In this appendix
When you start your computer and the Starting MS-DOS...
message appears onscreen, you have about five seconds to press a few special keys to bypass some or all of the commands in your CONFIG.SYS
and AUTOEXEC.BAT
files. These keys are available only in MS-DOS 6.0 and later:
F5 (Clean Boot). MS-DOS performs a minimal startup, ignoring any CONFIG.SYS
and AUTOEXEC.BAT
files in the root directory of the startup drive. DBLSPACE.BIN
is still loaded into memory if your system uses compressed drives.
Ctrl+F5 (Clean Boot). Just like F5, except DBLSPACE.BIN
is not loaded into memory. Any compressed drives are inaccessible.
F8 (Interactive Boot). MS-DOS prompts you for every line in your CONFIG.SYS
file, enabling you to selectively execute or skip each line. To execute the remaining commands without being prompted, press the Esc key. When the CONFIG.SYS
file is complete, DOS asks whether you want to execute your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file.
Note that DBLSPACE.BIN
is still loaded into memory if your system uses compressed drives. With F8 (Interactive Boot), you cannot choose whether to load DBLSPACE.BIN
into memory.
For MS-DOS 6.2, Microsoft has changed the behavior of the F8 key, and you are now prompted for each line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file as well as in your CONFIG.SYS
file. To stop being prompted for each line, press the Esc key to execute or press the F5 key to bypass all the remaining lines in your startup files.
Ctrl+F8 (Interactive Boot). This is just like the F8 boot, except DBLSPACE.BIN
is not loaded into memory. Any compressed drives are inaccessible.
ROM BIOS commands are available at all times, although an application program can prevent them from working. (All are eliminated or changed when Microsoft Windows is active.) Break and Reboot should be avoided if possible because terminating a program in this way can damage open files, causing lost clusters or data loss. Your computer's ROM BIOS may provide other key combinations as well, such as commands to change processor speed, enter sleep mode, or access the CMOS Setup screen. Some keyboards provide a single key for these services (listed in Table D.1).
Table D.1. BIOS Control Keys and Their Functions
DOS provides the following functions, listed in Table D.2, although application programs often prevent them from working. (All are eliminated or changed when Microsoft Windows is active.)
Table D.2. DOS Control Keys and Their Functions
The following keys listed in Table D.3 enable you to edit text on the command line when DOSKEY
is not loaded. When you press Enter, the command line is placed in a template buffer and then executed by DOS. By pressing certain function keys, you can reuse characters from the template buffer in the next command line.
A cursor (current position) is maintained for both the template buffer offscreen and the command line onscreen. Normally, both cursors track each other, but certain function keys can alter this tracking. All actions are performed on the character at the cursor.
Table D.3. MS-DOS Command-Line Editing Keys and Their Functions
When you use the console like an input file with certain commands (for example, COPY CON
filename
), some of the previous keystrokes become very useful. Pressing F6 inserts an end-of-file marker (Ctrl+Z) into the file and terminates the copy operation when you press Enter. (Anything you type after the Ctrl+Z is discarded.) Pressing Ctrl+Break or Ctrl+C aborts the copy operation.
If you have DOSKEY
loaded, the following keys are available:
When you are using the DOS editor (Edit), the following keystroke commands are available.
DOS 6.0 assigns special functions to some keys when you use them in the DOS Shell:
When the task list is activated, the following functions are available:
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