16x Dvd+-rw Dl Dvd Writer Comparison Guide

Source:
CODE
http://www.extrememhz.com/dlcomp-p1.shtml


Since the introduction of double layer DVD writers, the interest has been quite overwhelming and is why we keep bringing you reviews of these highly popular drives. The anticipation has now turned into down right obsession and it has become a key component in any current or new system build, thanks to the declining prices and continued media hype. Manufacturers are quite aware of the fascination and is why they have each been releasing their own products which excel in at least one area of the testing methodology used in most reviews. This has led to some confusion as to which drive is best suited for the individuals needs. Today, we compare four 16x double layer drives and highlight both the strong and weak points in order to give you a better idea of which drive is best suited for you.


In this comparison guide, we will be looking at four of the top 16x drives to hit the market, the Pioneer DVR-108, NEC ND3500A, Lite-On SOHW-1633s and the new LG GSA-4160B. We will cover everything from design and features to performance and price. Let's begin with a quick look at each of these drives.


As far as the front bezel design goes, the LG-GSA4160B is by far the most attractive drive of the bunch. However, for those who are looking for a headphone jack, the Lite-On drive is the only DL writer offering a headphone jack, as well as volume control. The Pioneer and NEC drives, in my opinion, are the ugliest drives, with a very plain look that just wants to make you hide the drive period. Although we only obtained the 4160B in black, all these drives are offered with both white and black bezels. If you opt for the more expensive Pioneer "XL" model, it has the most impressive looks of any drive in the market. However, this will come at a very hefty price tag, considering they contain different firmware as well that offer a few extra features.

So, we have determined which is the sexiest-looking drive, but what about performance? I've done some extensive testing on each model to determine which is indeed the most impressive of the bunch. But before we show you performance results, let's briefly look at the features and what they have to offer.

Features



Each one of these drives has there disappointments when it comes to features. Let's compare each to see what they really offer.



DVD Writing



DVD+R DVD-R DVD+RW DVD-RW
LG GSA-4160B 16x 8x 4x 4x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 16x 8x 4x 4x
NEC ND-3500A 16x 16x 4x 4x
Pioneer DVR-108 16x 16x 4x 4x



While all these drives are indeed 16x models, only two will write to both formats at this speed. The LG GSA-4160B and the Lite-On SOHW-1633s only support 8x DVD-R writing. So if you are one who only prefers this format, the NEC or Pioneer would be the best choice. All of these drives support writing to DVD re-writable media at 4x.



DVD+R9 Double Layer Writing



Write Speed
LG GSA-4160B 2.4x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 2.4x
NEC ND-3500A 4x
Pioneer DVR-108 4x



The major disappointment with both the LG and the Lite-On 16x drives is the lack of 4x double layer writing support. Pioneer and NEC seem to be the only manufacturers to jump in and release second generation double layer drives supporting much faster 4x writing. In fact, the jump from 2.4x to 4x is quite substantial as we will show you a bit later in this comparison.



DVD-RAM Support



Supported Read Write
LG GSA-4160B YES 5x 5x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s NO NO NO
NEC ND-3500A NO NO NO
Pioneer DVR-108 YES 2x NO



Now this is where both the LG GSA-4120B and GSA-4160B shine above the rest. In fact, it is what has made these drives the most popular DVD writers on the market. Unlike the rest in the roundup, it is a triple format burner, offering full support for DVD-RAM media. The other drives do not support it, with the exception of the Pioneer DVR-108 which supports reading of DVD-RAM discs at 2x. I personally don't see the point in offering only read capabilities, but it's at least one extra feature added to distinguish it from the rest. Fast 5x support of the LG GSA-4160 will actually be tested a bit later in this article.



CDR Writing



CDR CDRW
LG GSA-4160B 40x 24x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 48x 24x
NEC ND-3500A 48x 24x
Pioneer DVR-108 32x 24x



The fastest CDR writers of the bunch are the Lite-On SOHW-1633s and the NEC ND-3500A. With their support for 48x writing, they make a great all-in-one drive for many users. The only drive lacking in this lineup is the Pioneer DVR-108. Why they opted for only 32x writing is still quite puzzling and is actually why I have found that many are choosing the NEC over the Pioneer. The LG GSA-4160B should not be left out of consideration though. We will show you later that the difference in write times between 40x and 48x is not much to brag about.



Bitsetting Support



One feature I've found that is most important for many users is bitsetting support. Let's compare these drives and see what they offer.



DVD+R/RW Support DVD+R DL Support
LG GSA-4160B NO NO
Lite-On SOHW-1633s YES NO
NEC ND-3500A NO YES
Pioneer DVR-108 NO YES



The LG GSA-4160B does not offer bitsetting support out of the box. However, it is very likely that you will be able to obtain support through an excellent third-party tool called DVDInfo Pro. Right now, they only support the GSA-4120B, but I'm confident with the author that support for this drive will be likely. LG firmware is very hard to hack, however some select few have been able to do so. Using Lite-On's booktype utility, you can change the booktype of DVD+R/RW media, however, the firmware does not automatically change booktype of DVD+R DL discs to DVD-ROM like the NEC and Pioneer models do.



Additional Features



As far as other features go, all these drives have a 2MB buffer but offer some sort of buffer under-run protection, which all work exceptionally well. This is especially useful if you will be burning discs at 16x, which I personally don't recommend just yet. As our individual tests of these drives revealed, burning at this speed is quite unstable, with the exception of the Lite-On SOHW-1633s.

10 reasons why PCs crash U must Know

Fatal error: the system has become unstable or is busy," it says. "Enter to return to Windows or press Control-Alt-Delete to restart your computer. If you do this you will lose any unsaved information in all open applications."

You have just been struck by the Blue Screen of Death. Anyone who uses Mcft Windows will be familiar with this. What can you do? More importantly, how can you prevent it happening?

1 Hardware conflict

The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Each hardware device communicates to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). These are supposed to be unique for each device.

For example, a printer usually connects internally on IRQ 7. The keyboard usually uses IRQ 1 and the floppy disk drive IRQ 6. Each device will try to hog a single IRQ for itself.

