Windows Command Shell

Access to an MS-DOS prompt from within Microsoft Windows can be accomplished in different ways depending on what version of Microsoft Windows you are using.

command.com

For Windows 95/98/ME access to a DOS command shell could be accomplished by running 'command.com' from the Start Menu, and selecting Run. However, you should not use 'command.com' in a Windows NT environment, including Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 and upward.

Don’t use command.com on Windows XP

cmd.exe

Use cmd.exe for MS-DOS access on Windows XP!

The DOS interpreter command.com may be launched from the GUI environment to provide an interface to the MS-DOS prompt. This is the correct way to access the prompt from Windows 95, 98, and Millennium Edition. It is not correct for any of the NT derivatives of Microsoft Windows.

If you wish to access the MS-DOS shell from Windows NT, 2000, XP, or 2003 then execute “cmd.exe.”

The old command.com is deprecated under NT operating systems, and although it will provide a shell, it is not a full MS-DOS shell. For example, Doskey will not be loaded, ANSI.SYS will not be loaded, and cmd.com does not support long filenames.

For example, if you wanted to access "My Documents" in command.com you would need to type "cd mydocu~1". However, if you wanted to access the same directory through the cmd.exe shell you could type "cd my documents".