If you've ever looked at the contents of your Windows CD, you probably know that all the files that make up Windows are stored in a compressed format within CAB files. If you need to replace a damaged Windows file, you can use the EXTRACT command to decompress the file you need. Space doesn't allow me to get into all of the particulars of using the EXTRACT command, but it's important for you to know that the command exists. You can acquire the various syntaxes for the command by typing EXTRACT /?. MEM
The MEM command allows you to view modules and drivers currently loaded in memory. To use this command, simply enter MEM /C at the command prompt. You'll then see a detailed summary of the machine's memory usage. Remember that you're working in DOS mode, so you won't see anything related to how Windows is using memory unless you use the MEM command while Windows is running. Instead, you'll see how your boot disk is managing memory. MODE
Sometimes a utility may alter the system's video settings, making the screen unreadable. If this happens, you can use the MODE command to return the screen to a readable state. For example, to return the screen to a standard DOS format, you'd enter MODE CO80. With any luck, the screen will flicker a few times and then become readable. MORE
Occasionally, you may run into a situation in which a command displays more data than you can read. For example, the MEM /C command almost always scrolls data off of the screen before you can read it. Using the MORE command causes the computer to show you only one screen of information at a time. For example, if you enter MEM /C | MORE, the system will display the memory usage screen-by-screen. The MORE command also works for viewing files. Suppose you have a long text file called README.TXT. If you enter the command TYPE README.TXT, the computer will display the file too quickly to read. However, entering TYPE README.TXT | MORE will cause the computer to display the file one screen at a time. SYS
The SYS command allows you to make any floppy disk or hard disk bootable. For example, if you were working on a computer that had a hard drive with a boot sector destroyed by a virus, you could boot from your emergency repair floppy or CD and run the command SYS C:. This would add the IO.SYS, MSDOD.SYS, and COMMAND.COM files to the damaged hard disk, making it bootable once again. Keep in mind, though, that any time you use the SYS command on a disk, the boot files from the source disk (floppy, CD, or hard disk) will be copied to the target drive. So make sure that the target system is running the same operating system as the source disk. For example, you could use a repair disk created on a Windows 98 machine as the source disk for another Windows 98 machine, but you wouldn't want to use a Windows 98 repair disk as the source for a Windows ME machine. XCOPY
The XCOPY command works just like the COPY command, but there are some very useful switches that you can add to custom-tailor the copy process. For example, supplying the /S switch will tell XCOPY to copy the subdirectories, too. For a complete list of all of the switches available for use with XCOPY, enter the XCOPY /? command.
Have your say instantly in the Tech Update forum.
Find out what's where in the new Tech Update with our Guided Tour.
Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.