If there are a lot of devices, or if they are not installed properly, two of them may end up sharing the same IRQ number. When the user tries to use both devices at the same time, a crash can happen. The way to check if your computer has a hardware conflict is through the following route:

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager.

Often if a device has a problem a yellow '!' appears next to its description in the Device Manager. Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and press Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your computer. If the IRQ number appears twice, two devices may be using it.

Sometimes a device might share an IRQ with something described as 'IRQ holder for PCI steering'. This can be ignored. The best way to fix this problem is to remove the problem device and reinstall it.

Sometimes you may have to find more recent drivers on the internet to make the device function properly. A good resource is www.driverguide.com. If the device is a soundcard, or a modem, it can often be fixed by moving it to a different slot on the motherboard (be careful about opening your computer, as you may void the warranty).

When working inside a computer you should switch it off, unplug the mains lead and touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge any static electricity.

To be fair to Mcft, the problem with IRQ numbers is not of its making. It is a legacy problem going back to the first PC designs using the IBM 8086 chip. Initially there were only eight IRQs. Today there are 16 IRQs in a PC. It is easy to run out of them. There are plans to increase the number of IRQs in future designs.

2 Bad Ram

Ram (random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing.

But a fatal error caused by Ram might be caused by a mismatch of chips. For example, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with 60ns Ram will usually force the computer to run all the Ram at the slower speed. This will often crash the machine if the Ram is overworked.

One way around this problem is to enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the Ram. This can make it more stable. Another way to troubleshoot a suspected Ram problem is to rearrange the Ram chips on the motherboard, or take some of them out. Then try to repeat the circumstances that caused the crash. When handling Ram try not to touch the gold connections, as they can be easily damaged.

Parity error messages also refer to Ram. Modern Ram chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). It is best not to mix the two types, as this can be a cause of trouble.

EMM386 error messages refer to memory problems but may not be connected to bad Ram. This may be due to free memory problems often linked to old Dos-based programmes.

3 BIOS settings

Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are decided in the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds of a boot-up.

Once inside the BIOS, great care should be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a piece of paper all the settings that appear on the screen. That way, if you change something and the computer becomes more unstable, you will know what settings to revert to.

A common BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong figure can cause the Ram to lock up and freeze the computer's display.

Mcft Windows is better at allocating IRQ numbers than any BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will allow Windows to allocate the IRQ numbers (make sure the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to 'yes' to allow Windows to do this.).

4 Hard disk drives

After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become piecemeal or fragmented. It is a good idea to defragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter

This will start the procedure. You will be unable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it is a good idea to schedule the procedure for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.

The Task Scheduler should be one of the small icons on the bottom right of the Windows opening page (the desktop).

Some lockups and screen freezes caused by hard disk problems can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimisation. This can be adjusted by going to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System Icon-Performance-File System-Hard Disk.

Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are too full. Do some housekeeping on your hard drive every few months and free some space on it. Open the Windows folder on the C drive and find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Deleting the contents (not the folder) can free a lot of space.

Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space. Hard disk drives should be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-ScanDisk

Otherwise assign the Task Scheduler to perform this operation at night when the computer is not in use.

5 Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors

Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems.

These can often be resolved easily by reducing the resolution of the video display. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings

Here you should slide the screen area bar to the left. Take a look at the colour settings on the left of that window. For most desktops, high colour 16-bit depth is adequate.

If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager

Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts.

If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you make things worse.

The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.

Another useful way to resolve video problems is to go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics

Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer to communicate with a device).

Look up your video card's manufacturer on the internet and search for the most recent drivers for it.

6 Viruses

Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs

Here, look for the Start Up Disk tab. Virus protection requires constant vigilance.

A virus scanner requires a list of virus signatures in order to be able to identify viruses. These signatures are stored in a DAT file. DAT files should be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software manufacturer.

An excellent antivirus programme is McAfee VirusScan by Network Associates ( www.nai.com). Another is Norton AntiVirus 2000, made by Symantec ( www.symantec.com).

7 Printers

The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file.

Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer's performance.

If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognised, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printer's default settings and you may be able to carry on.

8 Software

A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. Use Norton Uninstall or Uninstall Shield to remove an application from your system properly. This will also remove references to the programme in the System Registry and leaves the way clear for a completely fresh copy.

The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to obsolete software that you thought was uninstalled. Use Reg Cleaner by Jouni Vuorio to clean up the System Registry and remove obsolete entries. It works on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE (Second Edition), Windows Millennium Edition (ME), NT4 and Windows 2000.

Read the instructions and use it carefully so you don't do permanent damage to the Registry. If the Registry is damaged you will have to reinstall your operating system. Reg Cleaner can be obtained from www.jv16.org

Often a Windows problem can be resolved by entering Safe Mode. This can be done during start-up. When you see the message "Starting Windows" press F4. This should take you into Safe Mode.

Safe Mode loads a minimum of drivers. It allows you to find and fix problems that prevent Windows from loading properly.

Sometimes installing Windows is difficult because of unsuitable BIOS settings. If you keep getting SUWIN error messages (Windows setup) during the Windows installation, then try entering the BIOS and disabling the CPU internal cache. Try to disable the Level 2 (L2) cache if that doesn't work.

Remember to restore all the BIOS settings back to their former settings following installation.

9 Overheating

Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to.

One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and install it on top of the CPU. Specialist cooling fans/heatsinks are available from www.computernerd.com or www.coolit.com

CPU problems can often be fixed by disabling the CPU internal cache in the BIOS. This will make the machine run more slowly, but it should also be more stable.

10 Power supply problems

With all the new construction going on around the country the steady supply of electricity has become disrupted. A power surge or spike can crash a computer as easily as a power cut.

If this has become a nuisance for you then consider buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut.

It is a good investment if your data are critical, because a power cut will cause any unsaved data to be lost.

10 Fast and Free Security Enhancements

PC magazine.

Before you spend a dime on security, there are many precautions you can take that will protect you against the most common threats.

