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v. May 15, 2012
Valid for MS-Windows 7, MS-Windows XP, MS-Windows VISTA, also back to MS-Windows 2000, MS-Windows 1995, 1998 and whatever you used or you will use in the near future.
You can easily use this hidden powerful system in a reduced manner. This is the case when you (within the MS-Windows menu) type in the provided single command input field the name of a specific program for execution. A full and efficient use of this feature is hindered by the fact that the execution window is automatically closed as soon as a program has been executed. Let us consider the old PC-DOS interface as a "terminal window", "shell" or how you prefer to name it. This is like the terminal window which comes with every standard LINUX. Yes, every MS-Windows system has it, too. This way, every MS-Windows system still includes the essential functions of PC-DOS. For some strange reason, Microsoft does not want that average users can use this feature. There are some historical reasons involved. Microsoft wanted many years ago to wipe out competition offering compatible PC-DOS software, like the powerful DR-DOS. Another reason of that time was the competition with Apple and Amiga computers. - In addition, there is the widespread but strange opinion that average users should not learn to use a computer properly. More precisely: If you oblige people not to learn how to escape environment restrictions, they will be obliged to continue buying your computing environment. The current pre-configured state of the terminal window is that it will close instantly after running a program. This will wipe out instantly all response displays. By this pre-configuration it becomes impossible to use this in the sense of an interactive terminal window. But true computing happens on just this level. It is the vital key feature of LINUX and of all powerful operating systems. A related expression is, you have shell access.
There are various possible work-arounds for this. For example, you could create a batch file .bat which calls the programs, makes a pause and goes back to the beginning. Or you might play with configuration details. Or you might install a PC-DOS emulator software. We want to use this within our daily computing environment, hence in a fully integrated manner. So we do not want to deal with the specifics of emulator software. We want instant access to true computing.
There is some clever solution which is working out of the box and instantly. The "FTP client function" is this wonderful feature to use instantly true PC-DOS computing on MS-Win PCs. Nearly nobody knows that FTP uploads and downloads can be done interactively by typing commands like the words of a spoken language. Evem most programmers never used this feature. This feature is basically not what we want to exploit. We just want to exploit a very special function of this FTP client environment. This very special function is the execution of software on the local machine. Programs on the local machine can be executed without leaving the FTP environment. We continue in this case to stay within the FTP interface. It is working in the simplest possible manner: You just have to enter the FTP command line environment. We will later here below tell you how to do this. From then you can execute many - most - or close to all old MS-DOS programs - or also current new recent programs on your PC: just by calling the program name, preceded with an exclamation mark. Example: ! dir C:\
From now you have on MS-Windows instantly a powerful key feature of LINUX, in spite of the artificially downgraded MS-Windows machine. You have a terminal window on your PC. Microsoft apparently does not want that every average user can become a power user. From now YOU CAN. For example, you can make use of a powerful file and directory copying command which is perhaps a good candidate for the best copy command in computing history: xcopy (at least in its final and current version) Its special exceptional feature is, for example, some kind of a renaming feature for a series of files. If you would be a programmer, you might program this feature as a batch file or in PERL, by combining some utility commands. xcopy has it as a built-in feature. Standard LINUX (with its command cp ) does not have a very close equivalent. Or and on the other hand, LINUX has so powerful backup tools that there is a major risk of unexpected side effects. xcopy is one of the rare examples where PC-DOS was perhaps more efficient than basic standard LINUX is. You can also use the many other PC-DOS commands - without needing to install an emulator. Example: Now you can easily with 1 command move all your image or music files from your main hard disk to an external storage device connected via USB. No need any more for the permanent time-wasting battles against the many restrictions of your graphics and mouse user interface.
