW Select one word left
SHIFT + CTRL + RIGHT ARROW Select one word right
 Select to beginning of current line from current cursor
SHIFT + HOME
position.
SHIFT + END Select to End of line from current cursor position.

CUT:- Cut option remove the selected text and store them to the memory buffer. The sort key
for cut is CTRL + X.

COPY:- Copy option copy the selected text into memory buffer. selected text can be copied also
by pressing CTRL + C

PASTE:- Paste will insert the text store in computers buffer to the current cursor position. It can
be achieved by pressing CTRL + V button.

CLEAR:- We can delete the selected text for ever by clear option. This command is useful when
we need to delete a long paragraph or more than a line. We select the whole line by pressing
SHIFT + DOWN ARROW key and after selection just press DEL key the sort key for this option.

Search:- This menu contains the items for searching and replacing the text of document. This
facility provide very powerful feature when we have to replace text with another text in a large
document.

Find:- We can find any text in the current

document. For that at first go to the top of
document. Select Search->Find . In
appeared window type text to be search
in Find what field.

Repeat last find:- From Find edit will search only once the text we type on the Find
What field. If we want to search same text , the we select Search->Repeat Last Find or just
press F3button.

Replace:- Edit gives the facility to search a

text and replace that text with other upon
your choice. Suppose we want to replace all
HEMAN we uses in current document with
MACROMAN then we select Replace from
Search->Replace... and press enter. In
appeared window we type HEMAN in Find
what field and type in MACROMAN
in Replace with field.

Select Replace button to replace only first

find text otherwise select Replace All to
replace all HEMAN with MACROMAN
without asking any more for replace.
View:- We can open more than a file into edit. We can open upto 9 files at a time into editor.
View option gives the facility to reload these currently loaded files. We can display two files at a
time after splitting current window in two parts. Both different window may contain different files
in each.

Split Window:- As declared above that we can open two files at same time in two different
window. Place the cursor in the document after which we have to split the window and select
View->Split Window option.

Resize Window:- To change the size of each window we select this option. To change the size
of the selected window select View->Resize Window and press enter. The divider between two
files will change to resizable cursor, which can be move up or down using up and down arrow
key. To fix the size press enter key.

Close Window:- If you are not more need of two window, place the cursor in one which you
want to close and select View->Close Window. Second window will maximize to full screen
mode.

Option:- This menu contains the items for changing settings for editor like setting of printer port,
tab spacing and color management.

Settings...:- This option is used for set tab

spacing and printer port setting.

Color:- Editor's screen color can be set up with

your own choice. These screen color includes
color of Menu bar, color of scroll bar, status
bar, window border, text color, background
color and many more.

To set default color of edit just

press Default button from this dialog box. Edit
will restore it's own color management.