Chapter 13: Command-Line Tutorial: MS-DOS and 32-Bit Commands: A Practical Tutorial and Reference

OVERVIEW

In this chapter, we will discuss only those commands, switches, and parameters likely to be helpful to those repairing a computer. Because general networking is beyond the scope of Part I of this book, networking commands are excluded. In most command references, there is so much punctuation to indicate variables that until you become experienced with the commands, you might have trouble determining which punctuation is for variables and which is part of the syntax of the command. Therefore, we attempted to shoFw these commands with a minimum of punctuation.

The most basic information is how to accessF commands. Commands can be accessed from the following locations:

MS-DOS Prompt in 9x: Start > Programs > MS-DOS Prompt in 95/98, Start > Programs > Accessories > MS-DOS Prompt in Me. Alternatively, you can type “command” in the Run dialog (Start > Run).

Run dialog (all versions): Start > Run. Many commands are accessible from here.

32-bit Command Prompt (2000/XP): Start > Programs (or All Programs) > Command Prompt or type “cmd” in the Run dialog (Start > Run).

MS-DOS Command Prompt (all versions): Type “command” in the Run dialog (Start > Run).

MS-DOS Prompt from boot (95/98): After booting you’ll automatically get a prompt.

MS-DOS Prompt from boot floppy (all versions): After booting you’ll automatically get a prompt.

Safe Mode Command Prompt Only (Me/2000/XP): After powering on the computer, press <F8> and select Safe Mode Command Prompt only from the boot menu.

Recovery Console (2000/XP): See the instructions in Chapter 11, “Troubleshooting.” The Recovery Console has its own set of commands, most of which are covered in the final section in this chapter.

Not all commands are available in all these places.