1. Check Windows Update and Office Update regularly (_http://office.microsoft.com/productupdates); have your Office CD ready. Windows Me, 2000, and XP users can configure automatic updates. Click on the Automatic Updates tab in the System control panel and choose the appropriate options.

2. Install a personal firewall. Both SyGate (_www.sygate.com) and ZoneAlarm (_www.zonelabs.com) offer free versions.


3. Install a free spyware blocker. Our Editors' Choice ("Spyware," April 22) was SpyBot Search & Destroy (_http://security.kolla.de). SpyBot is also paranoid and ruthless in hunting out tracking cookies.

4. Block pop-up spam messages in Windows NT, 2000, or XP by disabling the Windows Messenger service (this is unrelated to the instant messaging program). Open Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services and you'll see Messenger. Right-click and go to Properties. Set Start-up Type to Disabled and press the Stop button. Bye-bye, spam pop-ups! Any good firewall will also stop them.

5. Use strong passwords and change them periodically. Passwords should have at least seven characters; use letters and numbers and have at least one symbol. A decent example would be f8izKro@l. This will make it much harder for anyone to gain access to your accounts.

6. If you're using Outlook or Outlook Express, use the current version or one with the Outlook Security Update installed. The update and current versions patch numerous vulnerabilities.

7. Buy antivirus software and keep it up to date. If you're not willing to pay, try Grisoft AVG Free Edition (Grisoft Inc., w*w.grisoft.com). And doublecheck your AV with the free, online-only scanners available at w*w.pandasoftware.com/activescan and _http://housecall.trendmicro.com.

8. If you have a wireless network, turn on the security features: Use MAC filtering, turn off SSID broadcast, and even use WEP with the biggest key you can get. For more, check out our wireless section or see the expanded coverage in Your Unwired World in our next issue.

9. Join a respectable e-mail security list, such as the one found at our own Security Supersite at _http://security.ziffdavis.com, so that you learn about emerging threats quickly and can take proper precautions.

10. Be skeptical of things on the Internet. Don't assume that e-mail "From:" a particular person is actually from that person until you have further reason to believe it's that person. Don't assume that an attachment is what it says it is. Don't give out your password to anyone, even if that person claims to be from "support."

The MS-DOS 7 Internal Commands

Every Windows™ 95/98 "Boot" Floppy Disk or Command prompt in a DOS-Window gives you access (through Command.com) to all of the following commands...

This first command isn't really an "internal" command at all. It describes all the switches that can be used when executing the COMMAND.COM program itself (and secondary copies):

command    COMMAND.COM
-------
Starts a new copy of the Windows Command Interpreter.

COMMAND [[drive:]path] [device] [/E:nnnnn] [/L:nnnn] [/U:nnn] [/P] [/MSG]
                      [/LOW] [/Y [/[C|K] command]]
[drive:]path   Specifies the directory containing COMMAND.COM.
 device        Specifies the device to use for command input and output.
 /E:nnnnn      Sets the initial environment size to nnnnn bytes.
               (nnnnn should be between 256 and 32,768).
 /L:nnnn       Specifies internal buffers length (requires /P as well).
               (nnnn should be between 128 and 1,024).
 /U:nnn        Specifies the input buffer length (requires /P as well).
               (nnn should be between 128 and 255).
 /P            Makes the new Command Interpreter permanent (can't exit).
 /MSG          Stores all error messages in memory (requires /P as well).
 /LOW          Forces COMMAND to keep its resident data in low memory.
 /Y            Steps through the batch program specified by /C or /K.
 /C command    Executes the specified command and returns.
 /K command    Executes the specified command and continues running.

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  cd      Change Directory
-------
Displays the name of or changes the current directory.

CHDIR [drive:][path]
CHDIR[..]
CD [drive:][path]
CD[..]

  ..  Specifies that you want to change to the parent directory (in
      other words: Move up one folder in the directory tree). DOS 7,
      WHEN using a DOS-window, allows you to use extra dots here! If
      you were in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\shellext, you could enter cd...
      to go up to C:\WINDOWS or even cd.... to get to the root.

Type CD drive: to display the current directory in the specified drive.
Type CD without parameters to display the current drive and directory.

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 chcp     Change Code Page
-------
Displays or sets the active code page number.

CHCP [nnn]

 nnn   Specifies a code page number.

Type CHCP without a parameter to display the active code page number.

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  cls     Clear Screen
-------
Clears the screen.

CLS

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 copy     Copy or Concatenate Files
-------
Copies one or more files to another location.

COPY [/A | /B] source [/A | /B] [+ source [/A | /B] [+ ...]] [destination
 [/A | /B]] [/V] [/Y | /-Y]

 source       Specifies the file or files to be copied.
 /A           Indicates an ASCII text file.
 /B           Indicates a binary file.
 destination  Specifies the directory and/or filename for the new file(s).
 /V           Verifies that new files are written correctly.
 /Y           Suppresses prompting to confirm you want to overwrite an
              existing destination file.
 /-Y          Causes prompting to confirm you want to overwrite an
              existing destination file.

The switch /Y may be preset in the COPYCMD environment variable.
This may be overridden with /-Y on the command line

To append files, specify a single file for destination, but multiple files
for source (using wildcards or file1+file2+file3 format).

Note this special case of the COPY command:

    copy con output.txt      Copy from Console to ...

After you type this command and press ENTER, MS-DOS copies everything you
type to the file OUTPUT.TXT. When you are finished typing, press CTRL+Z to
indicate that you want to end the file.  The Control-Z character will
appear on the screen as " ^Z ".  You can also end a COPY CON command by
pressing the F6 key.  Pressing F6 also generates the Control-Z character;
a " ^Z " still appears on the screen.

The following example copies information from the keyboard to a printer
connected to LPT1:

   copy con lpt1


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 ctty     Change Termial Type
-------
Changes the terminal device used to control your system.

CTTY device

 device   The terminal device you want to use, such as COM1.

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 date
-------
Displays or sets the date.

DATE [date]

Type DATE without parameters to display the current date setting and
a prompt for a new one.  Press ENTER to keep the same date.

