command prompt

July 8, 2013

How To Run File Names With Spaces Through Command Line

UK Windows command prompt, Windows command line 0 Comments

There are several ways to open or run a file in Windows. You can double-click the file to open it or use the Run command box. You can also use command prompt to open the file. Sometimes it happens that when we manually enter the full path and filename in command prompt, the file doesn’t open or the program doesn’t run.

Usually when we want to open a file in another program (which Windows recognizes), we use the “start” command before the file path and filename to open the file. Here is the syntax of opening a text file:

C:\>start sample.txt

But when it comes to filenames with spaces, Windows will only take the first word and search for that name. And if it doesn’t find the filename, it will give the following error:

I have been double quote at the start and end of the filename to open the file.

C:\>start "sample text file.txt"

But sometimes this doesn’t work. Windows will still take the first word i.e., sample as filename and search for it in the specified folder path.

You can also try out the following syntax which I have used successfully to open files through command line:

C:\>start "sample text file".txt

If one option doesn’t work, you can try out the next one and most probably one of the options discussed above will work. I’m not sure why but this is Windows behavior. Different versions of DOS interpret filenames differently and this causes confusion on how to write the correct syntax of filenames with spaces.

May 27, 2013

Using Windows Check Disk (CHKDSK) The Right Way

UK Microsoft command prompt, PowerShell, Windows command line 0 Comments

If you have ever used command line in Windows, you must have come across the check disk command. We have already discussed about third party alternatives to chkdsk command in Windows. I have been getting a lot of queries from users who are not satisfied from any alternative and want to continue with chkdsk command. Most of the queries have been about how to use Chkdsk the right way. In this article, we will discuss about Chkdsk and its usage.

What is Chkdsk?

Chkdsk or Check Disk is a command line tool for checking file integrity and fix logical file system errors in Windows. The alternative for chkdsk in Linux is fsck.

Difference between Scandisk and chkdsk

If you have used older Operating Systems like Windows 98, there used to be a command called scandisk which was replaced by chkdsk in subsequent versions of Windows. Chkdsk can also check the physical surface of the hard drive and try to fix physical errors and bad sectors. Chkdsk also tries to recover corrupted data from the hard drive.

Using Chkdsk the right way

Chkdsk can be used in different scenarios. You can run the disk check if you think the file system is getting corrupted while updating (reading and writing to the hard drive) your system. Chkdsk can also be run in Windows recovery console. You can also run chkdsk on system restart to make sure that the files are not locked by the Operating System while the disk check is running.

Chkdsk switches and parameters

If you want to check out all the switches and parameters used with Chkdsk, the easiest way is to run the following command in command prompt.

chkdsk /?

Using Check disk is easy. Here is the syntax of running chkdsk command:

chkdsk [volume]: /switch /switch …

Example:

chkdsk C: /p /r

Here are some of the important switches:

/f fixes errors on the volume

/p checks the volume at startup even if the volume is not flagged as dirty

/r locates bad sectors and recovers readable information from corrupted data

Running Chkdsk from recovery console

Running Chkdsk from recovery console is different from the standard version. There is a slight difference in switches used in recovery console. /f switch can’t be used in the recovery console. If you want to fix errors on the volume in recovery console, you can use /p switch which will work like /f switch in standard mode.

Reducing time to run Chkdsk

If you want to run Check disk in quick mode so that it checks the important aspects of the filesystem and skips other check, you will have to use a specific switch for this purpose. There are two switches which will reduce the time required to run complete scan of chkdsk.

/i switch forces chkdsk to perform a less vigorous check of index entries

/c switch skips the checking of cycles within the folder structure

Reading this article will enable you to run chkdsk command more productively in Windows. If you want to learn more about the working of chkdsk command, here are some resources for further reading.

And a video from Youtube about using Chkdsk the right way:

Windows 7: Check Disk (chkdsk)

Chkdsk Wikipedia article

Using /i and /c switches Microsoft article

Chkdsk documentation from Microsoft

Chkdsk Technet library

May 8, 2013

Unhide Files And Folders By Single DOS Command

UK Microsoft, Tips/Troubleshooting command prompt, file attributes, Windows command line 1 Comment

While Windows Explorer is the best file explorer when it comes to browsing files that we have saved on our hard drives, viruses make use of certain properties in Windows Explorer to disable some important functions. These viruses usually come from USB Flash drives and disable the functions like hidden files can’t be unhidden again etc.

