How to Write a CMD Script

Related

If you have every used the Command Line, or CMD, interface in Windows, you probably have some idea of the powerful things it can do. Creating your own CMD scripts, you can do even more, but faster.

A CMD script does the same thing as if you typed commands into the CMD window. If you want to do something on a regular basis, such as telling Windows to turn off your computer after an hour, you can write a script and then you can activate the script whenever you want to run it.

Understanding CMD and Written Commands

In the early days of personal computing almost everything was done by typing command_s into a command line interface. If you wanted to open a program, you had to type the name of the program into the command line. Today, you can simply click or touch an icon on your screen to perform most actions. But Windows still accepts type-written commands in the CMD utility. You can write commands_ to open programs, add or change account permissions, back up files or get information about your computer using the CMD window.

Understanding CMD Scripts

The Command Prompt utility in Windows can be opened at any time, simply by typing «cmd» in the Windows Start menu. Here, you can type all sorts of commands to open programs, change settings and make tweaks to how Windows and its programs perform. In Microsoft’s long history of operating systems, CMD i_s a relative newcomer. In MS-DOS, before Windows was released, when you wanted to run a script, you would save it as a .bat file. While you can still save files with that extension today, most people use the .cmd extension._

Using a Script CMD to Open Notepad

To create and save a CMD switch, it’s best to use a basic text editor. Using a word processor like Microsoft Word makes saving the file a hassle. Notepad is much easier to use. So to demonstrate how CMD works, let’s open use it to open Notepad.

1. Type CMD in the Windows Start menu and press Enter to open CMD.exe.
2. Change the directory from your current username folder to the base directory by typing «cd\» and pressing Enter. It should now read «C:\>» before the blinking cursor.
3. Type the following line and pressEnter:start «c:\windows\system32» notepad.exe

As soon as you press Enter, you will see Notepad open. The command you entered has told Windows to start the notepad.exe program, which is located in the system32 folder, which is inside the Windows folder, on the C: drive. CMD commands are not case-sensitive so you can use lowercase or uppercase letters interchangeably.

Creating Your First Script CMD File

Now that Notepad is open, create your first CMD script file by typing the same line you used in the CMD window into notepad: start «c:\windows\system32» notepad.exe

Save the batch file to your desktop by selecting «Save As» from the File menu. Name the file «firstscript.cmd» and click «Save.» Notepad script commands must be saved with the .cmd extension, rather than the default .txt extension.

Double-click the new CMD file on your desktop. You will see the CMD window open for a fraction of a second and then close as Notepad is launched.

This is hardly a useful script, since a desktop shortcut does the same thing. To create something more useful, let’s edit the file so that it creates a new text file on your desktop listing all of your programs.

Using Echo and Echo Off

While the CMD window wasn’t open long enough to see it, by default it will always display the text that was entered in the CMD file when it runs. For longer scripts, this can be a nuisance, so it’s generally good form to turn this off by using the Echo Off command in the first line of the CMD file. By itself, Echo Off disables the display of any text that follows it. To make the Echo Off command apply to itself, put an @ symbol in front of it. Thus, your two-line CMD script would be:

@echo off

start «c:\windows\system32» notepad.exe

Creating a Text File Script

This CMD script will list all the files you have in your Program Files folder and put that list in a new text file.

1. Open Notepad. Type «@echo off«in the first line and press Enter.
2. In the second line, type: dir «C:\Program Files» > list_of_files.txt
3. Select «Save As» from the File menu and save the file as «program-list-script.cmd.»
4. Double-click the new text file on your desktop to see the list of files and folders.

The text file will appear in the same folder where the script file itself is. So if the script file is on your desktop, the list-of-files.txt file will also appear on your desktop.

If you want to change the folder where the text file is placed, you can specify its own folder in the script. For example, if you want it to be placed in your Documents folder, use: dir «C:\Program Files» > C:\Users\David\Documents\list_of_files.txt

Creating a Systems Information Script

If you want to use a script to give you needed information, it’s not always necessary to produce a text document with a script. You can have the information posted directly in the CMD window.

The example script below will give you basic information about your computer, including the operating system and version number, the BIOS version, the total physical memory and your computer’s network address. To use the script, type or copy the lines below into a new Notepad file and save it with the .cmd file extension, such as «my_computer_info.cmd.»

In this example, ECHO OFF is used to prevent the CMD window from displaying the script.

The ECHO command is used to display specific text, as well as some equal signs (===) as lines to organize the information in sections.

To insert a comment for your own use — without it affecting the script or appearing in the CMD window — type two colons first. Anything in the same line following » :: « will be commented out from the script.

The PAUSE command directs the CMD program to stay open. Pressing any key on your keyboard will close the window.

@ECHO OFF

:: This CMD script provides you with your operating system, hardware and network information.

TITLE My System Info

ECHO Please wait. Gathering system information.

ECHO OPERATING SYSTEM

systeminfo | findstr /c:»OS Name»

systeminfo | findstr /c:»OS Version»

ECHO BIOS

systeminfo | findstr /c:»System Type»

ECHO MEMORY

systeminfo | findstr /c:»Total Physical Memory»

ECHO CPU

wmic cpu get name

ECHO NETWORK ADDRESS

ipconfig | findstr IPv4

ipconfig | findstr IPv6

PAUSE

Using Scripts to Shut Down Your Computer

Normally, when you shut down your computer, it happens instantaneously. Suppose, however, that you’re listening to an audiobook or watching a training video — and you know that you will fall asleep after an hour. You can use a CMD script to tell your computer to shut itself down, after a specified period of time, using the shutdown command.