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  del     Delete (Erase) Files
-------
Deletes one or more files.

DEL [drive:][path]filename [/P]
ERASE [drive:][path]filename [/P]

 [drive:][path]filename  Specifies the file(s) to delete.  Specify
                         multiple files by using wildcards.

 /P  Prompts for confirmation before deleting each file.


Note: In most cases the file is NOT actually "erased"; the space it used
is simply noted as being available for new files to write over it. If you
really want to erase every word of a sensitive file, you should get a
'security program' designed to overwrite all erased files!

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  dir     Directory Listing
-------
Displays a list of files and subdirectories in a directory.

DIR [drive:][path][filename] [/P] [/W] [/A[[:]attributes]]
   [/O[[:]sortorder]] [/S] [/B] [/L] [/V]

 [drive:][path][filename]
           Specifies drive, directory, and/or files to list.
           (Could be enhanced file specification or multiple filespecs.)

/P         Pauses after each screenful of information.
/W         Uses wide list format.

/A         Displays files with specified attributes.

  attributes   D  Directories              R  Read-only files
               H  Hidden files             A  Files ready for archiving
               S  System files             -  Prefix meaning not

/O         List by files in sorted order.

  sortorder
               N  By name (alphabetic)
               S  By size (smallest first)
               E  By extension (alphabetic) 
               D  By date & time (earliest first)
               G  Group directories first
               -  Prefix to reverse order
               A  By Last Access Date (earliest first)

/S         Displays files in specified directory and all subdirectories.
/B         Uses bare format (no heading information or summary).
/L         Uses lowercase.
/V         Verbose mode.

Switches may be preset in the DIRCMD environment variable.  Override
preset switches by prefixing any switch with - (hyphen)--for example, /-W.

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 exit
-------
Quits the COMMAND.COM program (command interpreter).

EXIT

If you're in a DOS-Window in Windows, this will close the window!

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 lock
-------
Locks a drive, enabling direct disk access for an application.

 LOCK [drive:]

Note: If you use this command in a DOS-Window, it will only affect the
floppy disk drives; Windows™ 95/98 does not allow you to lock a drive
directly  while it is operating.  If you try lock C: ,  you'll get the error
message: " Locking operation failed."

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  md      Make Directory
-------
Creates a directory.

MKDIR [drive:]path
MD [drive:]path

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 path
-------
Displays or sets a search path for executable files.

PATH [[drive:]path[;...]]
PATH ;

Type PATH   (without any parameters) to display the current path.

Type PATH ; (PATH space semi-colon) to CLEAR all search-path settings;
            this means that DOS will only be able search the current
            directory.

NOTE: When used in a DOS-Window, these commands ONLY apply to
that particular DOS-Window! (The PATH will not be changed globally.)
See the SET command for a similar effect in DOS-Windows, and also
for a utility (W95envar.zip) that will make global changes!

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 prompt
-------
Changes the Windows command prompt.

PROMPT [text]

 text    Specifies a new command prompt.

Prompt can be made up of normal characters and the following special codes:

 $Q   = (equal sign)
 $$   $ (dollar sign)
 $T   Current time
 $D   Current date
 $P   Current drive and path
 $V   Windows version number
 $N   Current drive
 $G   > (greater-than sign)
 $L   < (less-than sign)
 $B   | (pipe)
 $H   Backspace (erases previous character)
 $E   Escape code (ASCII code 27)
 $_   Carriage return and linefeed

Type PROMPT without parameters to reset the prompt to the default setting.

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  rd      Remove (Delete) Directory
-------
Removes (deletes) a directory.

RMDIR [drive:]path
RD [drive:]path

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  ren     Rename File or Directory
-------
Renames a file/directory or files/directories.

RENAME [drive:][path][directoryname1 | filename1] [dirname2 | filename2]
REN  [drive:][path][directoryname1 | filename1] [dirname2 | filename2]

Note that you cannot specify a new drive or path for your destination.

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  set
-------
Displays, sets, or removes Windows environment variables.

SET [variable=[string]]

 variable  Specifies the environment-variable name.
 string    Specifies a series of characters to assign to the variable.

Type SET without parameters to display the current environment variables.


Note: If you use SET in a DOS-Window to add a variable and string, it
will only affect commands run in that particular window! Unlinke Win NT
(which has a DOS 'Environment' Tab), Windows™ 95/98 normally  will
not allow you to set global Environment strings while the OS is running:
You have to set them in AUTOEXEC.BAT and reboot the system!

However, I recently found that Microsoft made a utility for setting
Environment strings from a DOS-window with a 'global' effect... this
utility is called WINSET.EXE  ( it's archived with another util called
SHORTCUT.EXE and labeled as W95ENVARS.EXE ). You can download
this now as: W95envar.zip.

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 time
-------
Displays or sets the system time.

TIME [time]

Type TIME with no parameters to display the current time setting and a
prompt for a new one.  Press ENTER to keep the same time.

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 type
-------
Displays the contents of text files.

TYPE [drive:][path]filename

NOTE: If there are more than 25 lines in the file, you'll need to pipe
the screen output through the DOS External  Command MORE in order
to keep all but the last screen from flashing past you!  EXAMPLE:

      C:\>type tips.txt |more


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 unlock
-------
Unlocks a drive, disabling direct disk access for an application.

 UNLOCK [drive:]        See LOCK

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  ver     Version
-------
Displays the Windows version.

VER

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  vol     Volume Label/SN
-------
Displays the disk volume label and serial number, if they exist.

VOL [drive:]


Note: The DOS command to change a Volume Label is an "External Command"
(the program is: LABEL.EXE).

Back to TOC

---

The following commands are rarely used outside of a BATCH file (such as AUTOEXEC.BAT):

 break
-------
Sets or clears extended CTRL+C checking.

BREAK [ON | OFF]

Type BREAK without a parameter to display the current BREAK setting.

Back to TOC

 call
-------
Calls one batch program from another.

CALL [drive:][path]filename [batch-parameters]

 batch-parameters   Specifies any command-line information required by
                    the batch program.

