Append The append command can be used by programs to open

files in another directory as if they were located in the

current directory. The append command is available in MS-
DOS as well as in all 32-bit versions of Windows. The
append command is not available in 64-bit versions of
Windows.
Arp The arp command is used to display or change entries in
the ARP cache. The arp command is available in all
versions of Windows.
Assoc The assoc command is used to display or change the file
type associated with a particular file extension. The assoc
command is available in Windows 11, Windows 10,
Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
At The at command is used to schedule commands and other
programs to run at a specific date and time. The at
command is available in Windows 7, Windows Vista, and
Windows XP. Beginning in Windows 8, command line task
scheduling should instead be completed with the schtasks
command.
Atmadm The atmadm command is used to display information
related to asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) connections
on the system. The atmadm command is available in
Windows XP. Support for ATM was removed beginning in
Windows Vista, making the atmadm command
unnecessary.
Attrib The attrib command is used to change the attributes of a
single file or a directory. The attrib command is available in
all versions of Windows, as well as in MS-DOS.
Bcdboot The bcdboot command is used to copy boot files to the
system partition and to create a new system BCD store. The
bcdboot command is available in Windows 11, Windows 10,
Windows 8, and Windows 7.
Bcdedit The bcdedit command is used to view or make changes to
Boot Configuration Data. The bcdedit command is available
in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and
Windows Vista. The bcdedit command replaced the bootcfg
command beginning in Windows Vista.
Bootcfg The bootcfg command is used to build, modify, or view the
contents of the boot.ini file, a hidden file that is used to
identify in what folder, on which partition, and on which hard
drive Windows is located. The bootcfg command is
available in Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows
Vista, and Windows XP. The bootcfg command was
replaced by the bcdedit command beginning in Windows
 Vista. Bootcfg is still available in Windows 10, 8, 7, and
Vista, but it serves no real value since boot.ini is not used in
these operating systems.
Chkdsk The chkdsk command, often referred to as check disk, is
used to identify and correct certain hard drive errors. The
chkdsk command is available in all versions of Windows, as
well as in MS-DOS.
Chkntfs The chkntfs command is used to configure or display the
checking of the disk drive during the Windows boot process.
The chkntfs command is available in Windows 11, Windows
10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows
XP.
Cls The cls command clears the screen of all previously entered
commands and other text. The cls command is available in
all versions of Windows, as well as in MS-DOS.
Cmd The cmd command starts a new instance of the cmd.exe
command interpreter. The cmd command is available in
Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7,
Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Cmdkey The cmdkey command is used to show, create, and remove
stored user names and passwords. The cmdkey command
is available in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8,
Windows 7, and Windows Vista.
Cmstp The cmstp command installs or uninstalls a Connection
Manager service profile. The cmstp command is available in
Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7,
Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Color The color command is used to change the colors of the text
and background within the Command Prompt window. The
color command is available in Windows 11, Windows 10,
Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Command The command command starts a new instance of the
command.com command interpreter. The command
command is available in MS-DOS as well as in all 32-bit
versions of Windows. The command command is not
available in 64-bit versions of Windows.
Comp The comp command is used to compare the contents of two
files or sets of files. The comp command is available in
Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7,
Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Copy The copy command does simply that — it copies one or
more files from one location to another. The copy command
is available in all versions of Windows, as well as in MS-
 DOS. The xcopy command is considered to be a more
"powerful" version of the copy command.
Date The date command is used to show or change the current
date. The date command is available in all versions of
Windows, as well as in MS-DOS.
Debug The debug command starts Debug, a command line
application used to test and edit programs. The debug
command is available in MS-DOS as well as in all 32-bit
versions of Windows. The debug command is not available
in 64-bit versions of Windows.
Defrag The defrag command is used to defragment a drive you
specify. The defrag command is the command line version
of Microsoft's Disk Defragmenter. The defrag command is
available in all versions of Windows, as well as in MS-DOS.
Del The del command is used to delete one or more files. The
del command is available in all versions of Windows, as well
as in MS-DOS. The del command is the same as the erase
command.