In this situation, the good old DOS can be very helpful as we can use DOS commands to unhide files and folders. This is also beneficial for cleaning the virus from the thumb drive.

To unhide a file from command line, go to Run –> cmd.

This will open DOS command prompt. Now go to the parent folder where the file or folder resides which we want to unhide. To do this, will need to use the cd command (Change Directory). If you want to know about how to use the cd command, run the following command in command prompt:

cd /?

This will open help for the cd command. When you are in the desired folder, run the following command:

attrib -r -a -s -h *.*

Let’s discuss what this command is doing. Attrib command is used to add or remove attributes to a file. The attributes include read-only, archive, system, hidden etc. To add an attribute, we will need to use a plus (+) sign and to remove an attribute minus (-) sign is used. You can see in the above command that we are removing certain attributes.

So what are the attributes that are being removed? Here’s the explanation:

-r will remove the read-only attribute of the specified file.

-a will remove the archive attribute of the specified file.

-s will remove the system attribute of the specified file.

-h will remove the hidden attribute of the specified file.

*.* means that any file with any extension will be processed with this command. So all the files in the directory where this command is run will be unhidden and will become read-write. You will be able to edit and delete the files.

If you want to unhide all folders + subfolders and files, run the following command:

attrib *. -h -s /s /d

If you simply want to display a list of hidden files and folders and not change their attributes, run the following command:

dir/ah

I hope this will help people in troubleshooting their systems using the command line.

May 3, 2013

Four Ways To Insert/Eject CD-ROM Tray In Windows

UK List, Microsoft, Software, Windows command prompt, Windows command line 19 Comments

Inserting or Ejecting CD-ROM in the PC CD-ROM trays is not an easy task especially when the computer is placed under a table. We present four ways to insert/eject CD-ROM tray in Windows automatically without pressing the button on the PC.

Most of the times the desktop PCs are located under the tables or in locations where we can’t get our hands easily. The most frequently used item from the desktop PC itself is the CD-ROM drive which has to be opened and closed by pressing the button on the CD-ROM. This is not convenient for all of us. So it is better to eject and insert the tray from within Windows. Here are a few methods that can be used to insert/eject the CD-ROM tray from within Windows easily:

Using Command Line Tool: Eject

Eject is a small command line utility that can be used to insert and eject the CD-ROM tray from command prompt. Download the utility and extract all the files in your Windows directory (So that you may be able to use it from command prompt easily).
Now open command prompt from Start –> Run –> cmd.
Write the following command to eject the CD-ROM tray:

C:\>eject D:

(Where D is your CD-ROM Drive)

If you want to insert the ejected CD-ROM tray, then issue the following command in the command prompt:

C:\>eject D: /l

(Where D is your CD-ROM Drive)

[download id=”61″]

Using Express CD Ejector (From the status bar)

If you are not fond of using the command line utilities, you can go for this small utility. Download and install the utility. It will minimize itself into the status bar. If you want to eject the CD-ROM tray, just double-click the icon. And if you want to insert the CD-ROM tray, just right-click the status bar icon and select “Close tray”

[download id=”62″]

Using Emsa CD Tray Pal

This is a really cool small utility for managing your CD-ROM eject and insert functions. This utility can take care of multiple CD-ROM drives. One more advantage of this is that hot keys can be assigned to the Insert and Eject function. So if you are a keyboard shortcut junkie, this utility is perfect for you. Download the utility.

[download id=”63″]

Using Registry To Add “Insert” In CD-ROM Drive Context Menu

Download cdeject.dll from below and copy to C:\Windows\system32\

(Where C is the Windows drive)

[download id=”64″]

Now download the following registry key, double-click it to add to your registry.

[download id=”65″]

Right click your CD-ROM drive and enjoy the insert and eject options :-).

If you have any other ways of doing all this, please let me know. I’ll put it here.

December 29, 2012

Complete Guide To Run Commands

Rahmeen Ahmad Khan Microsoft command prompt, Windows command line 1 Comment

Run program helps you access and open your programs, files and folders immediately without getting into the mess of Go to this- > that -> then -> etc. Type in the destination address and Run program will take you there. In previous versions of Windows (Windows Xp, Windows 2000, Windows 98 ) , a quick access to Run program was provided by including it in the ‘Start Menu’. However, in windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 there is no direct access to the ‘Run’ program.

In Windows Vista and Windows 7, the Start search will act as Run dialog box while Windows 8 includes a separate search (WindowsKey + Q) feature.

