MS-DOS help and commands

* See our our complete overview page for a brief description on each of the below commands.

A ansi.sys | append | arp | assign | assoc | at | atmadm | attrib

B batch | backup | bootcfg | break

C cacls | call | cd | chcp | chdir | chdsk | chkntfs | choice | cipher | cls | cmd | color | command | comp | compact | control | convert | copy | ctty

D date | debug | defrag | del | delete | deltree | dir| disable | diskcomp | diskcopy | diskpart | doskey | dosshell | driveparm

E echo | edit | edlin | emm386 | enable | endlocal | erase | exit | expand | extract

F fasthelp | fc | fdisk | find | findstr | fixboot | fixmbr | for| format | ftp | ftype

G goto | gpupdate | graftabl

H help | hostname

I if | ifhlp.sys | ipconfig

J NONE
K keyb

L label | lh | listsvc | loadfix | loadhigh | lock | logoff | logon

M map | md | mem| mkdir | mode | more | move | msav | msbackup | msd | mscdex | mwbackup

N nbtstat | net | netsh | netstat | nlsfunc | nslookup

O NONE
P path | pathping | pause | ping | popd | power | print | prompt | pushd

Q qbasic

R rd | reg | ren | rename | rmdir | route | runas

S scandisk | scanreg | set | setlocal | setver | sfc | share | shift | shutdown | smartdrv | sort | start | subst | switches | sys | systeminfo | ystemroot

T taskkill | telnet | time | title | tracert | tree | type

U undelete | unformat | unlock

V ver | verify | vol

W NONE
X xcopy

Y NONE
Z NONE

Getting into Windows Safe Mode

About:
Getting into Windows Safe Mode.
Reason:
Users who may not be able to boot into normal mode or are not able to troubleshoot their computer properly may need to boot into Safe Mode bypassing normal windows settings and startup programs and allowing the user to fix their computer.
Solutions:
Windows 95 users
Windows 98 / ME users
Windows 2000 users
Windows XP users
Windows Vista users
How to get out of Safe Mode?
Which Safe Mode option should I choose?
Unable to get into Safe mode see document CH000750
Windows 95 users
To get into Windows 95 Safe Mode, as the computer is booting, when you either hear a beep or when you see the message "Starting Windows 95", press your F8 key on the top of your keyboard. If done properly you should get into the Windows 95 Startup menu similar to the below screen. In this menu choose option 3 by pressing the 3 key and press enter.
Microsoft Windows 95 Startup Menu
=============================
1. Normal
2. Logged (\BOOTLOG.TXT)
3. Safe mode
4. Step-by-step confirmation
5. Command prompt only
6. Safe mode command prompt only
Enter a choice: 1
F5=Safe Mode Shift+F5=Command prompt Shift+F8= Step-by-step confirmation [N]
Windows 98 / ME users
To get into Windows 98 / ME Safe Mode, as the computer is booting press and hold your "F8 key" on the top of your keyboard or press and hold the left or right Ctrl key as the computer is booting. If done properly you should get into the "Windows 98 / ME Startup Menu" similar to the below screen example. In this menu choose option 3 by pressing the 3 key and press enter.
Note: With some computers if you press and hold a key as the computer is booting you will get a stuck key message. If this occurs, instead of pressing and holding the "F8 key", tap the "F8 key" continuously until you get the startup menu.
Microsoft Windows 98 Startup Menu
=============================
1. Normal
2. Logged (\BOOTLOG.TXT)
3. Safe mode
4. Step-by-step confirmation
5. Command prompt only
6. Safe mode command prompt only
Enter a choice: 1
F5=Safe Mode Shift+F5=Command prompt Shift+F8= Step-by-step confirmation [N]

Windows 2000 / XP users
Tip: If you are running Safe Mode because you cannot get into Windows you may want to first try loading the last known good configuration. Additional information about this mode can be found on document CH000626.
To get into the Windows 2000 / XP Safe mode, as the computer is booting press and hold your "F8 Key" which should bring up the "Windows Advanced Options Menu" as shown below. Use your arrow keys to move to "Safe Mode" and press your Enter key.
Note: With some computers if you press and hold a key as the computer is booting you will get a stuck key message. If this occurs, instead of pressing and holding the "F8 key", tap the "F8 key" continuously until you get the startup menu.
Trouble Getting into Windows 2000 or Windows XP Safe mode - If after several attempts you are unable to get into Windows 2000 or Windows XP Safe Mode as the computer is booting into Windows, turn off your computer. When the computer is turned on the next time Windows should notice that the computer did not successfully boot and give you the Safe Mode screen.

