xp 2000 commands

New and improved!

Here's a list of some new tools mixed up with the old favorites that will make any Linux user feel at home with the command prompt. A lot of these commands are intended for administrating a network, but they are great for savvy home users as well. We even listed which OS you need for these commands.

With most of these commands, you can just type the command without any options and a list of possible arguments will be displayed.

bootcfg (XP only)
This utility allows you to set up your boot options, such as your default OS and other loading options.
comp (XP & 2000)
This utility is very similar to diff un Linux. Use the /? switch to get examples of command usage.
defrag (XP only)
Yes, XP comes with a command line disk defrag utility. Just type "defrag" for a list of possible arguments.
diskpart (XP only)
Use this command to manage your disk partitions. This is the text version for the GUI Disk Manager.
driverquery (XP only)
Produces a list of drivers, their properties, and their versions. Great for computer documentation.
fsutil (XP only)
This is a utility with a lot of capability. Come back soon for great examples.
getmac (XP & 2000)
This command gets the Media Access Control (MAC) address of your network cards..
gpresult (XP & 2000)
This generates a summary of the user settings and computer group policy settings.
netsh (XP & 2000)
A network configuration tool console. At the 'netsh>' prompt, use the '?' to list the availabe commands and type "exit" to get back to a command prompt.
openfiles (XP Only)
Allows an administrator to display or disconnect open files in XP professional. Type "openfiles /?" for a list of possible parameters.
Pathping (XP & 2000)
A cross between the ping and traceroute utilities. Who needs neotrace when you can use this? Type "pathping " and watch it go.
recover (XP & 2000)
This command can recover readable information from a damaged disk and is very easy to use.
reg (XP & 2000)
A console registry tool, great for scripting Registry edits.
schtasks (XP only)
A newer version of the AT command. This allows an administrator to schedule and manage scheduled tasks on a local and remote machines.
secedit (XP & 2000)
Use this utility to manually apply computer and user policy from your windows 200 (or newer) domain. Example to update the machine policy: secedit /refreshpolicy machine_policy /enforce
To view help on this, just type secedit.
sfc (XP & 2000)
The system file checker scans important system files and replaces the ones you (or your applications) hacked beyond repair with the real, official Microsoft versions.
shutdown (XP & 2000)
With this tool, You can shut down or restart your own computer, or an administrator can shut down or restart a remote computer.
systeminfo (XP only)
Basic system configuration information, such as the system type, the processor type, your time zone, your virtual memory settings, and much more. This program is great for creating an inventory of computers on your network.
tasklist (XP only)
Tasklist is the command console equivalent to the task manager in windows.
taskkill (XP only)
Taskkill contains the rest of the task manager functionality. It allows you to kill those unneeded