We do not want to be connected with some server. So we are starting just such a session and nothing else. We are not opening a connection with a Web site. We could. You would need to learn for this the "FTP language". This is the word set of commands which you can send to the server of your Web site. Then you could order uploads and downloads manually by typing single command lines. It is not our intention to deal with this. We just want to abuse a single rarely known feature of this command languge. We will maintain the non-terminated state of the FTP program. We then can execute PC-DOS commands and all kind of software... ...just by preceding the program names (or PC-DOS commands) with an exclamation mark. After each command or program execution, the system will drop back into the same non-terminated state of the FTP "client program". As long as we did not leave it, Microsoft gracefully and finally let us view program execution results. Remark: The major exception from this is: Changing the current directory. This works for the FTP language commands in a different manner. The required special command for this is "lcd". This stands vor: "l-ocal_machine cd", Example: lcd C:\Documents\
REMARK: For the following commands, you have always to finish them with the key "Enter". For clarity, this is not expressively specified in the following examples. Now, In the main menu of MS-Win, go to the line for program execution. Type there: ftp (Remember that after all command examples the key ENTER has to be applied.) By this, the main job is already done. Now try some typical PC-DOS commands: Try the command: ! dir See the powerful command options: dir /? The file copy command xcopy: Try the command: ! xcopy /? Sorry, this does not fit on the screen? - Therefore instead: ! xcopy /? > xcopy_help.txt By the > you have exported the display data into ia new file. View the proof: ! dir x*.txt Now open the file editor software: ! edit.com Within this text file editor, open a file, see among the options your new xcopy_help.txt and open it. Now you can comfortably scroll and view all lines. State the significant power of this command. It might take several hours or even days to learn and test all the features of xcopy and the possible useful impact. Quit the editor and continue your tests. You can use the key "cursor upwards" to get back to your command line history. So you can repeat former commands. (You can use the cursor keys LEFT / RIGHT to modiify a former command line.) Now try the file removal command: ! del xcopy_help.txt How to quit this FTP environment? Just type: quit "quit" is one of the many commands of the FTP language. You will only need this one.
The ugly black background, no scrolling feature ... a bit deceiving? The default black background of this window - this was required in the stone age of computing. At that time, the old monitor types had to be used, and protective screensavers were not yet in use. Microsoft did not decide to set the defaults to some tolerable modern layout. We will show you now how to do what Microsoft decided not to do for you... because: You can instantly re-configure all this up to the level of current computing. Click in the left upper corner of the window. There opt for "Properties". COLORS: Now you can configure the background to white, the script to black. SCRIPTSIZE: You can opt for script type and script size. DISPLAY BUFFER: You can opt for a huge virtual external buffer. Typically, you will opt for a significant vertical buffer: This means, you can use the mouse for scrolling and viewing the past display. WINDOW: You can define a bigger satisfactory window size. You can define the default window location. When all this has been done, you have managed your access to a professional level of computing - even on Microsoft Windows. Now you only still need the complete PC-DOS instruction set. Do a Google search or Bing search for: DOS commands set (in German:) DOS Befehle (in French:) montre moi les dos commandes A list of the complete basic command set is here: (Last updated probably in 1994 when MS-DOS 6.22 was released.)
Call the built-in help functions just by adding: /? This will work for close to all of the commands listed above. Example: dir /? So you have the required information within seconds for software - not within one hour or so like for the current prevailing update-ware. Remark: Such built-in help functions are the past power concept. Once upon a time, in the middle ages of computing, there was no public Internet. Consequently, resellers of hardware and software had no right to oblige users to waste hours of time when searching omitted key information on the Internet. There was even no right to deliver first very faulty products and to rectify this during the following years by online updates. It was a terrible time for manufacturers: Products and software had to work properly before selling them. Even worse for manufacturers: Helpful information had to be complete, too, and had to accompany the product. Once upon a time, for this help information, we did not yet have .pdf files and even not yet .html files (for structured handbooks). We just had in the best case short or long text files, typically named README.TXT or README.DOC. This was not very helpful for look-up purposes. Consequently, it was a good concept and idea at that time to supply with each command and utility the helpful key information. Once upon a time.
