Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS - DOS)

MS – DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System)

Disk Operating System (specifically) and disk operating system (generically), most often reveal
themselves in abbreviated form as DOS, refer to an operating system software used in most computers
that provides the abstraction and management of secondary storage devices and the information on them
(e.g., file systems for organizing files of all sorts).
Such software is referred to as a disk operating system when the storage devices it manages are
made of rotating platters, such as floppy disks or hard disks. In some cases, the disk operating system
component (or even the operating system) was known as DOS. DOS is like a translator between you and
computer.
The programs in this operating system allow you to communicate with your computer, secondary
storage device and also printer so that you can take the advantages of your computer resources.
It is a single User Operating System for personal computer. It was introduced by Microsoft Corporation in
1981.

To open the DOS (Disk Operating System)

Process 1 –

Click Start – Click Programs – Click Accessories – Click Command Prompt

Process 2 –

Click Start – Write “Run” in the “Search” panel of “Start” button- write “cmd”-Click “Ok” or Press
“Enter” Button from key Board.
Process 3 –

Double click on shortcut Icon of DOS.

As soon as DOS gets loaded into RAM, you will see the DOS prompt (either C :\> or A :>) on
your screen along with a blinking cursor waiting for your instruction. If the OS is loaded from the hard
disk, you will get C :\> as DOS

DOS prompt C :\>

C Drive Letter
: Drive indicator, which promotes the drive letter to indicate a device
\ Current Directory (\is the symbol of root directory)
> Separator between command line and the DOS prompt.

Change the Default Drive

To change the default drive, simply type the letter of your choice. The new default will be listed in
subsequent DOS prompts.
Example:

 C> A: [enter]
 Changes the default drive from C to A.
 A> C: [enter]
 Changes the default drive from A to C.

[Enter] means that you must press the Enter Key before the format command will execute. [Enter] is
required after any DOS command, it is assumed in all commands found below.
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Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS - DOS)
Command of MS-DOS
In the PC operating systems MS-DOS and PC DOS, a number of standard system commands were
provided for common tasks such as listing files on a disk or moving files. Some commands were built into
the command interpreter, others existed as external commands on disk. Over the several generations of
DOS, commands were added for the additional functions of the operating system. In the current Microsoft
Windows operating system a text-mode command prompt window can still be used.
MS –DOS contains a number of commands to control and for manipulating software and hardware.
The commands of MS-DOS can be classified into two major categories.
a) Internal Commands
b) External Commands.
Internal Commands-
Internal commands are those commands which are always available in the internal memory
requires no external files in order to execute. They are small in number and most frequently used.
Internal Commands are

Color: - Sets the default console foreground and background colors.

COLOR [attr] - attr Specifies color attribute of console output
Color attributes are specified by TWO hex digits -- the first
Corresponds to the background; the second the foreground. Each digit can be any of the following values:
0 = Black 8 = Gray
1 = Blue 9 = Light Blue
2 = Green A = Light Green
3 = Aqua B = Light Aqua
4 = Red C = Light Red
5 = Purple D = Light Purple
6 = Yellow E = Light Yellow

7 = White F = Bright White

Date -
Syntax: - C :\> Date (press Enter button)
Function – To display & change the current system date
Time -
Syntax: - C :\> Time (press Enter button)
Function – To display & change the current system time
Ver (Version)-
Syntax: - C :\> Ver (press Enter button)
Function – To display the version of Operating System

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Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS - DOS)
Vol -
Syntax: - C :\> Vol (press Enter button)
Function – To display the serial number of a particular drive
Label -
Syntax: - C :\> Label (press Enter button)
Function – To change the name of a particular drive
CLS -
Syntax: - C :\> CLS (press Enter button)
Function – To clear the screen.

File - File is a Combination of some data. File must be have an extension code.
Which is extension code?
The code which helps to create a difference between the files & specify the files for the machine by
a specific software is called extension code.
Command for Files: -
Copy Con: -
Syntax: - C:\>Copy Con Filename (Press Enter)
Write the contents of the files.
For save the file, Press Ctrl +Z or F6.Save sign for DOS Z^
Example- C :\> Copy Con green (Press Enter)
Function – To create a file in MS-DOS.
Type: -
Syntax: - C:\>Type (space) File Name (Press Enter)
Example- Type (space) green (Press Enter)
Function – To display the content of any files
Ren (Rename): -
Syntax: - C:\>Ren (space) Old File Name (source file) (space) New File name (Destination) (Press
Enter)
Example- Ren (space) green (space) future (Press Enter)
Function – Change the old filename to new file name
Copy: -
Syntax: - C:\>Copy (space) Old File Name (source file) (space) New File name (Destination) (Press
Enter).
Example- Copy (space) future (space) vision (Press Enter)
Function – Create a duplicate file from a particular file.

Erase or Del: -
Syntax: - C:\>Erase or Del (space) File Name (Press Enter).
Example- Del (space) future (Press Enter)
Function – Delete the file from the machine

Dir: -
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Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS - DOS)
Syntax: - C:\>Dir\switch (Press Enter).
Function – Displays a list of files and subdirectories in a directory
Switch:-
/ P - Pauses after each full screen of information.
/ A - Displays files with specified attributes.
Attributes are
D – Directories, R - Read-only files, H - Hidden files, S - System files, A - Files ready to archive.
/ W - Uses wide list format.
/ O - Lists by files in sorted order.
Sorted code are
N - By name (alphabetic), S - By size (smallest first), E - By extension (alphabetic) D - By date
& time (earliest first), G - Group directories first
/ S - Displays system files in specified directory and all subdirectories.
/ B - Uses bare format (no heading information or summary).
/ L - Uses lowercase.

Directory: -
The place where all kinds of files stores is called Directory in DOS & Folders in Windows.

Command of Directory: -

MD or MKDIR (Make Directory)

Syntax: - C:\>MD (space) Directory Name (Press Enter).
Example: - C:\>MD (space) Green (Press Enter).
Function – Create a directory or folder in a particular drive.
CD (Change Directory)
Syntax: - C:\>CD (space) Directory Name (Press Enter).
Example: - C:\>CD (space) Green (Press Enter).
Function – Create a directory or folder in a particular drive.
RD (Remove Directory)
Syntax: - C:\>RD (space) Directory Name (Press Enter).
Example: - C:\>RD (space) Green (Press Enter).
Function – remove the directory from the machine.
To exit from any directory
Syntax: - C:\ Green\>CD (Press Enter)
TREE
Syntax: - C:\>Tree
Function – to display the structure of the directory.

Wild Card Character

The asterisk (*) and question mark (?) are used as wildcard characters, as they are in MS-DOS and
Windows. The asterisk matches any sequence of characters, whereas the question mark matches any
single character. In its long form, Dialect 2 uses the {regex} tag with the asterisk or the question mark to
specify the wildcard characters. In its short form, Dialect 2 uses the equal sign (=) to indicate that
wildcard characters are used. Essentially, "=" turns on the MS-DOS/Windows wildcard character mode. If
no equal sign is used, a CONTAINS operator is assumed.

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