Windows Advanced Options Menu
Please select an option:
Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt
Enable Boot Logging
Enable VGA mode
Last Known Good Configuration (your most recent settings that worked)
Directory Services Restore Mode (Windows domain controllers only)
Debugging Mode
Start Windows Normally
Reboot
Return to OS Choices Menu
Use the up and down arrow keys to move the highlight to your choice.
Microsoft Windows Vista users
Tip: If you are running Safe Mode because you cannot get into Windows you may want to first try loading the last known good configuration. Additional information about this mode can be found on document CH000626.
To get into the Windows Vista Safe mode, as the computer is booting press and hold your "F8 Key" which should bring up the "Windows Advanced Options Menu" as shown below. Use your arrow keys to move to "Safe Mode" and press your Enter key.
Note: With some computers if you press and hold a key as the computer is booting you will get a stuck key message. If this occurs, instead of pressing and holding the "F8 key", tap the "F8 key" continuously until you get the startup menu.
Trouble Getting into Windows 2000 or Windows XP Safe mode - If after several attempts you are unable to get into Windows 2000 or Windows XP Safe Mode as the computer is booting into Windows, turn off your computer. When the computer is turned on the next time Windows should notice that the computer did not successfully boot and give you the Safe Mode screen.

Choose Advanced Options for: Microsoft Windows Vista
Please select an option:
Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt
Enable Boot Logging
Enable low-resolution video (640x480)
Last Known Good Configuration (advanced)
Directory Services Restore Mode
Debugging Mode
Disable automatic restart on system failure
Disable Driver Signature Enforcment
Start Windows Normally
Description: Start Windows with only the core drivers and services. Use
when you cannot boot after installing a new device or driver.
How do I get out of Safe Mode?
From Windows Safe Mode click Start / Shutdown and restart the computer. This should start the computer automatically back into Normal Mode.
Note: Many users believe that they are still in Safe Mode because the colors or video may not look correct. Unless in the corners of the screen it says "Safe Mode", you are not in Safe Mode. For information on how to setup your video card resolution, see document CH000190.
If you are rebooting the computer and it is rebooting back into Safe Mode (it does say "Safe Mode" in each of the corners), it is likely another problem exists with Windows preventing it from loading into Normal Windows. We recommend you see our basic troubleshooting section for additional ideas that may help to resolve your issue.
Which Safe Mode option should I choose?
Users who are running later versions of Windows will get several different options for different types of Safe Mode. For example, you may have options for "Safe Mode", "Safe Mode with Networking", and "Safe Mode with Command Prompt". Below is a brief description of each of these different modes.
Safe Mode
The basic Safe Mode option is usually what most users will want to choose when troubleshooting their computer. This is the most basic Safe Mode option and has no additional support.
Safe Mode with Networking
For users needing access to the Internet or the network they're connected to while in Safe Mode users may wish to choose this option. This mode is helpful for when you need to be in Safe Mode to troubleshoot but also need access to the Internet so you can get updates, drivers, or other files to help troubleshoot your issue.
Safe Mode with Command Prompt
This Safe Mode would also allow you to have access to the command line (MS-DOS prompt).

Computer keyboard shortcut keys

Shortcut keys ABCs


Shortcut keys help provide an easier and usually quicker method of navigating and using computer software programs. Shortcut keys are commonly accessed by using the Alt (on IBM compatible computers), command key (on Apple computers), Ctrl, and/or Shift in conjunction with a single letter. The de facto standard for listing a shortcut is listing the modifier key, a plus symbol, and the single character. Or in other words, "ALT+S" is telling you to press the Alt key and while continuing to hold the Alt key, press the S key to perform the shortcut.
In addition to the shortcuts listed on this page, users can find the shortcut keys to their most popular program by looking for underlined letters in their menus. For example, in the below picture, you can notice that the "F" in File has been underlined. You will then know that you can press the Alt key and F to access the File menu (Note: Some programs require the user press and hold ALT to see the underlined characters). Finally, as you can also see in the below picture some of the common features such as Open and Save have shortcut keys assigned to them. In the below example, pressing Ctrl+O would perform the open for the program.

As you begin to work with shortcut keys you will notice that several applications share the same shortcut keys. We have listed many of these keys in our basic PC shortcut keys section.
Note: Users outside the United States or users using a foreign copy of a Microsoft Windows or Microsoft application may not be able to get all the below shortcut keys to perform the function listed below.


Basic PC shortcut keys
The below basic shortcut keys are a listing of shortcut keys that will work with almost all IBM compatible computers and software programs. It is highly recommended that all users keep a good reference of the below short cut keys and/or try to memorize the below keys. Doing so will dramatically increase your productivity.
Shortcut Keys Description

Alt + F File menu options in current program.
Alt + E Edit options in current program
F1 Universal Help in almost every Windows program.
Ctrl + A Select all text.
Ctrl + X Cut selected item.

Shift + Del Cut selected item.
Ctrl + C Copy selected item.

Ctrl + Ins Copy selected item
Ctrl + V Paste

Shift + Ins Paste
Home Goes to beginning of current line.
Ctrl + Home Goes to beginning of document.
End Goes to end of current line.
Ctrl + End Goes to end of document.
Shift + Home Highlights from current position to beginning of line.
Shift + End Highlights from current position to end of line.
Ctrl + Left arrow Moves one word to the left at a time.
Ctrl + Right arrow Moves one word to the right at a time.