The window optimisation will perhaps not work like described above for MS-Windows versions older than MS-Windows 2000. We do not supply recommendations for this special and rarely needed purpose. For MS-Windows 2000 or later, a more efficient strategy (instead of "!") is recommended: Within the standard execution field of MS-Windows, execute the following command: cmd.exe /k ftp Then leave the FTP utility program by the command: quit This tricky sequence results in an internal re-configuration of the current PC-DOS window. From now, within the current computer session, this window does not any more close. So we obtained the true clean PC-DOS environment. We are not any more doing sub-processes within the FTP process. (This might have possible unexpected side effects). The preceding "!" is in this case not any more needed. (It would result in an error message.) For changing the current directory: Instead of "lcd" we have to use "chdir". Its behavior differs from that of "lcd". For the details, type: chdir /? To get a behavior similiar to that of "lcd" (hence Un*xish, like LINUX and like FTD), you should use the following sequende: : chdir /d D:\ To get the PC-DOS window finally closed, you might finally type the command: exit
Evidently, this is the power tool to view and to do everything with the files and directories on your PC - instantly. Only in case of space characters in directory or file names, you will need some special work-arounds. We do not want to deal here with such details. Now you know the reason why it is still a bad habit to include space characters in file names or directory names. Many many bugs in current computing are just caused by this. A good general rule is: If you can, try to stay away from software which applies space characters for its main directories. It may happen that the update and/or backup tools will generate bugs in this case. (This is because some utilities still use the space character as checked delimiter instead of detecting the true name length.) Try to never place your own main data file archives and computing purposes in directories which include space characters in the directory names. This is valid even for the case of pre-implemented directories from Microsoft. For the own choice of file names, a typical habit is to use the underscore character _ instead of the space character. Anyway, it is a very risky habit to use the pre-implemented directories of operating systems for your major data packages. As far as possible, own data should be stored in new own directories on the highest level, and not on the systems drive (like C: is). A typical far better solution is to use the partition ("drive") D: for your own files, like: D:\images\. It is far better to use for own data external hard disks. But you should be aware, for this case, that the USB connector and protocol system was not made for the reliability level required for this. A good habit is to disconnect such vital storage devices only when the computer is switched off. As this does not avoid all kind of such specific data integrity risks, you should in addition take care to make frequent backup copies to a different storage device.
You have stated an instant computer response for your commands on the PC-DOS level. For many tasks, there is from now no need to waste your time with interactive mouse clicks. From now you can do many operation types on your PC within seconds which otherwise might require minutes. Now you just need to find a command list for PC-DOS commands (MS-DOS commands). From now, MS-Windows is at least on this level for you as powerful like LINUX is. Your are not any more member of a consumer level user dummy under Microsoft dictatorship. You have become a free man or woman - at least related to your PC. Did you note that we never used the single word "Windows" but only the combined expression "MS-Windows"? Microsoft succeeded to occupy as a product brand a universal single word from spoken language and in prior widespread use. (For legal and linguistic reasons, we should not apply here the expression "stolen"). Everybody who uses just the expression "Windows" instead of "MS-Window", is taking part in the toleration of this incredable constellation. There is no obligation and no law to use "Windows" instead of "MS-Windows".
You can instantly try one of them because it belongs to the always present built-in functionalities. When being within the FTP environment - like explained above - , then type: ! edit.com Now you are in a file editor in the style like used since 1983 or so. It is on the user interface level of 1990 or so. This is nice to edit clean text files .txt. Perhaps UTF - like utf8 - will not be supported. At that time, multi-language computing was not yet standardized. We did not check if Microsoft perhaps upgraded this old editor for UTF compatibility.
Now please spread the message - in forums, blogs etc. - so that Microsoft will become aware of it. We are waiting for the day that Microsoft will perhaps switch off this feature within the next system updates. This might be considered as a retro-actice artificial value reduction of a paid and delivered product. For new versions it might be considered as an artificial value reduction based an a monopoly holder status. US lawyers specialized in class action disputes will probably study these lines with much care. The European EU Commission would be interested, too, in the case of such artificial value reduction by a monopoly holder.
Everything on a PC is accompanied by risks. The major risks are software bugs, badly protected systems, privacy violation and so on. We do not know if the here recommended functionality can produce any risk. We tested it, and all worked properly. The functionality is of a type which should not have major unexpected risks. But please be warned. The general rule is: Back up your PC data files on some external device data frequently and especially before any test on the software level. Please be aware of the following rule, too: Backups are only under full protection when the backup device is disconnected from your PC. For example, do the backup on an hard disk via USB. Then stop the USB connection, or end the PC session. Then disconnect physically the external device. Backup devices should not be in permanent connection with the PC. They should be placed in metal boxes, in a location where - in case of a fire - temperature would not exceed approximately 50 degree Celsius (hence the maximum temperature of tropical areas of the world).
