DOS Information



What is DOS?

DOS stands for Disk Operating System. This is what windows builds off of to make a cool looking operating system. But, DOS is not near as pretty. DOS is a text based operating system. This means, you can do most of the same things in DOS that you can in windows. But, you will have to memorize a bunch of text commands that might not be very easy to remember, nor very obvious why they are named the way they're named.

DOS is based on the same file structure you saw in File Manager. Whichever file you are in is what appears at the prompt. Hence, if you are at the root of the C drive (what you think of as your computer's memory) your prompt will look like this.

C:\>_
This is called your C prompt. If you then move to the windows directory, your prompt will look like this:
C:\WINDOWS\>_


How do I do stuff in DOS?

Due to the fact that you should already know the basics of Windows the explanations for DOS commands will assume a smattering of prior knowledge of computers.


How do I enter and exit DOS from Windows?

To enter DOS from windows, simply move onto the icon labeled ??? and double-click. Doing this will cover your whole screen with the DOS screen. This is still within a window, and you can toggle between this and other windows the same as before. Reading the directions that appear when you start this program shows that by typing the command
exit
At the C prompt, you will be able to leave DOS to return to windows.


How do I change, create and delete directories?

Again, assuming you already know what this means, and how to do it in windows, the only information you need is the commands. To list out everything in a directory type
dir
which stands for directory.
To change a directory, choose one of the names in brackets (such as ???) and type the letters
cd
before it, which stand for change directory. This will look like this:
C:\>cd dos
This would allow you to transfer to the DOS directory.

To create a directory type

md
(which stands for make directory) and the name of the new directory.
C:\>md mystuff
Just remember that no name in DOS can be longer than 8 letters.

To remove a directory, type

rd
(which stands for remove directory) and the directory name.
C:\>rd mystuff
That's all there is to it.


Moving and copying files, with and without wildcards

Wildcards are a way to let the computer know "all things that have stuff similar to this". So, if you asked for all files that start with the letters "my" you could abbreviate this as:
my*
If you wanted to do all lab assignments LAB1 through LAB9, you could do:
lab$
The "*" stands for any number of letters and numbers, while the "$" stands for only one. To copy files, simply type the word "copy". To move them, use the word "move". Both of these commands are followed by 2 more which specify where from, and where to. So to move everything in a directory to your disk, you could type:
move * a:
Which says move everything to the a drive. (drives always have a colon after them to indicate that they are a drive).

To copy all your lab files up to a new directory "mystuff" you could type:
copy lab$ mystuff\
Finally. To move a file called "trial" to your directory "mystuff" and give it the name "done", you could type:
move trial mystuff\done
Tadaa!


Running a DOS application

Couldn't be simpler. Move to the directory containing the file that you want to run (executable files always end .exe, .bat, .pif or .com) and type the name of the file without the ending. Easy!


Congratulations on learning the ins and outs of DOS.

If you'd like to test yourself on the skills. Click Here
To return to Lab 1 Click Here.