Back to TOC

 echo
-------
Displays messages, or turns command-echoing on or off.

 ECHO [ON | OFF]
 ECHO [message]

Type ECHO without parameters to display the current echo setting.

Back to TOC

  for
-------
Runs a specified command for each file in a set of files.

FOR %variable IN (set) DO command [command-parameters]

 %variable  Specifies a replaceable parameter.
 (set)      Specifies a set of one or more files.  Wildcards may be used.
 command    Specifies the command to carry out for each file.
 command-parameters
            Specifies parameters or switches for the specified command.

To use the FOR command in a batch program, specify %%variable instead of
%variable.

Back to TOC

 goto
-------
Directs Windows to a labelled line in a batch program.

GOTO label

 label   Specifies a text string used in the batch program as a label.

You type a label on a line by itself, beginning with a colon.

Example:

The following batch program formats a disk in drive A as a system disk. If
the operation is successful, the GOTO command simply directs MS-DOS to the
label named "end"; if not, an error message is displayed:

   echo off
   format a: /s
   if not errorlevel 1 goto end
   echo An error occurred during formatting.
   :end
   echo Successfully formatted the disk in drive A.


Back to TOC

  if
-------
Performs conditional processing in batch programs.

IF [NOT] ERRORLEVEL number command
IF [NOT] string1==string2 command
IF [NOT] EXIST filename command

NOT               Specifies that Windows should carry out the command only
                  if the condition is false.
ERRORLEVEL number Specifies a true condition if the last program run
                  returned an exit code equal to or greater than the
                  number specified.
command           Specifies the command to carry out if the condition is
                  met.
string1==string2  Specifies a true condition if the specified text strings
                  match.
EXIST filename    Specifies a true condition if the specified filename
                  exists.

Note: Although you can only check directly for the existence of a file, you can
also check for directories (folders) by using the NUL operator as a filename.
Example:
            if exist C:\TEMP\NUL goto done     will route program flow to

the label "done" only if the folder C:\TEMP exists!


Back to TOC

 lfnfor   Long File Name FOR
-------
Enables/Disables Long file names when processing FOR commands.

LFNFOR [ON | OFF]

Type LFNFOR without a parameter to display the current setting.

Back to TOC

  lh      Load High
-------
Loads a program into the upper memory area.

LH [drive:][path]filename [parameters]
LOADHIGH [drive:][path]filename [parameters]
LOADHIGH [/L:region1[,minsize1][;region2[,minsize2]...] [/S]]
        [drive:][path]filename [parameters]

/L:region1[,minsize1][;region2[,minsize2]]...
           Specifies the region(s) of memory into which to load
           the program.  Region1 specifies the number of the first
           memory region; minsize1 specifies the minimum size, if
           any, for region1.  Region2 and minsize2 specify the
           number and minimum size of the second region, if any.
           You can specify as many regions as you want.

/S          Shrinks a UMB to its minimum size while the program
           is loading.

[drive:][path]filename
           Specifies the location and name of the program.

Back to TOC

 pause
-------
Suspends processing of a batch program and displays the message:
Press any key to continue....

PAUSE

Back to TOC

 rem
-------
Records comments (remarks) in a batch file or CONFIG.SYS.

REM [comment]

Back to TOC

 shift
-------
Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch file.

SHIFT

Back to TOC

 verify
-------
Tells Windows whether to verify that your files are written correctly to a
disk.

VERIFY [ON | OFF]

Type VERIFY without a parameter to display the current VERIFY setting.

The Windows™ 95/98 Network Programs

TRACERT.exe           Trace Route

Usage:
tracert [-d] [-h maximum_hops] [-j host-list] [-w timeout] target_name

Options:
   -d                 Do not resolve addresses to hostnames.
   -h maximum_hops    Maximum number of hops to search for target.
   -j host-list       Loose source route along host-list.
   -w timeout         Wait timeout milliseconds for each reply.

---

Here's an example which traces the route from some ISP in Los Angeles to the main server at UCLA in California ( note how two computers relatively close to each other may be routed way round about! ):

C:\WINDOWS>tracert www.ucla.edu

Tracing route to www.ucla.edu [169.232.33.129]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

 1   141 ms   132 ms   140 ms  wla-ca-pm6.icg.net [165.236.29.85]
 2   134 ms   131 ms   139 ms  whv-ca-gw1.icg.net [165.236.29.65]
 3   157 ms   132 ms   143 ms  f3-1-0.lai-ca-gw1.icg.net [165.236.24.89]
 4   194 ms   193 ms   188 ms  a0-0-0-1.dai-tx-gw1.icg.net [163.179.235.61]
 5   300 ms   211 ms   214 ms  a1-1-0-1.ati-ga-gw1.icg.net [163.179.235.186]
 6   236 ms   237 ms   247 ms  a5-0-0-1.was-dc-gw1.icg.net [163.179.235.129]
 7   258 ms   236 ms   244 ms  163.179.243.205
 8   231 ms   233 ms   230 ms  wdc-brdr-03.inet.qwest.net [205.171.4.153]
 9   240 ms   230 ms   236 ms  wdc-core-03.inet.qwest.net [205.171.24.69]
10   262 ms   264 ms   263 ms  hou-core-01.inet.qwest.net [205.171.5.187]
11   281 ms   263 ms   259 ms  hou-core-03.inet.qwest.net [205.171.23.9]
12   272 ms   229 ms   222 ms  lax-core-02.inet.qwest.net [205.171.5.163]
13   230 ms   217 ms   230 ms  lax-edge-07.inet.qwest.net [205.171.19.58]
14   228 ms   219 ms   220 ms  63-145-160-42.cust.qwest.net [63.145.160.42]
15   218 ms   222 ms   218 ms  ISI-7507--ISI.POS.calren2.net [198.32.248.21]
16   232 ms   222 ms   214 ms  UCLA--ISI.POS.calren2.net [198.32.248.30]
17   234 ms   226 ms   226 ms  cbn5-gsr.calren2.ucla.edu [169.232.1.18]
18   245 ms   227 ms   235 ms  www.ucla.edu [169.232.33.129]

Trace complete.