You may also like: 15 unique and useful Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts

4 Ways To Access The Run Command With Ease

If you are used to using the Run command frequently, you can open the Run command using the following methods:

1- Keyboard Shortcut

Open the Run program using a simple keyboard shortcut that is quite easy to memorize.

Windows key + R

2- Add Run Command to Start Menu

If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can bring back the Run command in the Start menu by following the steps below:

Go to Start Menu
Right click on the empty space
Select Properties. Task Bar and Start Menu Properties window will be opened
Select ‘Start Menu’ tab –> Customize
Scroll down to select Run command. Check the box and select ‘ OK’

Run Command should appear in the Start menu now.

3- Create a shortcut on the Desktop

Once you have successfully pinned Run command into Start Menu, you can create shortcuts from it in the same manner as you can with other programs. Open Start Menu -> Drag Run Command -> Drop onto the Desktop. A shortcut is created on the Desktop. Right click on the icon enables you to modify its properties.

In Windows 8, you will need to go to the following location in order to copy the Run command shortcut to the Desktop:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\System Tools

You will need to change the username with your Windows username.

4- Add Run Command into Quick Launch

Quick Launch Toolbar is not included in Window 7. Instead, you can pin your programs to the taskbar to access them quickly. You can not pin ‘Run’ program to taskbar as Windows 7 does not allow it. However, if you are using Windows XP or older, you can drag and drop Run command into the quick launch toolbar for one click access.

In Windows 8, you can open the quick admin menu and select Run.

Open a particular location through Run

You can open files, folders or programs using the run command directly by defining the path. You may click on the drop down menu that contains the paths of recently opened files and programs. You can also define a new path using the following syntax:

<Directory Name> :\ <Root Folder>\ <Parent Folder> \<Child Folder >

For example, the following command in the Run dialog will open the fyp folder which resides on Desktop.

C:\Users\username\Desktop\fyp

Open a web address using Run command

Use the run command to open the web site for you. It does not require any special syntax. Type in the URL in the Run command. (For example, www.technize.net) Click ‘OK’ and website will be opened in your default browser. If you want to open the URL in a particular browser, just write the name of the browser first and then the URL in the Run command field. This will open the URL in that particular browser. For example, if I want to open technize.net in Google Chrome, I will write the following:

chrome technize.net

Opening the same in Opera will result in:

opera technize.net

Clear Run Command History

Clearing Run history is simple. Go to Start Menu-> Right Click to open Properties Start Menu tab -> Privacy -> Un-check the ‘Store and display a list of recently opened programs’ Your Run command history is removed.Now, you won’t find any recently opened file or program in the drop down list.

You can also use programs like CCleaner to clear the history of Run command along with other cleaning options.

If you want to go more advanced and remove selective entries from the Run history, you will need to go to the following registry key and delete entries from the right hand pane:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RunMRU

We hope that you have found today’s article informative and delicious.

October 3, 2012

ConEmu – A Colorful Windows Command Console Alternative

UK Software command prompt, system 0 Comments

Windows 8 is Microsoft’s latest and the most powerful Operating System. When I used Windows 8, everything looked stunning and refreshing except the command line mode. The command line console has essentially remained the same since the very beginning. If you are a command line junkie, you will prefer to use Linux instead of Windows just because Windows does not offer a powerful toolset of command prompt.

ConEmu is a powerful emulator of command prompt in all versions of Windows including Windows 8. It supports 32-bit and 64-bit installations of Windows. When I first installed it in my Windows 8 PC, Windows gave me a SmartScreen warning that the program had been blocked. Since I knew what I was installing, I safely clicked on the Run Anyway button.

When installing, ConEmu will give you an option whether you want to install a 32-bit version of ConEmu or a 64-bit version. This prompt should appear only on a 64-bit machine.

After installation, you’ll get a quick configuration prompt which you can leave as default and change the settings later according to your needs.

After that, you will be able to get your hands on the shiny new command prompt.

You can run multiple command line sessions in the same window because ConEmu supports multiple tabs in the same window. You can click on the blue + button on the top right corner or use WinKey + W hotkey to open another command line session.

Another great feature of ConEmu is that it can intelligently detect the status of the command in progress and will change the title of the windows accordingly. It can also show the status of the command in progress. It will also show the progress bar on the taskbar icon.

If you are using Jump Lists, you can easily pin your favorite and most used commands and even batch files on a Jump List so that the commands are just one click away from being executed.

I have just started using ConEmu and exploring and loving every bit of it. Please share your experience with me in the comments below.

Download ConEmu

(Sources: hanselman, softwarecrew)