COMPUTERS - get your computer problems tackled

This command is not very useful in the command window but is very useful when creating batch programmes. This command has two states, it is either on or off. The command is easy to use. It functions by making your prompt and commands either visible on the command window or not. To turn on echo, you simply type echo followed by on . There should be a space between echo and on (or off for that matter). echo off   turns off echo.

One of the easiest commands to use is the cls (clear screen) command. This command takes no arguments. Its function is to clear everything in the command window, leaving just a prompt for your next command. For help information on this command, type help cls or cls/?.

One command that comes in handy when using the command prompt is the help command. It lists the commands that are accepted in the version of the command prompt accompanied with a short explanation of their functions. The explanations don't tell you how the commands should be used. The use of each command can be found out be typing HELP, followed by the command we are interested in. For example, help dir This command will give help information on how to use the dir command; the arguments it takes, different switches and what they do.

The fact that you do not know C++, Java, Python or any other programming language does not mean you cannot write programmes. You can write simple batch files to automate some actions on your own system and you can even give it to friends. Batch files may be an alternative if your command prompt is disabled, either by a malware or by an administrator. Note however that, batch files can themselves be malware, causing havoc on your system.

The command prompt is a simple utility in the windows operating system. This utility, though powerful, is not usually used by most people because it does not provide the fancy graphical user interface that most of us are used to: buttons, combo boxes, icons, etc. However, there are a lot of tasks that can be accomplished by using the command prompt which can not be done (or at least, easily done) with the default windows system unless a third party software is used.