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>>>>>>> THE ESSENTIAL DOS MANUAL. <<<<<<<
The very basic information you need to run an MS-DOS computer.
Written by: David Postler
Copyright 1990
Table of Contents.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What is DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Your Hard and Floppy Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
File Names. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Subdirectories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Essential DOS files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Basic DOS Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Learning More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Essential DOS. By David Postler. April 3, 1990
-----Introduction.-----
For all you people who say; "I don't have time to learn how to
use a computer." This is the manual for you. It will teach you
basics of how to use a DOS computer. This will allow you to do
basic DOS operations and give a very basic explanation of what
the computer is and how DOS works. At the end I have included
some information to allow you to go further if you are
interested.
-----What Is DOS.-----
DOS stands for Disk Operating System and is the basic program in
your computer. When a computer is first turned on it is nothing
but an expensive paperweight. DOS tells the computer how to
respond to the keyboard, display characters on the monitor, print
characters using the printer, and how to get the files from the
hard and floppy disks. It is assisted by the ROM memory in your
computer. In other words DOS handles all the "grunt" work in the
computer.
-----Your Hard and Floppy Disks.-----
The hard disk is very large electronic file cabinet that stores
programs and data for your computer. Think of the hard disk as a
filing cabinet and you will not be far off. The advantage of a
hard disk over floppy disk is speed and convenience. The hard
disk will retrieve the information faster and with less disk
shuffling. Floppy disks also store information with the
difference being that they are can be removed from the computer.
They are also the primary method for transferring data and
programs from one computer to another. A drive is specified by a
letter followed by a colon ie C: is usually your hard drive if
you have one floppy drive it is usually called A: and if you have
a second floppy drive it is called B: you may use either upper or
lower case letters to specify a drive.
-----File Names.-----
A file name consists of three parts and is used to specify a
unique file name. The first part of the name is a Drive and
directory specification usually called a "path" this tells the
computer where to look for the file and may be omitted if the
computer is already located in the proper directory. The next
part of the file is the file name this can be up to eight
characters long and may not include spaces or some of the other
punctuation characters. The best bet is to stick with letters
and numbers unless you are sure. Next comes a period followed by
the extension, the extension tells the computer what type of file
the name specifies. Extensions use the same rules for characters
as file names. Some common extensions are "COM" or "EXE" for
program files and "BAT" for group command files, "TXT" or "DOC"
for word processing and "WK1" for spreadsheet data.
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Essential DOS. By David Postler. April 3, 1990
-----Subdirectories.-----
A hard disk can store a large amount of information, to make it
easier to find this information you can create a subdirectory.
This is just like making a new file folder up for your file
cabinet. you may also make up many levels of subdirectories to
keep track of you files ie \WORK\LETTERS means to take the
subdirectory WORK and find another subdirectory LETTERS in the
WORK subdirectory. The \ character separates the a subdirectory
names. Don't worry it is easier than it sounds.
-----Paths.-----
The path command tells the computer where to look on the hard
disk for a program. It is the computer equivalent of saying "If
you don't find the file on the desk look in the file cabinet."
It is almost that easy to use the command. It must be run before
starting programs that are not in the directory and should be
part of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. It run by entering the word path
followed by the directory you want to look in separated by
semicolons. Here is an example path command:
PATH=C:\;C:\MSDOS;
This command tells the computer to look in the root directory and
the directory called MS-DOS for a program if it cannot be found
in the current directory. To see the current path for the
compute must type PATH at the DOS prompt and press Enter.
-----Essential DOS Files.-----
There are five essential files used for DOS the first two are
invisible to you and are called IO.COM and DOS.COM these files
have the basic information for DOS and are loaded once when you
turn on the computer. They are called system files and are made
invisible on standard directory displays. The rest of the files
are all visible on directory listings. They are normally kept in
the root directory and should not be moved or changed unless you
know what you are doing. The first file is called COMMAND.COM
this is the file that takes what you type at the keyboard and
processes your request either by itself or calling other programs
as needed. The next file is called the CONFIG.SYS file, this
file handles can configure you computer to accept special device
drivers for special functions and allow you to work with more
files at one time than standard DOS. The last file essential to
DOS is the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. this file executes a special
series of commands when you turn on the computer. These commands
typically set your path, set the time and date if needed, and
start you most used application or a menu system to select your
application. This file while it should be treated with respect
may be modified if your needs change without too much trouble.
