DOS: Elementary knowledge of DOS commands

Introduction

Here is a list of basic commands that you can use in a DOS prompt (e.g. using a boot disk). 

For additional information about these commands, type /? after entering the command in the DOS prompt (e.g. copy/?, dir/?), this will normally open a help page. 

The command prompts:

• cd <directory name>
  • cd is the basic DOS command, it allows you to change directory
• dir [name of directory]
  • dir allows you to list all contents of the specified directory
• copy <source> <destination>
  • Allows you to copy a file from a <source> folder to a <destination folder>
• del<file>
  • Deletes a specific file
• move <source> <destination>
  • Allows you to move a file from a <source> folder to a <destination folder>
• ren <source> <destination>
  • Renames the specified file
• edit <filename>
  • Opens the default DOS editor to allow modification of a specified file
• cls
  • Clears the DOS screen
• exit
  • Leaves the DOS terminal