Basic DOS (Disc Operating System) Commands – Windows Command Line

If you’re a Windows user, you might be using command prompt. Its’ surely a powerful tool to do stuff faster than usual. Here are some DOS commands that will change the way you use Windows.

1 – ASSOC
Every file in your computer is associated with some program. To check the association of a file extension type ASSOC. You can do this by GUI easily but it is a good alternative.

 
2 – Driverquery
This command can be used to see properly configured drivers on your system. You can also write driverquery -v to get information of the directory.

 
3 – File Compare
If you want to compare contents of two files, You can type fc and then the path of two files you want to compare.

4 – IPCONFIG
This command will show the IP address of the computer you are currently using. If you are on a router this will tell you the local network address of the router.

 
5 – NETSTAT
If you type the command netstat -an. This will give you a list of currently opened ports and related IP addresses. This is a great command if you’re trying to troubleshoot the devices your PC is connected to or you’re afraid you’re infected with a Trojan and are trying to locate a malicious connection.

 
6 – PING
If you type the command ping (url here). This will test the url with some packets of data. This is helpful when you want to see if your network packets are making to the destination or not. If they arrive and are returned, you know the device is capable of communicating with your PC; if it fails, you know that there’s something blocking communication between the device and your computer. This can help you decide if an issue is caused by improper configuration or a failure of network hardware.

 
7 – PATHPING
This command is an advanced version of ping. It is used in case of multiple routers, but unlike ping , pathping also relays some information about the route the test packets take.

 
8 – TRACERT
The tracert command is similar to pathping. Type tracert followed by the IP address or domain you’d like to trace. You’ll receive information about each step in the route between your PC and the target. Unlike pathping, however, tracert also tracks how much milli seconds each hop between servers or devices takes.

 
9 – POWERCFG / {attributes} 
 powercfg is used with multiple attributes. It’s focus is the energy used by the computer system and it’s management.
powercfg / energy – Detailed Power Consumption Report For The System powercfg / batteryreport (Windows 8 above) – A Detailed Report of Battery Usage

10 – SHUTDOWN (Windows 8 above)
It shutsdown your computer. Imagine if all of a sudden your computer froze and you need to shudown. You can go for Win + R and then ‘cmd’. There you can use this command and safely shutdown your computer.

I tried to make this simple and effective; I’d appreciate your suggestions.