Windows XP in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Name

Command Prompt — \windows\system32\cmd.exe

Synopsis

The Windows XP command line interface, commonly known as a DOS box.

To Open

Start → Programs → Accessories → Command Prompt

Command Prompt → cmd

Usage

cmd [/q][/d] [/a|/u] [/e:on|off][/f:on|off][/v:on|off] /t:fg 
    [[/s][/c|/k] string]

Description

The Command Prompt (see Figure 4-16) is a simple application in which you type commands rather than pointing and clicking. While the Command Prompt is sparse and may be somewhat intimidating to new users, it carries out several very important functions in Windows XP, including access to otherwise inaccessible programs and utilities and even some advanced file management functions. Appendix C fully documents the command prompt, its commands, and the related Address Bar.

Figure 4-16. Use the DIR command to view the contents of the current directory in the Command Prompt

Cmd accepts the following parameters:

string

When used with /c or /k, specifies a command to be carried out when the command prompt window is first opened. Multiple commands can be specified here if they’re separated by &&, and string, as a whole, is surrounded by quotation marks. String must be the last parameter on the command line. See Chapter 6 for more information on the types of commands that can be typed at the command prompt.

/c

Carries out the command specified by string and then stops.

/k

Carries out the command specified ...