CMD Commands All Windows Users Should Know

What is the Command Prompt?

The command prompt is very useful for Windows users which is a kind of command-line interface, using which you can manage or access anything on your PC. All you need is to know the commands which are required to access or run a particular thing via command prompt. 

If you want to have more control over your Windows PC then I have mentioned some of the best CMD commands which all Windows users should know.

How to open Command Prompt? 

> Go to search in Windows taskbar type CMD. 

> Press Win+R, type CMD also you can press Win + X to open CMD.

Note: It is always advisable to open CMD as an administrator because some of the commands need administrative access.

 

1. ATTRIB: Change File Attributes:  
   For Eg: ATTRIB +R +H C:\temp\File1.bat.
2. SCHTASKS: Schedule Tasks:  
   For Eg: SCHTASKS /Create /SC HOURLY /MO 12 /TR
   Example /TN c:\temp  \File1.bat.
3. CHKDSK: Check Disk.
4. SFC: System File Checker.

*The SFC command also lets you:

> /VERIFYONLY: This command helps to check the integrity but doesn’t repair the files.
> /SCANFILE: This command helps to scan the integrity of specific files and fix if corrupted.
> /VERIFYFILE: This command helps to verify the integrity of specific files but doesn’t repair them.
> /OFFBOOTDIR: This command is used to do repairs on an offline boot directory.
> /OFFWINDIR: This command is used to do repairs on an offline Windows directory.
> /OFFLOGFILE: This command is used to specify a path to save a log file with scan results.
 
5. SYSTEMINFO: System Information.
6. SHUTDOWN: Turn Off Computer.
7. POWERCFG: Power Configuration.
8. TRACERT: TraceRoute.
9. PING: Send Test Packets.
10. NETSTAT: Network Statistics.
11. IPCONFIG: IP Configuration.
12. FC: File Compare.
13. ASSOC: Fix File Associations.

* Other useful CMD commands:

> BITSADMIN: This command is used to Initiate upload or download jobs over the network or internet and monitor the current state of those file transfers.
> COLOR: You can use this command to change the background color of the command prompt window.
> COMP: You can use this command to compare the contents of any two files to see the differences.
> FIND/FINDSTR: You can use this command to search for strings inside of any ASCII files.
> PROMPT: This command is used to change the command prompt from C:\> to something else.
> TITLE: This command is used to change the title of the command prompt window.
> REGEDIT: This command edit keys in the Windows registry (use with caution).  
> ROBOCOPY: It's a powerful file copy utility built right into Windows.
 
How to Change Command Prompt Color?

You can change the background of the command prompt and the color of the text to make it colorful.

Many users are unaware that it is possible to change the background of the command prompt. So, this command trick tells you how to change the color of the command prompt.
 
> First of all Right-click on the title bar of the cmd window.
> Select Properties from the context menu.
> Find the Colors tab at the top of the window.
> Select the Color in which you want to change the background and the color of the text.
> Click OK to confirm the change.

How to create Wi-Fi hotspot using command prompt CMD?

You can configure your PC as a wireless hotspot if your network card supports this function.

How to check if the hardware is capable of:

> Enter the command netsh WLAN shows drivers in the command prompt window.
> Look for the line that indicates hosted network support: Yes.

Enable hotspot with this command:

> Type in CMD after running as administrator Netsh Wlan Set HostedNetwork mode=allow ssid=wifiname key=12345678.    
> To turn on hotspot type: netsh WLAN start hostednetwork.
> netsh WLAN show hostednetwork (This is to check the status of your new hotspot).
> To turn off hotspot type: netsh WLAN stop hostednetwork.