For a long time, the Windows CMD command prompt has been an integral part of the Windows operating system. Some CMD commands are so helpful and simple to execute that even novice users regard the Windows command prompt as an essential component of the operating system.
It’s usually rumoured that it’ll be phased away at some point, but that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon. If you want to have greater power over your Windows PC, the following are the greatest CMD commands to know. Also, don’t forget to watch our YouTube video where we go over the CMD commands provided in this article:
12 Best CMD Command Options For Users
ASSOC: Fix File Associations
The ASSOC command is one of the most powerful tools in the CMD command suite. Certain file extensions are associated with specific apps on your computer. When you double-click a PDF file, your computer knows to open Adobe, and when you double-click a DOC file, it knows to open Microsoft Word. By typing ASSOC in the command window, you can see all of the file associations that your computer is aware of. You’ll see the file extension and the programme with which it’s related. You can change the association by typing assoc.doc=Word.Document.8.
FC: File Compare
When files are altered over time, it can be difficult to remember what the differences were between versions. You might not realise that a CMD command allows you to compare files and observe all differences, but it’s true. The FC command compares two files, either ascii or binary, and outputs a list of any differences found.
IPCONFIG: IP Configuration
Network troubleshooting is never easy, but IPCONFIG is a command that makes it much easier. This command, when entered into the CMD command line, displays detailed information about your current network adapter connection, including:
- Subnet Mask
- Current IP Address
- Default Gateway IP
the current domain. ing router difficulties and other network adapter connectivity issues.
NETSTAT: Network Statistics
Concerned that you may have malware installed on your computer that is connected to the internet without your knowledge? You may receive a list of all active TCP connections from your machine by running the NETSTAT command on the command prompt.
PING: Send Test Packets
The PING command is an IT analyst’s best buddy. This command sends test packets to the target system over the network. The PING command can be used to see if your computer can connect to another computer, a server, or even a website. It can aid in the detection of network disconnections. It also shows packet travel time in milliseconds, which reveals a weak network connection.
TRACERT: Trace Route
TRACERT is an enthralling Windows Command to work with. If you’ve ever wondered what path your internet traffic travels from your browser to a remote system, such as Google servers, you can use TRACERT to find out.
1. The number of hops (intermediate servers) required to reach the target.
2. The amount of time it takes to travel to each jump Each hop’s IP address and, in some cases, its name TRACERT can show you how the paths of your internet requests alter based on where you access the internet.
3. It also aids in diagnosing a malfunctioning router or switch on a local network.
POWERCFG: Power Configuration
Are you frustrated by how rapidly your laptop appears to lose power? It’s conceivable that your power settings are set to be as efficient as possible. A Windows CMD command called POWERCFG (power configuration) can be useful.
SHUTDOWN: Turn Off Computer
The shutdown command is a fairly versatile command that allows you to shutdown the computer while controlling its behaviour. After applying patches to a computer system, it is usually used as a scheduled task or as part of an IT batch job.
SYSTEMINFO: System Information
The SYSTEMINFO command can tell you what type of network card you have, as well as your CPU characteristics and the precise version of your Windows operating system. This command polls your system and retrieves the most critical information about it. It presents the facts in a clear and easy-to-read way.
SFC: System File Checker
If you suspect that a virus or other software has corrupted your core system files, there is a Windows command that may analyse such files and confirm their integrity. You must run CMD as an administrator (right-click and choose “Run as Administrator”). SFC/SCANNOW verifies the integrity of all protected system files. If a problem is discovered, the files will be repaired using previously backed-up system files.
You can also use the SFC command to:
- /VERIFYONLY: Verify the integrity of the files but do not fix them.
- /SCANFILE: Check the integrity of certain files and repair them if they are corrupted.
- /VERIFYFILE: Check the integrity of specific files without repairing them.
- /OFFBOOTDIR: This command is used to repair an offline boot directory.
- /OFFWINDIR: This command is used to repair an offline Windows directory.
- /OFFLOGFILE: Specify a location for a log file containing scan results.
Allow 10 to 15 minutes for the scan to complete.
NET USE: Map drives
If you want to map a new drive, open File Explorer, right-click this PC, and select the Map Network Drive wizard. The NET USE command, on the other hand, allows you to accomplish the same thing with a single command string.For example, if you have a share folder called “OTHER-COMPUTERSHARE” on a machine on your network, you can map it as your own Z: drive by typing the command:
CHKDSK: Check Disk
While the SFC CMD command only examines the integrity of core system files, the CHKDSK command can scan a whole drive. To inspect the C: drive and rectify any issues, open a command window as an administrator and execute CHKDSK /f C.
SCHTASKS: Schedule Tasks
For generating scheduled tasks, Windows includes a wizard. For instance, suppose you have a BAT file on C:temp that you want to run every day at 12:00. To configure this, you’d need to go through the Scheduled Task wizard. You can also set it up with a single SCHTASKS command. SCHTASKS /Create /SC HOURLY /MO 12 /TR Exemplification /TN c:tempFile1.bat The scheduled switch accepts minute, hourly, daily, and monthly arguments.
ATTRIB: Change File Attributes
In Windows, you can edit file attributes by right-clicking on a file and selecting the desired property. Instead of searching for the file attribute, use the ATTRIB CMD command to set the file attributes.
