Newbie to XP needs command line help

[john]

Some time back I used Windows 2000 now and then. I was able to get to
a command line console for programs (e.g., ImageMagick) that run from
a command line.

I just installed Windows XP home edition. I can't seem to find the
command line console.

Can someone help me out? Thanks in advance.

John Culleton

 

[Malke]

Some time back I used Windows 2000 now and then. I was able to get to
a command line console for programs (e.g., ImageMagick) that run from
a command line.

I just installed Windows XP home edition. I can't seem to find the
command line console.

Start>Run>cmd [enter]


Malke

 

[john]

Some time back I used Windows 2000 now and then. I was able to get to
a command line console for programs (e.g., ImageMagick) that run from
a command line.

I just installed Windows XP home edition. I can't seem to find the
command line console.

Start>Run>cmd [enter]

Malke

Thanks, but that isn't what I need. I want to open an MSDOS style
console so I can key in a series of commands, such as cd, dir, and
then a particular command. I see such an entity flash briefly on the
screen when I use the run command as you suggest so I know it is
there. How do I get to it? On Win 2000 it was listed under Programs.
It isn't on Windows XP AFAICT.

I suppose I can reboot under recovery mode but that seems clumsy.

John Culleton.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Some time back I used Windows 2000 now and then. I was able to get to
a command line console for programs (e.g., ImageMagick) that run from
a command line.

I just installed Windows XP home edition. I can't seem to find the
command line console.

Start>Run>cmd [enter]

Malke

Thanks, but that isn't what I need. I want to open an MSDOS style
console so I can key in a series of commands, such as cd, dir, and
then a particular command. I see such an entity flash briefly on the
screen when I use the run command as you suggest so I know it is
there. How do I get to it? On Win 2000 it was listed under Programs.
It isn't on Windows XP AFAICT.

I suppose I can reboot under recovery mode but that seems clumsy.

John Culleton.

Malke gave you the correct advice. If this does not work on your
PC then you may have some malware on it. Use "My Computer"
to navigate to c:\Windows\System32, then double-click on "cmd.exe"
and report what you see.

 

[Malke]

Thanks, but that isn't what I need. I want to open an MSDOS style
console so I can key in a series of commands, such as cd, dir, and
then a particular command. I see such an entity flash briefly on the
screen when I use the run command as you suggest so I know it is
there. How do I get to it? On Win 2000 it was listed under Programs.
It isn't on Windows XP AFAICT.

I suppose I can reboot under recovery mode but that seems clumsy.

This doesn't actually make sense to me so I'm probably not understanding
what you're doing.

If you run cmd from the Start>Run box, you should get the command console.
It should remain onscreen. If you are only seeing a quick flash when you
invoke cmd from Run, then either you've tinkered (registry cleaner?) or
your computer is infected.

There is no "recovery mode" to reboot into that will be a DOS console
because, like in Win2k, there is no DOS in XP. There is the Recovery
Console (very limited) or Safe Mode Command Line Only.

What are you trying to do? Answer the question about why you can't run cmd
also, please.

Malke

 

[Tim Slattery]

Some time back I used Windows 2000 now and then. I was able to get to
a command line console for programs (e.g., ImageMagick) that run from
a command line.

I just installed Windows XP home edition. I can't seem to find the
command line console.

Start>Run>cmd [enter]

Or Start|All Programs| Accessories|Command Prompt

 

[john]

(e-mail address removed) wrote:

Start>Run>cmd [enter]

Or Start|All Programs| Accessories|Command Prompt

The second string works OK. thanks!

With respect to the first solution I assumed that the word cmd was
just a placeholder for any arbitrary command
name as in "insert command here". I suspect it works OK also if I use
the literal word cmd.

Sorry to be so stupid but in the last decade or so I haven't used
MSWin of any flavor much.

Thanks to all who helped.

John Culleton

 

[M.I.5¾]

Some time back I used Windows 2000 now and then. I was able to get to
a command line console for programs (e.g., ImageMagick) that run from
a command line.

I just installed Windows XP home edition. I can't seem to find the
command line console.

Can someone help me out? Thanks in advance.

John Culleton

Start > All programs > Accessories > Command Prompt : opens a window that
looks like a DOS window. It isn't exactly because XP has no DOS behind it,
but it does most of the jobs.

 

[Malke]

The second string works OK. thanks!

With respect to the first solution I assumed that the word cmd was
just a placeholder for any arbitrary command
name as in "insert command here". I suspect it works OK also if I use
the literal word cmd.

Sorry to be so stupid but in the last decade or so I haven't used
MSWin of any flavor much.

No, as you figured out I actually wanted you to type "cmd". Glad you got it
sorted and thanks for taking the time to let us know.

Malke

 

[Tim Slattery]

Start > All programs > Accessories > Command Prompt : opens a window that
looks like a DOS window. It isn't exactly because XP has no DOS behind it,
but it does most of the jobs.

Right, it's a 32-bit command console. Programs run in this environment
can use *far* more than the 1MB of memory that DOS was restricted to.
In fact, programs in this environment can do anything that GUI Windows
programs can do, including opening windows.