TOP CMD Commands That Microsoft Windows User Must Know
TOP CMD Commands That Microsoft
Windows User Must Know
The Windows Command Prompt is an essential
feature and part of the Microsoft Windows operating system for long. There are
some very easy and useful CMD commands that regular users consider the Windows
command prompt to be a major part of the operating system.
It is always
said that this will gradually end at some point, but it is unlikely to happen
soon at any time.
Also, read this Article
1- ASSOC: Fix File Associations
One of the
most and very powerful tools in the CMD
command library is the ASSOC
command.
Your computer will associate with specific file extensions with specific programs.
This way your computer can open Adobe when you double-click a PDF file, or
Microsoft Word when you double-click a .doc file.
You can view
all file associations that your computer has by typing ASSOC in the command
window. You will see the file extension and related program.
You can set
up a link by typing something like a doc. Doc = Word.Document.8.
2. FC: file comparison
Sometimes,
as files change over time, it's difficult to remember the differences between
versions. You may not know that the CMD the command provides the ability to compare files and see all the differences,
but this is true.
The FC command compares the ASCII or Binary file and lists any differences it finds.
Fc / a File1.txt File2.txt compares two
ASCII files.
Fc / b Picture1.jpg Picture2.jpg You
will make a two-way comparison in two pictures.
3. IPconfig: Configure IP
Solving
network problems is not at all easy, but the only thing that makes working
easier is IPCONFIG.
Using this
command in the CMD command prompt show detailed information about the current
network adapter connection, including:
- The
current IP address
- Subnet
mask
- The IP
address of the default gateway
- Current
domain
This
information can help you troubleshoot the router and other connection problems
you may encounter with your network adapter.
Also, read this Article
4. NETSTAT: Network Statistics
Are you
concerned about running malicious software on your computer that connects to
websites without your knowledge?
If you run
the NETSTAT command at a command
prompt, you can get a list of all active TCP connections from your computer.
5. PING: Send test packages
Your IT analyst's
best friend is PING. Running this
command sends the test packets to the network of the targeted system.
You can use
the PING command to test whether your computer has access to another computer,
server, or even a website. It can help detect network disconnections. It also
provides packet transfer time in milliseconds, so it also detects a poor
network connection.
6. TRACERT: Track Route of Network
TRACERT is a
very interesting Windows command to use. If you've ever wondered how internet
traffic goes from your browser to a remote system like Google’s servers, you
can view it using TRACERT.
The command
is an abbreviation for "Route Routing"
that sends packets to a remote destination (server or web) and provides all of
the following information:
- The number of hops (intermediate servers)
before reaching the destination
- It's time to reach each jump
- IP and sometimes the name of all hops
TRACERT can reveal how paths change to
your internet requests depending on where you access the web. It also helps to
troubleshoot a router or local network operation, which can be a problem.
Also, read this Article
7. POWERCFG: Power Configuration
Are you
frustrated by how fast your laptop is running? Configuring power settings can
be as effective as possible. A Windows CMD
command called POWERCFG can also
help. Run the command prompt as an administrator and type the "powercfg" (power configuration) to
get a full energy efficiency report.
This process
may take about a minute, but upon completion, you will discover if there are
any warnings or errors that can help you improve the energy efficiency of your
system.
For details
on these errors and warnings, see the energy-report.html file.
8. Shutdown: Shut down the computer
The SHUTDOWN command is a versatile command
that allows you to shut down your computer but controls the behavior of the
shutdown. It is typically used as a scheduled task or as part of an IT group
task after repairs have been made to a computer system.
Entering
shutdown / i from the command prompt will start the shutdown, but it depends on
a graphical user interface (GUI) that gives the user an option to restart or
shut down the computer completely. If you do not want to see any GUI pop-up
window, you can issue only the Shutdown
/ s command.
There is a long list of additional parameters that you can use to log off, sleep, restart,
and more. Just turn them off without any arguments to see them all.
9. SYSTEMINFO: System information
If you want
to know about your system information like network card brand, processor
details, or the exact version of Windows, SYSTEMINFO can help.