Diantz The diantz command is used to losslessly compress one or
more files. The diantz command is sometimes called
Cabinet Maker. The diantz command is available in
Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. The diantz
command is the same as the makecab command.
Diskcopy The diskcopy command is used to copy the entire contents
of one floppy disk to another. The diskcopy command is
available in all versions of Windows, as well as in MS-DOS,
with the exclusion of Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Diskpart The diskpart command is used to create, manage, and
delete hard drive partitions. The diskpart command is
available in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8,
Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. The diskpart
command replaced the fdisk command beginning in
Windows XP.
Driverquery The driverquery command is used to show a list of all
installed drivers. The driverquery command is available in
Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7,
Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Erase The erase command is used to delete one or more files.
The erase command is available in all versions of Windows,
as well as in MS-DOS. The erase command is the same as
the del command.
Eventcreate The eventcreate command is used to create a custom event
in an event log. The eventcreate command is available in
 Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7,
Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Exit The exit command is used to end the cmd.exe (Windows) or
command.com (MS-DOS) session that you're currently
working in. The exit command is available in all versions of
Windows, as well as in MS-DOS.
Fdisk The fdisk command is used to create, manage, and delete
hard drive partitions. The fdisk command is available in
Windows 98 and 95, as well as in MS-DOS. The fdisk
command was replaced by the diskpart command beginning
in Windows XP. Partition management is also available
from Disk Management in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and
XP.
Find The find command is used to search for a specified text
string in one or more files. The find command is available in
all versions of Windows, as well as in MS-DOS.
Findstr The findstr command is used to find text string patterns in
one or more files. The findstr command is available in
Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7,
Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Format The format command is used to format a drive in the file
system that you specify. The format command is available
in all versions of Windows, as well as in MS-DOS. Drive
formatting is also available from Disk Management in
Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.
Ftp The ftp command can be used to transfer files to and from
another computer. The remote computer must be operating
as an FTP server. The ftp command is available in all
versions of Windows.
Ftype The ftype command is used to define a default program to
open a specified file type. The ftype command is available
in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7,
Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Graphics The graphics command is used to load a program that can
print graphics. The graphics command is available in MS-
DOS as well as in all 32-bit versions of Windows. The
graphics command is not available in 64-bit versions of
Windows.
Help The help command provides more detailed information on
any of the other Command Prompt or MS-DOS commands.
The help command is available in all versions of Windows,
as well as in MS-DOS.
Hostname The hostname command displays the name of the current
host. The hostname command is available in Windows 11,
 Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and
Windows XP.
Icacls The icacls command is used to display or change access
control lists of files. The icacls command is available in
Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and
Windows Vista. The icacls command is an updated version
of the cacls command.
Ipconfig The ipconfig command is used to display detailed IP
information for each network adapter utilizing TCP/IP. The
ipconfig command can also be used to release and
renew IP addresses on systems configured to receive them
via a DHCP server. The ipconfig command is available in all
versions of Windows.
Keyb The keyb command is used to configure a keyboard for a
specific language. Region and Language or Regional and
Language Options (depending on the version of Windows)
Control Panel applets in Windows beginning in Windows
XP.
Label The label command is used to manage the volume label of
a disk. The label command is available in all versions of
Windows, as well as in MS-DOS.
Lock The lock command is used to lock a drive, enabling direct
disk access for a program. The lock command is only
available in Windows 98 and 95. Drive locking is no longer
available as of Windows XP.
Logoff The logoff command is used to terminate a session. The
logoff command is available in Windows 11, Windows 10,
Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Mkdir The mkdir command is used to create a new folder. The
mkdir command is available in all versions of Windows, as
well as in MS-DOS.
Mklink The mklink command is used to create a symbolic link. The
mklink command is available in Windows 11, Windows 10,
Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista.
Mode The mode command is used to configure system devices,
most often COM and LPT ports. The mode command is
available in all versions of Windows, as well as in MS-DOS.
Mofcomp The mofcomp command properly displays the data within a
Managed Object Format (MOF) file. The mofcomp
command is available in all versions of Windows.
