Learn DOS From Beginning To Advanced

Conclusion   The TIME, DATE, and VER commands are easy to use and understand. These are typical of most DOS commands. The command lines contained in the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files, though more complex, are commonly used. More information is provided about the command lines found in the CONFIG.SYS file later in this blog. The effect of the command lines contained in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file are all described in detail, with supporting learning activities.

The CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files can be used to set the way your computer responds to commands. The purpose of each of these files is briefly described. Although these files are not always essential to the proper operation of your computer, there are certain programs that depend on their presence. At this point in your exploration of DOS, you are not expected to make use of these commands. However, it is important to know what they are and how they can be used. When you finish this blog, you may wish to experiment with the effect of these files on the way your computer interacts with certain programs, its operating speed, and the allocation of memory. CONFIG.SYS When your computer is turned on, DOS  checks for a CONFIG.SYS file and adjusts your computor's configuration according to commands contained in that file. The CONFIG.SYS file is always found on the main directory of the DOS book disk. If you have a hard disk system, it is found on drive C, although you can boot from ...

Before turning on your computer, DOS must be present on the boot disk. The boot disk is the primary disk from which DOS loads into your computer's memory. This includes loading the boot record and DOS system files BIO.COM, DOS.COM, and COMMAND.COM. The purpose of each of these files is described in Section 1. A hard drive system is assumed in this blog, where your hard drive is most often designated as drive C. If you have a removable disk system, use A in place of C in the activities contained in this blog. If you have two removable disk drives, the second drive is designated as drive B.  The following diagram illustrates the two most common computer configurations. Date and Time Commands Your computer is equipped with a 24-hour system clock. The clock maintains the date and time as long as power is applied. Most new computers have battery-powered clocks which maintain the current date and time even when your computer is turned off. If you have an 80286-, 80386-...

Section 2 Getting Started INTRODUCTION This section guides you through the process of turning on your computer, checking for important control files, setting the system time and date, and then determining what version of DOS you are using. Commands introduced include: DATE                 Display and sets the system date. TIME                 Display and sets the system time. VER                   Display the current DOS version in use by the system. Commonly used DOS files that are introduced and examined include: CONFIG.SYS     Configures memory and loads special device drivers at system turn on. AUTOEXEC.BAT    Automatically executes DOS commands that are included in this file.