Solve : How much DOS is 'inside' XP??

1.	Solve : How much DOS is 'inside' XP??
Answer» I used to be DOS only going back a longer TIME than I care to admit but - now and again use 'cmd' in XP to do something like a ping test etc. I have not dug really deep but get the impression that what can be done in the console these days is very limited - chkdsk, diskpart etc seem to function but - interested to know from current DOS gurus just how much or little actual DOS function we have within XP? IIRC way back under Win 95 ORC 2 I had a pretty full deal. I still have an old 6.22 fileset of DOS, including DOSSHELL etc but - from what I have been reading this will not perform or be useable within a current Win OS.The response to this will probably differ greatly between each person, but in my personal opinion, you can do a great deal with the CMD console. There are actually very few administrative tasks the command prompt under Windows XP can't do. Create users or change passwords: "net.exe" command with the "user" param View / edit the registry: "reg.exe" Control panel tasks: "control.exe" ... plus thousands more I still think some tasks are more efficient with the Windows GUI, but many are more efficient with the command prompt. I use a combination of both console and GUI, but I almost always have 3 or more command prompt windows open at any time either working or waiting to help me.Thx Gary - most encouraging. I should MAYBE dig deeper after all! Further to that is perhaps the question also - does solid DOS SYNTAX still apply throughout - including all the good ol' DOS switches? What was one old one - shucks, memory going bad ...... DIR OEN/P - to stop a DIR listing scrolling?Quote from: ChrisXPPro on July 27, 2008, 08:32:51 PM Thx Gary - most encouraging. I should maybe dig deeper after all! Further to that is perhaps the question also - does solid DOS syntax still apply throughout - including all the good ol' DOS switches? What was one old one - shucks, memory going bad ...... DIR OEN/P - to stop a DIR listing scrolling? THose switches are still there. Dir /oen/p works just the same. You may as well consider it a 32-bit DOS on steroids. Certain extras you'd expect like long filename support, etc. The batch language is greatly extended (you have loops!) but still mostly backwards compatible. OK, but in relation to your initial question regarding how much of DOS in inside XP...not alot. With every new version of Windows, DOS is being watered down. I think XP was the first Windows version that didn't require DOS to be running, in some capacity, in the background. (I may be wrong on this) The Command Interpreter has become something entirely different.It began as a DOS emulation tool, but with every new version more and more Windows-specific commands are added. I suppose, eventually, we may end up with it becoming the Windows Shell!Actually it was Windows NT that was the first to not use dos because DOS was 16bit, The Windows NT Family of OSs(including Win NT, 2000, XP, Vista) is 32bit, execept for Vista, its 64bit. Just look at my signiture. But Any OS before NT, that includes 98, 95, ME, 3.1, was based on DOS.and yes i've noticed that Vista doesnt even have some of the important commands, like edlin, edit, ipconfig. Tsk Tsk...Thx guys - of course as I was thinking but did not mention - there is the 16 bit aspect with the old true DOS, as macdad points out. I shall when time dig deeper out of interest but my impression had been that what is there is ''watered down'', even tho still of SIGNIFICANT potential use. I have noticed just occasionally an app will install (usually something like a small utility) and notice the console open briefly while files are expanded for example. It would be nice if ''true DOS" could be run, which would include the old Qbasic and numerous other once familiar items.I don't think that NT 32 bit command is "watered down", and I first started using MS-DOS 3.30 in 1988. I think it is beefed up. I would hate to go back to short file names, tiny address space, etc. MS-DOS is all very interesting but it belongs in history as far as I am concerned. MS-DOS...A winner in the Computer Hall of Fame

Answer»

I used to be DOS only going back a longer TIME than I care to admit but - now and again use 'cmd' in XP to do something like a ping test etc.

I have not dug really deep but get the impression that what can be done in the console these days is very limited - chkdsk, diskpart etc seem to function but - interested to know from current DOS gurus just how much or little actual DOS function we have within XP? IIRC way back under Win 95 ORC 2 I had a pretty full deal.

I still have an old 6.22 fileset of DOS, including DOSSHELL etc but - from what I have been reading this will not perform or be useable within a current Win OS.The response to this will probably differ greatly between each person, but in my personal opinion, you can do a great deal with the CMD console. There are actually very few administrative tasks the command prompt under Windows XP can't do.

Create users or change passwords: "net.exe" command with the "user" param
View / edit the registry: "reg.exe"
Control panel tasks: "control.exe"
... plus thousands more

I still think some tasks are more efficient with the Windows GUI, but many are more efficient with the command prompt. I use a combination of both console and GUI, but I almost always have 3 or more command prompt windows open at any time either working or waiting to help me.Thx Gary - most encouraging. I should MAYBE dig deeper after all!

Further to that is perhaps the question also - does solid DOS SYNTAX still apply throughout - including all the good ol' DOS switches? What was one old one - shucks, memory going bad ......

DIR OEN/P - to stop a DIR listing scrolling?Quote from: ChrisXPPro on July 27, 2008, 08:32:51 PM

Thx Gary - most encouraging. I should maybe dig deeper after all!

Further to that is perhaps the question also - does solid DOS syntax still apply throughout - including all the good ol' DOS switches? What was one old one - shucks, memory going bad ......

DIR OEN/P - to stop a DIR listing scrolling?

THose switches are still there. Dir /oen/p works just the same. You may as well consider it a 32-bit DOS on steroids. Certain extras you'd expect like long filename support, etc. The batch language is greatly extended (you have loops!) but still mostly backwards compatible.

OK, but in relation to your initial question regarding how much of DOS in inside XP...not alot. With every new version of Windows, DOS is being watered down. I think XP was the first Windows version that didn't require DOS to be running, in some capacity, in the background. (I may be wrong on this)

The Command Interpreter has become something entirely different.It began as a DOS emulation tool, but with every new version more and more Windows-specific commands are added. I suppose, eventually, we may end up with it becoming the Windows Shell!Actually it was Windows NT that was the first to not use dos because DOS was 16bit, The Windows NT Family of OSs(including Win NT, 2000, XP, Vista)
is 32bit, execept for Vista, its 64bit. Just look at my signiture. But Any OS before NT, that includes 98, 95, ME, 3.1, was based on DOS.and yes i've noticed that Vista doesnt even have some of the important commands, like edlin, edit, ipconfig. Tsk Tsk...Thx guys - of course as I was thinking but did not mention - there is the 16 bit aspect with the old true DOS, as macdad points out.

I shall when time dig deeper out of interest but my impression had been that what is there is ''watered down'', even tho still of SIGNIFICANT potential use. I have noticed just occasionally an app will install (usually something like a small utility) and notice the console open briefly while files are expanded for example.

It would be nice if ''true DOS" could be run, which would include the old Qbasic and numerous other once familiar items.I don't think that NT 32 bit command is "watered down", and I first started using MS-DOS 3.30 in 1988. I think it is beefed up. I would hate to go back to short file names, tiny address space, etc. MS-DOS is all very interesting but it belongs in history as far as I am concerned.
MS-DOS...A winner in the Computer Hall of Fame

Solve : How much DOS is 'inside' XP??

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