More The more command is used to display the information
contained in a text file. The more command can also be
used to paginate the results of any other Command Prompt
 or MS-DOS command. The more command is available in
all versions of Windows, as well as in MS-DOS.
Move The move command is used to move one or more files from
one folder to another. The move command is also used to
rename directories. The move command is available in all
versions of Windows, as well as in MS-DOS.
Mrinfo The mrinfo command is used to provide information about
a router's interfaces and neighbors. The mrinfo command is
available in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8,
Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Msav The msav command starts Microsoft Antivirus. The msav
command is only available in MS-DOS. Microsoft Antivirus
was designed for MS-DOS and Windows 3.x only. Microsoft
provides an optional virus protection suite called Microsoft
Security Essentials for Windows XP and later operating
systems, and third-party antivirus tools are available for all
versions of Windows.
Msbackup The msbackup command starts Microsoft Backup, a tool
used to back up and restore one or more files. The
msbackup command is only available in MS-DOS. The
msbackup command was replaced with Microsoft Backup
beginning in Windows 95 and then Backup and Restore in
later versions of Windows.
Msd The msd command starts Microsoft Diagnostics, a system
information tool. The msd command is only available in MS-
DOS. The msd command was replaced with System
Information beginning in Windows 95.
Msiexec The msiexec command is used to start Windows Installer, a
tool used to install and configure software. The msiexec
command is available in Windows 11, Windows 10,
Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Nbtstat The nbtstat command is used to show TCP/IP information
and other statistical information about a remote computer.
The nbtstat command is available in all versions of
Windows.
Net The net command is used to display, configure, and correct
a wide variety of network settings. The net command is
available in all versions of Windows.
Net1 The net1 command is used to display, configure, and
correct a wide variety of network settings. The net1
command is available in Windows 11, Windows 10,
Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
The net command should be used instead of the net1
command. The net1 command remains in later versions of
 Windows only for compatibility with older programs and
scripts that utilized the command.
Netstat The netstat command is most commonly used to display all
open network connections and listening ports. The netstat
command is available in all versions of Windows.
Nfsadmin The nfsadmin command is used to manage Server for NFS
or Client for NFS from the command line. The nfsadmin
command is available in Windows 7 and Windows Vista.
The nfsadmin command is not available by default in
Windows Vista or Windows 7 but can be enabled by turning
on the Services for NFS Windows feature from Programs
and Features in Control Panel. The nfsadmin command is
not available in Windows 11, 10, or 8 because Service for
UNIX (SFU) was discontinued.
Nlsfunc The nlsfunc command is used to load information specific to
a particular country or region. The nlsfunc command is
available in MS-DOS as well as in all 32-bit versions of
Windows. The nlsfunc command is not available in 64-bit
versions of Windows. Nlsfunc is only available in Windows
10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP to support older MS-DOS files.
Nslookup The nslookup is most commonly used to display the
hostname of an entered IP address. The nslookup
command queries your configured DNS server to discover
the IP address. The nslookup command is available in
Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7,
Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Ntbackup The ntbackup command is used to perform various backup
functions from the Command Prompt or from within a batch
or script file. The ntbackup command is available in
Windows XP. The ntbackup command was replaced with
the wbadmin beginning in Windows Vista.
Ntsd The ntsd command is used to perform certain command line
debugging tasks. The ntsd command is available in
Windows XP. The ntsd command was removed beginning in
Windows Vista due to the addition of dump file support
in Task Manager.
Openfiles The openfiles command is used to display and disconnect
open files and folders on a system. The openfiles command
is available in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8,
Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Path The path command is used to display or set a specific path
available to executable files. The path command is available
in all versions of Windows, as well as in MS-DOS.
PnpunattendThe pnpunattend command is used to automate the
installation of hardware device drivers. The pnpunattend
command is available in Windows 11, Windows 10,
Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista.
Power The power command is used to reduce the power
consumed by a computer by monitoring software and
hardware devices. The power command is available in
Windows 98 and 95, as well as in MS-DOS. The power
command was replaced by operating system integrated
power management functions beginning in Windows XP.