Of course there are many other files on your hard disk but these
five are the only ones that are essential to run DOS.
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Essential DOS. By David Postler. April 3, 1990
-----Basic DOS Commands.-----
While a fully equipped computer can have over one hundred
programs you will only need to know about seven programs to use
the computer well. All of these commands use the same format:
command <filename> options
The press the Enter key to execute the command. The options may
be typed in UPPER or lower case or MixED case. The computer will
understand. Be aware that some other programs may not be so
tolerant if you have trouble consult the instructions for that
program. A file name consists of and optional drive letter
followed by a colon, a path name surrounded by \ characters and
name and extension of the file. In addition a file name can be
used to specify a group of files by using "wildcards" in the file
name. The first wildcard is the * this means anything ie *.exe
means all file with an extension of exe, t*.txt means any text
files that start with a t, you may only use one * on each side of
the . *.* means all files. The second wildcard is the ? this
means any character ie exp??.txt means and file starting with exp
have two characters and an extension of txt.
The first command is the DIR command, this command shows you the
and subdirectories in the current subdirectory to use this
command just type DIR press the Enter key and the computer will
show you the file names and some other information about the
files. If you have more than 20 files in a directory you will
find that the information will go off the screen faster than you
can read it you have three options. Add a "/W" to the dir
command like this DIR /W. This will display the files in a
condensed format 4 across on the screen. You can also add a "/P"
command to the which will cause the directory to display file
information one screen at a time and will ask you to press a key
before displaying the next screen. You may also use a file name
with wildcards to display any files matching a particular
pattern. You may use all any or options together with this
command.
The COPY command is the next essential command this command
allows you to make a copy of a file or group of files just as you
would copy a piece of paper on a copy machine. To copy using
this command type COPY FILE1.TXT FILE2.TXT and press the Enter
key. This will copy FIlE1.TXT to another file named FILE2.TXT.
You may also copy files from one directory to another by
specifying directory COPY \OLDDIR \NEWDIR will copy all the files
from the \OLDDIR directory to the \NEWDIR directory. You may
also copy from one disk to another by using COPY A:FILE3.EXE C:
the will copy a file from the floppy disk to the hard disk. You
also may use wildcards and path names to specify a group of files
with this option making it easy to transfer data from one
computer to another using a floppy disk.
DEL is the next command to learn this command erases files from
the disk. It can be used with either single files or groups of
files. To delete a file type DEL FILE1.TXT, and the file will be
deleted from the disk. To delete a group of files type a name
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Essential DOS. By David Postler. April 3, 1990
with wildcards. For example DEL *.BAK deletes all files with an
extension of BAK from the drive.
TYPE allows you to display the contents of a file. To use this
command enter TYPE FILE1.TXT. You cannot use wildcards with this
command. If you wand to hold the file press the Pause key. This
will vary on different keyboards so consult your manual for
details. To quit in the middle of a file press the Break key.
This command will only let you see a file, it will to allow you
to change it.
The last three commands are used with subdirectories and allow
you to handle them as needed. All the commands use a common
format. MD path name allows you to make a subdirectory, you
specify a path name like MD \SALES\WEST to create a second
subdirectory called WEST in the SALES subdirectory. You may have
many levels of subdirectories. To change from one subdirectory
to another use the CD command with the path name CD \ moves you
to the root directory. CD \SALES\WEST will move you the west
subdirectory of the sales subdirectory. If you want to remove a
subdirectory use the RD command AFTER you delete all the files in
the subdirectory. RD \SALES\WEST would remove the WEST
subdirectory provided all the files have been deleted in the
subdirectory. If you want to see what subdirectory you are in
type CD without a path name to find out what subdirectory you are
in.
-----Learning More.-----
There are quite a few books out to help you learn more about
DOS. Start with your computer reference manuals, many versions
of DOS have slight differences and these books are the ultimate
authority for your computer. Not be overlooked is the fact that
they are included with the computer so you do not have to buy
anything. If you want to buy a book on DOS the one I recommend
is "Running MS-DOS" by Van Wolverton. The QUE reference series
of books are also very helpful and compact they make a good
addition to regular manuals if you travel. Don't forget computer
magazines. You can find a gold mine of information in some of
these magazines I recommend PC Resource to start. This magazine
manages to provide helpful and understandable information to
beginners as well as useful information for an experienced user.
There are also some programs out there to train you on how to use
a computer. You might want to try them.
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