There should be no unexpected problems with the built-in functions, hence the PC-DOS functions. For legal reasons, no other use is recommended here. But it is supposed that all programs of the type xxxx.com will run properly, as far as they do not need an install procedure. With the same restricition, programs xxx.exe will probably also do no harm. If programs include install procedures, many of them will modify configuration data of the Microsoft system. The problem is that this system has grown over the years from a very unprotected low level system to the current state. The current state is a much improved state, but not a perfect state. Microsoft never succeeded to protect the internal configuration layer in a satisfactory manner from the lazy programming style of low qualification programmers. As soon as you want to standardize program interaction already on the operating system level - like useful for scanners, printers, audio functions and much more - , you have to allow application software programmers to write their participation information into the corresponding registries. Given the evolution path of MS-WINDOWS during so many years, the problem is much increased. This is the price to pay for the high level backwards compatibility of the Microsoft system. This backwards compatibililiy as such is an exceptional value. No other system on the market follows so much this old IBM principle of professional computing. This backwarcds compatibility belongs to the major merits of Microsoft. Typically problems can be expected for old hardware - before 2000 and older - and the corresponding utilities. Problems are to expect for all hardware which is automatically activated for many programs, like scanners, printers, fax equipment. The problem risk is not the question if it will work. The problem risk is that the possibly included modifications of configuration files might disturb the MS operating system. - For hardware since the year 2000 or so, these risks are under better control. Problems can also be expected for other programs with direct addressing of computer functions (speed optimisation)... like graphics tools and powerful graphic games. The main risk is for this case group, too, not the question if it will work. If an older software does not run, you will state this, and the matter is closed. The main risk is that the program possibly by-passes the protective system layer which has been created in the meantime. If you would limit your use to the pre-implemented functions of PC-DOS, this as such would be a very satisfactory benefit of the FTP method described on this page. This usage level is covered by the Microsoft quality engagement. More than this is not recommended by this current text. If you want to exploit more than this, please be aware of the risk level like describer in this text. Please always back up your data and software before any feature test on a computer. Please do not use a production environment for tests. Do not use a computer needed for business for any testing purpose above the pre-implemented functionalities. Disclaimers have to be perfect disclaimers... On our own PCs, of course, we do not respect the usage resctrictions recommended here above. But we, too, would never use a vital own main computer for any software test.
As for early 2010 : The following Website is one of the best resources for using the better old stuff: computerhope.com This current page was just made for a short tricky information how to master the access barrier to these better PC-DOS tools from the past. On computerhope.com you can learn extended knowledge how to apply these extended features. |
Comment from a German reader: I am using Total Commander. This is free software and is to be considered as the true successor of the former Norton Commander. I can within Total Commander easily access all PC-DOS commands by opting +++ as follows: --- +++"Commands" (German: "Befehle") --- +++"Starting DOS" (German: "DOS starten") (hopeful that we added the proper English language translation of this commands) The reader message continues: Only a small subset of the past DOS command set is helpful. Most of the supplied functionalities can be obtained in an easier manner from within Total Commander. Many thanks for this information. It is very helpful to add here this alternate solution. It is internally and within Total Commander perhaps and probably based on a similar approach. There is no difficulty for a programmer to implement such a functionality in a tool set. A simple call by a batch file to the hidden PC-DOS environment could do the job. On the other hand, most MS-Windows users do not install external software on their PC. Some feel unable for doing so, some hesitate because they fear security risks, some just do not want to apply time for this. The more direct method - like explained on this information page - is also helpful for Linux users. For occasional out-of-office computing a netbook is efficient. For this job, the pre-implemented MS-Windows is good enough and has a satisfactory level of functionalities "out of the box". In this case it can be useful:
further useful information / similar topics
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Software test / new features: --- test 250 --- aha7.com = duplicate link (both: new tab) --- test 630 (image named "ytbridg")--- MOVE IMG: with mouse: drag&drop RESIZE: key SHIFT + mouse: _A_ switch 2 images _B_ sw. 2 im.
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