---

Note: Unless you're running a network, the following commands won't be of much use to you...

Furthermore, if you're concerned about Security, my advice is to NEVER use NetBios on a computer that connects to the Internet.

---

NBTSTAT.exe         Net Bios Stats

Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT
(NetBIOS over TCP/IP).

NBTSTAT [-a RemoteName] [-A IP address] [-c] [-n] [-r] [-R] [-s] [S]
       [interval]

 -a   (adapter status) Lists the remote machine's name table given its
                       name.
 -A   (Adapter status) Lists the remote machine's name table given its
                       IP address.

 -c   (cache)          Lists the remote name cache including the IP
                       addresses.

 -n   (names)          Lists local NetBIOS names.

 -r   (resolved)       Lists names resolved by broadcast and via WINS

 -R   (Reload)         Purges and reloads the remote cache name table

 -S   (Sessions)       Lists sessions table with the destination IP
                       addresses.

 -s   (sessions)       Lists sessions table converting destination IP
                       addresses to host names via the hosts file.

   RemoteName   Remote host machine name.
   IP address   Dotted decimal representation of the IP address.

   interval     Redisplays selected statistics, pausing interval seconds
                between each display. Press Ctrl+C to stop redisplaying
                statistics.

---

ROUTE.exe

Manipulates network routing tables.

ROUTE [-f] [command [destination] [MASK netmask] [gateway]]



 -f      Clears the routing tables of all gateway entries.  If this is
         used in conjunction with one of the commands, the tables are
         cleared prior to running the command.

 command      Specifies one of four commands

                PRINT     Prints a route
                ADD       Adds a route
                DELETE    Deletes a route
                CHANGE    Modifies an existing route

 destination  Specifies the host to send command.

 MASK         If the MASK keyword is present, the next parameter is
        interpreted as the netmask parameter.

 netmask      If provided, specifies a sub-net mask value to be associated
        with this route entry.  If not specified, if defaults to
        255.255.255.255.

 gateway      Specifies gateway.

All symbolic names used for destination or gateway are looked up in the
network and host name database files NETWORKS and HOSTS, respectively.
If the command is print or delete, wildcards may be used for the
destination and gateway, or the gateway argument may be omitted.

---

ARP.exe      Address Resolution Protocol

ARP -s inet_addr eth_addr [if_addr]
ARP -d inet_addr [if_addr]
ARP -a [inet_addr] [-N if_addr]

-a           Displays current ARP entries by interrogating the current
        protocol data.  If inet_addr is specified, the IP and Physical
        addresses for only the specified computer are displayed.  If
        more than one network interface uses ARP, entries for each ARP
        table are displayed.
-g                             (Same as -a)

 inet_addr   Specifies an internet address.

-N if_addr   Displays the ARP entries for the network interface
             specified by if_addr.

-d           Deletes the host specified by inet_addr.

-s        Adds the host and associates the Internet address inet_addr
        with the Physical address eth_addr.  The Physical address is
        given as 6 hexadecimal bytes separated by hyphens. The entry
        is permanent.

 eth_addr    Specifies a physical address.

  if_addr    If present, this specifies the Internet address of the
             interface whose address translation table should be
             modified.  If not present, the first applicable interface
             will be used.

The Windows™ 95/98 Network Programs

PING.exe

Usage: ping [-t] [-a] [-n count] [-l size] [-f] [-i TTL] [-v TOS]
           [-r count] [-s count] [[-j host-list] | [-k host-list]]
           [-w timeout] destination-list

Options:
   -t             Ping the specifed host until interrupted.
   -a             Resolve addresses to hostnames.
   -n count       Number of echo requests to send.
   -l size        Send buffer size.
   -f             Set "Don't Fragment" flag in packet.
   -i TTL         Time To Live.
   -v TOS         Type Of Service.
   -r count       Record route for count hops.
   -s count       Timestamp for count hops.
   -j host-list   Loose source route along host-list.
   -k host-list   Strict source route along host-list.
   -w timeout     Timeout in milliseconds to wait for each reply.

---

There's one special IP number everyone should know about:

127.0.0.1 - localhost (or loopback).
This is used to connect ( through a browser, for example) to a Web server on your own computer. (127 being reserved for this purpose.) You can use this IP number at all times. It doesn't matter if you're connected to the Internet or not.

It's also called the loopback address because you can ping it and get returns even when you're offline (not connected to any network). If you don't get any valid replies, then there's a problem with the computer's Network settings. Here's a typical response to the 'ping' command:

Here's another recent example using the name of my computer which I have tied to the IP number 127.0.0.1 in my C:\WINDOWS\HOSTS file:

C:\WINDOWS>ping My_Comp

Pinging My_Comp [127.0.0.1] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 127.0.0.1:
   Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
   Minimum = 0ms, Maximum =  1ms, Average =  0ms

The Windows™ 95/98 Network Programs

NETSTAT.exe      TCP/IP Network Statistics

Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP network connections.

NETSTAT [-a] [-e] [-n] [-s] [-p proto] [-r] [interval]

 -a         Displays all connections and listening ports.

 -e         Displays Ethernet statistics.  This may be combined with the
            -s option.

 -n         Displays addresses and port numbers in numerical form.

 -p proto   Shows connections for the protocol specified by proto; proto
            may be TCP or UDP.  If used with the -s option to display
            per-protocol statistics, proto may be TCP, UDP, or IP.

 -r         Displays the routing table.

 -s         Displays per-protocol statistics.  By default, statistics
            are shown for TCP, UDP and IP; the -p option may be used
            to specify a subset of the default.

 interval   Redisplays selected statistics, pausing interval seconds
            between each display.  Press CTRL+C to stop redisplaying
            statistics.  If omitted, netstat will print the current
            configuration information once.

