Learn MS-DOS (Part 10) - Complete MS-DOS Commands Cheat Sheet & Final Recap

🖥 Introduction

We’ve reached the end of our MS-DOS journey. Over the past nine parts, we explored everything from basic navigation to advanced programming. Now, let’s bring it all together with a complete cheat sheet of DOS commands. This will serve as your quick reference guide whenever you need a reminder.

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🔹 File & Directory Commands

• DIR → List files and directories

• CD / CHDIR → Change directory

• MD / MKDIR → Create directory

• RD / RMDIR → Remove directory

• TREE → Display folder structure

• PATH → Show/set search path

• CLS → Clear screen

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🔹 File Operations Commands

• COPY → Copy files

• XCOPY → Copy files + directories

• DEL / ERASE → Delete files

• REN / RENAME → Rename files

• MOVE → Move or rename files

• TYPE → Display text file contents

• MORE → Display text page by page

• PRINT → Print text file

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🔹 System Information Commands

• VER → Show DOS version

• VOL → Show disk label and serial

• DATE → Display/change date

• TIME → Display/change time

• CHKDSK → Check disk status

• MEM → Show memory usage

• MODE → Configure system devices

• SYSTEMINFO (Windows CMD) → Show full system details

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🔹 Disk & Storage Commands

• FORMAT → Format a disk

• DISKCOPY → Copy one disk to another

• DISKCOMP → Compare two disks

• LABEL → Change disk label

• FDISK → Partition a disk

• BACKUP → Backup files

• RESTORE → Restore files

• SCANDISK → Scan and repair disk

• UNDELETE → Recover deleted files

• UNFORMAT → Try to recover formatted disk

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🔹 Configuration & Environment Commands

• SET → Create/change environment variables

• PATH → Define program search paths

• PROMPT → Customize DOS prompt

• AUTOEXEC.BAT → Startup batch file

• CONFIG.SYS → System configuration file

• LOADFIX → Load program above 64K

• LOADHIGH / LH → Load program into upper memory

• DEVICE / DEVICEHIGH → Load drivers

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🔹 Networking & Communication Commands

• PING → Test network connection

• FTP → Transfer files to/from server

• TELNET → Remote login

• NET → Network utilities (share, use, view)

• NBTSTAT → NetBIOS info

• ARP → Show IP-to-MAC mapping

• TRACERT → Trace route to host

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🔹 Batch Programming Commands

• ECHO → Display message or toggle echo

• PAUSE → Halt until key press

• REM → Add comments

• IF → Conditional execution

• GOTO → Jump to label

• CALL → Run another batch file

• SHIFT → Shift batch parameters

• FOR → Loop through files

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🔹 Advanced & Rare Commands

• ATTRIB → Change file attributes

• DEBUG → Debugging tool

• EDLIN → Line text editor

• SORT → Sort text input

• FIND → Search text in files

• FC → Compare files

• COMP → Compare binary files

• SUBST → Assign drive letter to folder

• JOIN → Join drives

• SYS → Make disk bootable

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🧰 Tips for Using DOS Effectively

• Always use wildcards (* and ?) to work with groups of files.

• Use ECHO OFF at the start of batch files to keep output clean.

• Be careful with destructive commands like FORMAT, FDISK, and DEL.

• Customize your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS for smoother workflows.

• Modern Windows still supports many commands — practice in CMD to reinforce your skills.

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✅ Conclusion

Congratulations! 🎉 You’ve completed the full ByteClass MS-DOS Course. You now know how to:

• Navigate directories

• Manage files

• Handle disks

• Customize DOS

• Network with other computers

• Write batch programs

• Use advanced tools like ATTRIB, SUBST, and DEBUG

MS-DOS may belong to history, but the lessons it teaches are timeless. The discipline of typing commands, thinking logically, and understanding the foundations of operating systems will help you in every area of computing.

This isn’t the end — it’s the beginning. From here, you can explore Windows CMD, PowerShell, or even Linux Terminal with confidence.