When you use the shutdown command, you need to include two additional switches, or subcommands. The first tells the computer to either shutdown or restart. You can use either -s or — r. The second tells the computer how many seconds to wait before performing the command. For this you use -t, followed by the number of seconds.

To shutdown the computer in one second, use: shutdown -s -t 01

To restart the computer in eight seconds, use: shutdown -r -t 08

To shutdown the computer in two hours use: shutdown -s -t 7200

Backing Up Files With a CMD Script

If you find it tedious to back up your files to a second storage device, using a CMD script makes the process a breeze. For this, use the Robocopy command. For example, if you want to back up all of the files in your Documents folder onto a removable storage device, you can write the command in a CMD file and then — at the end of the day — simply double click the file to activate it.

The Robocopy command needs to know, first — which folder you want to copy and, second — where you want the copy placed. Both the source and destination need to be in quotation marks.

If you’re not certain what your drive letters are, open File Explorer and click on «My Computer.»

For example, if your User name is MyName, your Documents folder is in your C: drive and your Backup folder is in a removable storage D: drive, then the command would be:

robocopy D:\Users\MyName\Documents F:\Backup /XA:H /W:0 /R:1 > F:\Backup\backup.log

This example is a bit more complicated, since Robocopy offers you a lot of options.

D:\Users\MyName\Documents: the folder you want to back up.

F:\Backup: the location of your Backup folder.

/XA:H: ignores hidden files.

/W:0: waits zero seconds between retries, instead of the default 30 seconds.

/R:1: retry only once if the file is locked.

> F:\Backup\backup.log: create a backup log placed in the Backup folder.

Note that because this is a mirror backup, if you delete files from the source folder, they will be deleted from the Backup folder the next time you use the script. It would be a good idea to explore additional switches available for Robocopy, so that you ensure that you backup your files the way that works best for you.

How to Open Command Prompt

Open Command Prompt to Execute Commands in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, & XP

Some popular Command Prompt commands you might have heard of include ping, netstat, tracert, shutdown, and attrib, but there are many more. We have a complete list here.

While Command Prompt probably isn’t a tool most of you will use on a regular basis, it can really come in handy now and then, maybe to troubleshoot a specific Windows problem or to automate some kind of task.

How you open Command Prompt differs between Windows versions, so you’ll find steps below for Windows 10, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, and Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. See What Version of Windows Do I Have? if you’re not sure.

Open Command Prompt in Windows 10

Select the Start button.

Type cmd.

Select Command Prompt from the list.

Open Command Prompt Through the Start Menu

Another way to open Command Prompt in Windows 10 is to look in its Start menu folder:

Select the Start button.

Select the Windows System folder from the list.

Choose Command Prompt from the folder group.

Open Command Prompt Using Power User Menu

One more method in Windows 10 is through the Power User Menu. If you’re using a keyboard or mouse, choose Command Prompt from the menu that appears after pressing Win+X or right-clicking the Start button.

You might see Windows PowerShell options in the Power User Menu instead of Command Prompt. In more recent versions of Windows 10, Command Prompt has been replaced by PowerShell, but you can still access it from the Power User Menu by editing the taskbar settings.

Open Command Prompt in Windows 8 or 8.1

Select the Start button and then swipe up to show the Apps screen. You can accomplish the same thing with a mouse by selecting the down arrow icon at the bottom of the screen.

Prior to the Windows 8.1 update, the Apps screen can be accessed from the Start screen by swiping up from the bottom of the screen, or right-clicking anywhere, and then choosing All apps.

If you’re using a keyboard or mouse, a really quick way to open a Command Prompt window in Windows 8 is through the Power User Menu—just hold the WIN and X keys down together, or right-click the Start button, and choose Command Prompt.

Swipe or scroll to the right on the Apps screen to locate the Windows System section heading.

Select Command Prompt. You can now execute whatever command you needed to run.

See our List of Windows 8 Command Prompt Commands for a complete list of the commands available through Command Prompt in Windows 8, including short descriptions and links to more in-depth information if we have it.

Open Command Prompt in Windows 7, Vista, or XP

Open the Start menu from the bottom-left corner of the screen.

In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, it’s a bit faster to enter command in the search box at the bottom of the Start menu and then choose Command Prompt when it appears in the results.

Go to All Programs > Accessories.

Choose Command Prompt from the list of programs.

Here’s our List of Windows 7 Commands and List of Windows XP Commands if you need a command reference for any of those versions of Windows.

Other Ways to Open Command Prompt

Command Prompt in Windows XP through Windows 10 can also be opened with a command. This is especially helpful if you like using the Run dialog box or if Windows Explorer has crashed and the Start menu is inaccessible (and thus the directions above don’t work).

To do this, enter cmd into the command-line interface. This can be in the Run dialog box (WIN+R) or Task Manager’s File > Run new task menu.

Elevated Command Prompts and Old Windows Versions

In versions of Windows released before Windows XP, like Windows 98 and Windows 95, Command Prompt doesn’t exist. However, the older and very similar MS-DOS Prompt does. This program is located in the Start menu and can be opened with the command run command.

Some commands, like the sfc command that’s used to repair Windows files, require that Command Prompt be opened as an administrator before they can be executed. You’ll know if this is the case if you get a message like one of these after trying to execute the command:

• check that you have administrative rights
• . command can only be executed from an elevated command prompt
• you must be an administrator

See How to Open an Elevated Command Prompt for help starting Command Prompt as an administrator, a process that’s a bit more complicated than what’s outlined above.