---

First, I would recommend that you always use the '-a' parameter so you can see UDP 'listening ports' as well (often used by trojans), and not just the active TCP connections; then switch between using the '-a' and no parameters at all, to see the differences. When you're offline, you normally shouldn't see any connection data! If you do see an OPEN PORT NUMBER 'listening' for a connection (using the '-a' parameter), it may be that your computer has been infected with a trojan! Click this link for a few more ideas on how you can check to see if your computer is Trojan Free?

If you're running a server, such as the free XITAMI server, you might see something like this ("My_Comp" is the name of my computer):

C:\WINDOWS>netstat -a

Active Connections

 Proto  Local Address          Foreign Address        State
 TCP    My_Comp:ftp            localhost:0            LISTENING
 TCP    My_Comp:80             localhost:0            LISTENING

Or with the "-an" parameters:

C:\WINDOWS>netstat -an

Active Connections

 Proto  Local Address          Foreign Address        State
 TCP    0.0.0.0:21             0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING
 TCP    0.0.0.0:80             0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING

By simply opening a browser connection to both the HTTP (port 80) and FTP (port 21) servers (while still offline!), I saw the following:

C:\WINDOWS>netstat -a

Active Connections

 Proto  Local Address          Foreign Address        State
 TCP    My_Comp:ftp            localhost:0            LISTENING
 TCP    My_Comp:80             localhost:0            LISTENING
 TCP    My_Comp:1104           localhost:0            LISTENING
 TCP    My_Comp:ftp            localhost:1104         ESTABLISHED
 TCP    My_Comp:1102           localhost:0            LISTENING
 TCP    My_Comp:1103           localhost:0            LISTENING
 TCP    My_Comp:80             localhost:1111         TIME_WAIT
 TCP    My_Comp:1104           localhost:ftp          ESTABLISHED
 TCP    My_Comp:1107           localhost:0            LISTENING
 TCP    My_Comp:1112           localhost:80           TIME_WAIT
 UDP    My_Comp:1102           *:*
 UDP    My_Comp:1103           *:*
 UDP    My_Comp:1107           *:*

This may be a bit confusing to some people, but remember I'm running BOTH the servers and clients on the same machine in these examples. A little later (using both 'a' and 'n') I got this:

C:\WINDOWS>netstat -an

Active Connections

 Proto  Local Address          Foreign Address        State
 TCP    0.0.0.0:21             0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING
 TCP    0.0.0.0:80             0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING
 TCP    0.0.0.0:1104           0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING
 TCP    127.0.0.1:21           127.0.0.1:1104         FIN_WAIT_2
 TCP    127.0.0.1:1102         0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING
 TCP    127.0.0.1:1103         0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING
 TCP    127.0.0.1:1104         127.0.0.1:21           CLOSE_WAIT
 TCP    127.0.0.1:1107         0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING
 UDP    127.0.0.1:1102         *:*
 UDP    127.0.0.1:1103         *:*
 UDP    127.0.0.1:1107         *:*

After turning off my server, I ended up with this for a while:

C:\WINDOWS>netstat -an

Active Connections

 Proto  Local Address          Foreign Address        State
 TCP    127.0.0.1:80           127.0.0.1:1150         TIME_WAIT
 TCP    127.0.0.1:80           127.0.0.1:1151         TIME_WAIT

The Windows 95/98/NT Command-Line (Console) " ftp " Client Program

[ Note: Although this program has a lot of shortcomings in comparison to either WS_FTP or FTP Explorer which are both FREE and readily available 32-bit Windows programs, I wanted to include the instructions for "ftp" for the sake of completeness and for those who love playing around with the Command Line. And in some cases, it can be much easier to query an FTP server for information using this program! For example, it can be called from a batch file without the need for any interactive responses!]

---

If you type the letters ftp at a DOS-Window (Command Line) prompt, like this:
C:\WINDOWS>ftp you will be placed into an interactive program with its own prompt: ftp>
Entering a question mark (?) or the word "help" will output a list of commands on your screen like this:

ftp> ?
Commands may be abbreviated.  Commands are:

!               delete          literal         prompt          send
?               debug           ls              put             status
append          dir             mdelete         pwd             trace
ascii           disconnect      mdir            quit            type
bell            get             mget            quote           user
binary          glob            mkdir           recv            verbose
bye             hash            mls             remotehelp
cd              help            mput            rename
close           lcd             open            rmdir

The ftp program in Windows 95 breaks the general rule of how you obtain help information directly from the command line. In most cases, you'd type the name followed by a space, a forward slash(/) and a question mark(?) to get it. But ftp requires a dash(-) and an (h) instead:

C:\WINDOWS>ftp -h

Transfers files to and from a computer running an FTP server service
(sometimes called a daemon). Ftp can be used interactively.

FTP [-v] [-d] [-i] [-n] [-g] [-s:filename] [host]

 -v             Suppresses display of remote server responses.
 -n             Suppresses auto-login upon initial connection.
 -i             Turns off interactive prompting during multiple file
                transfers.
 -d             Enables debugging.
 -g             Disables filename globbing (see GLOB command).
 -s:filename    Specifies a text file containing FTP commands; the
                commands will automatically run after FTP starts.
 host           Specifies the host name or IP address of the remote
                host to connect to.

These commands show that you can run ftp "in the background" as it's called without ever having to interact with the program yourself. For now, let's use the program interactively to figure out what the commands actually do:

The first thing you need to be aware of is that all the commands within ftp are case-sensitive. Commands to your own ftp program (those listed above) use only lower-case characters. For example, entering "HELP" at the ftp prompt, outputs this on your screen: ?Invalid command

Here's the list of commands and a brief explanation of each one taken directly from the ftp helps within the program (and a few comments of my own):

         ?     print local help information
     help     print local help information -- both do the same thing.

     bell    [toggle] beep  when command completed
    debug     toggle debugging mode -- presents extra information about
              the data passed between the connected computers.
     glob     toggle metacharacter expansion of local file names
     hash     toggle printing `#' for each buffer transferred
    trace     toggle packet tracing
  verbose     toggle verbose mode

   status     show current status

     open     connect to remote tftp -- you'll be asked for the URL if
                                        you don't supply it.
     user     send new user information

remotehelp     get help from remote server ==> Note: Becuase most of the
               commands have critical timing requirements (such as the 
               PORT command), it's best to leave the handling of these
               to the ftp program itself. However, I'd encourage you to
               try the commands which do not involve the transfer of
               files, such as STATS or STAT (depends upon the particular
               server) or SYST, etc., so you can get more info about the
               remote server you are interacting with. You will find two
               examples of this instruction below; a * is usually placed
               next to commands that are not active on the server.

  literal     send arbitrary ftp command
    quote     send arbitrary ftp command -- both do the same thing.