It will
examine your system and get the most important information about your system.
It provides information in a clear and easy-to-read format.
Also, read this Article
10. SFC: System File Checker
If you are
concerned that a virus or some other program may have corrupted essential
system files, there is a Windows command that can scan those files and make
sure they are safe.
As an administrator,
you must run CMD (right-click and select Run as administrator). Typing SFC / SCANNOW verifies the integrity of
all protected system files. If a problem is detected, the files are repaired
with the backed up system files.
The SFC command
also allows you to:
·
/
VERIFYONLY: Verify integration but do not repair files.
·
/
SCANFILE: Check the integrity of specific files and repair them if they are
damaged.
·
/
VERIFYFILE: Verify the integrity of certain files, but do not fix them.
·
/ OFFBOOTDIR:
Used to make corrections in the offline boot directory.
·
/
OFFWINDIR: Use this to make repairs to the Windows Address Book offline.
·
/
OFFLOGFILE: Specifies the path to save the log file with the scan results.
The exam may
take up to 10 or 15 minutes, so try it out.
11. Net use: Map Drives
To map a new
drive, you can always open Windows Explorer, right-click My Computer and go to
the Map Network Drive Wizard. However, you can use the NET USE command to do
the same with a single command chain.
For example,
if you have a shared folder on your network called \\ OTHER-COMPUTER \ SHARE \, you can set this as your Z: by typing:
Clean use
from: \\ \\ COMPUTERS \ SHARE / Fixed:
Yes
The hard
switch tells your computer that you want to reset this drive every time you log
in to your computer.
12. CHKDSK: Check the disk
While the
SFC command only verifies the integrity of core system files, you can use the
CHKDSK command to scan the entire drive.
To check
drive C and troubleshoot any problems, run the command window as administrator
and enter CHKDSK / f C:.
For example,
this command checks for:
- File
segmentation
- Disk
errors
- · Bad
sectors
·
The command
can correct any disk errors (if applicable). Once the order is complete, you
will see the status of the review and the steps taken.
Also, read this Article
13. SCHTASKS: Task Scheduler
Windows
comes with a wizard to create scheduled tasks. For example, you might have a
.bat file in C: \ temp that you want to run every day at noon.
To configure
it, you must click the Scheduled Task Wizard. Or you can enter and set one SCHTASKS command.
SCHTASKS / Build / SC HOURLY / MO12 / TR Example / TN c: \ temp \ File1.bat
The
scheduled key accepts arguments such as Minute, Hour, Day, and Month. Then
enter the frequency using the / MO command.
If you type
the command correctly, success is displayed: The "Example" scheduled task was created successfully.
14. ATTRIB: Change file attributes
In Windows,
you can change file attributes by right-clicking on the file and finding the
correct property you want to change. Instead of looking for file attributes,
you can use the ATTRIB command to set file attributes.
For example,
if you type: ATTRIB + R + H C: \ temp \
File1.bat, File1.bat is set as a read-only hidden file.
When
successful, it does not respond, so if the error message does not appear, the
command works.
Some Others CMD Commands for Windows :
As you can
see, with the Windows command prompt, you can do some useful and very powerful
things if you know the right commands.
Believe it
or not, there are more commands that give you the ability to do things you may
never have realized by simply typing a simple command.
Also, read this Article
BITSADMIN:
Start
uploading or downloading jobs over a network or the Internet and track the
status of these file transfers.
Color:
Change the background color of the cmd window.
COMP:
Compare the
contents of any two files to see the differences.
FIND / FINDSTR:
Find strings
in any ASCII files.
PROMPT:
Change the
command line from C: \> to
something else.
Name:
Change the
name of the command prompt window.
REGEDIT:
Modify the
keys in the Windows registry (use with caution).
ROBOCOPY:
A powerful
file copying tool included with Windows.
If you are interested
in learning more, Microsoft provides a complete list of all Windows CMD commands included in the latest version of Windows.
No comments