Back in the day before computers introduced desktop environments and Start menus, there was an operating system called MS-DOS. It was a black screen with white text and a blinking cursor. People would have to type commands to do pretty much anything, from managing files to launching programs to monitoring their network. With the power of desktop environments, people don’t have to memorize commands anymore. It’s still good to know the basics of commands, though. You never know when you might need them, especially in a work environment.
The videos below show some of the basic commands you can learn for Command Prompt.
To open Command Prompt, either search cmd in your Start menu and click Command Prompt, or press Win + R, type cmd in the Run box, and click OK.
Here's some of the commands the YouTuber uses.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + C | Closes a program or process in Command Prompt. |
| ipconfig | This shows the IP address the user is currently using. |
| ipconfig /all | This shows all of the networking information for the user's computer |
| ping path | Pings a computer, giving its IP address and status. This can be a website. |
| ping path -t | Pings the computer of the specified path forever until it is canceled. |
| net statistics srv | Shows info about a computer, such as how long it's been on. |
To open Command Prompt as an administrator, search for it in the Start menu, right-click it, and select "Run as Administrator."
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| cd | Used to change the current directory. |
| cd .. | Moves the current directory back/up a directory/folder. |
| dir | Displays the files and folders in the current directory. |
| mkdir | Creates a new directory/folder. |
| robocopy | Copies multiple files within a folder. |
| exit | Closes the Command Prompt. |
This is an extra video that shows what happens when you run an infinite while loop in Python. It's also avalible on my Youtube channel here.
There are a LOT of things you can do with command prompt, some of which you can’t always do with a fancy desktop environment and rectangle tiles. Knowing basic commands can sometimes prove useful if you know what you’re doing.
Do note that some commands can harm your computer. Internet trolls will often post commands claiming they’ll make your computer run faster. In reality, they can delete system32, a word which here means the folder that essential Windows files are stored so your computer can run. Careful of commands that can delete files, keep calm, and command on (as they say in Spain, maybe).