        !     escape to the shell -- You can carry out DOS commands on
              your computer while still connected to a remote, then use
              the "exit" command to return to your FTP session!

    ascii     set  ascii transfer type
   binary     set binary transfer type
     type     set   file transfer type

   prompt     force interactive prompting on multiple commands

Directory Commands:

       pwd     [display] working directory [from] remote machine

       cd     change remote working directory
      lcd     change  local working directory

      dir      list contents of remote directory -- Use this command to
                 display attibutes, sizes, dates and times of files.
       ls     nlist contents of remote directory -- lists filenames only.

     mdir      list contents of multiple remote directories
      mls     nlist contents of multiple remote directories

    mkdir       make directory on the remote machine
    rmdir     remove directory on the remote machine

File Commands:

      recv     receive file
      get     receive file
     mget     get multiple files

     send     send one file
      put     send one file
     mput     send multiple files

   append     append to a file

   rename     rename file

   delete     delete remote file
  mdelete     delete multiple files

Ending a Session:

     close     terminate ftp session
disconnect     terminate ftp session
      bye     terminate ftp session and exit
     quit     terminate ftp session and exit

Some Real FTP Server Examples:

Normally one would connect to a remote server by entering its URL on the same line as the ftp command itself (this way you can skip having to use the 'open' command). Our first fragment starts out this way ( I just thought you might like to see the header from Microsoft's FTP server):

C:\WINDOWS>ftp ftp.microsoft.com
Connected to ftp.microsoft.com.
220 CPMSFTFTPA04 Microsoft FTP Service (Version 5.0).
User (ftp.microsoft.com:(none)): anonymous
331 Anonymous access allowed, send identity (e-mail name) as password.
Password: [ Note: Passwords are always hidden from view. ]
230-This is FTP.MICROSOFT.COM. Please see the dirmap.txt file for more
information.
230 Anonymous user logged in.

This next example is longer and contains a number of commands in action:

C:\WINDOWS>ftp ftp.simtel.net
Connected to ftp.simtel.net.
220 ftphost.simtel.net FTP server (Version wu-2.5.0(1) Wed Jun 23
00:02:55 EDT 1999) ready.
User (ftp.simtel.net:(none)): anonymous
331 Guest login ok, send your complete e-mail address as password.
Password:
230-              Welcome to FTPHost.Simtel.Net,
230-            the Simtel.Net primary mirror site,
230-       hosted through the courtesy of pair Networks.
230-
230-You are user 190 of 300 simultaneous users allowed.  Access is
230-allowed at any time.  If you have any unusual problems, please
230-report them via e-mail to support@Simtel.Net
230-
230-The Simtel.Net files are located in the /pub/simtelnet directory.
230-
230-Simtel.Net is also on the Web - http://www.simtel.net/simtel.net/
230-
230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.
ftp> remotehelp
214-The following commands are recognized (*'s are unimplemented).
  USER    PORT    STOR    MSAM*   RNTO    NLST    MKD     CDUP
  PASS    PASV    APPE    MRSQ*   ABOR    SITE    XMKD    XCUP
  ACCT*   TYPE    MLFL*   MRCP*   DELE    SYST    RMD     STOU
  SMNT*   STRU    MAIL*   ALLO    CWD     STAT    XRMD    SIZE
  REIN*   MODE    MSND*   REST    XCWD    HELP    PWD     MDTM
  QUIT    RETR    MSOM*   RNFR    LIST    NOOP    XPWD
214 Direct comments to support@Simtel.Net.
ftp> quote SYST
215 UNIX Type: L8 Version: BSD-199506
ftp> quote STAT
211-ftphost.simtel.net FTP server status:
    Version wu-2.5.0(1) Wed Jun 23 00:02:55 EDT 1999
    Connected to 63.209.86.71
    Logged in anonymously
    TYPE: ASCII, FORM: Nonprint; STRUcture: File; transfer MODE: Stream
    No data connection
    0 data bytes received in 0 files
    0 data bytes transmitted in 0 files
    0 data bytes total in 0 files
    63 traffic bytes received in 0 transfers
    1613 traffic bytes transmitted in 0 transfers
    1726 traffic bytes total in 0 transfers
211 End of status
ftp> ls
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file list.
pub
dsk3
dsk4
HEADER
dsk1
dsk2
bin
etc
.message
226 Transfer complete.
57 bytes received in 3.24 seconds (0.02 Kbytes/sec)
ftp> dir
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for /bin/ls.
total 18
-rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel     450 Jun 25  1999 .message
-rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel     423 Dec  8  1998 HEADER
d--x--x--x  2 root  operator  512 Dec 15  1996 bin
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel     512 Dec  5  1998 dsk1
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel     512 Dec  5  1998 dsk2
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel     512 Dec  5  1998 dsk3
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel     512 Dec  5  1998 dsk4
d--x--x--x  2 root  operator  512 Jun 25  1999 etc
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel     512 Dec  5  1998 pub
226 Transfer complete.
490 bytes received in 0.11 seconds (4.45 Kbytes/sec)
ftp> debug
Debugging On.
ftp> status
Connected to ftp.simtel.net.
Type: ascii; Verbose: On; Bell: Off; Prompting: On; Globbing: On
Debugging: On; Hash mark printing: Off
ftp> dir
---> PORT 63,209,86,71,11,220
200 PORT command successful.
---> LIST
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for /bin/ls.
total 18
-rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel     450 Jun 25  1999 .message
-rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel     423 Dec  8  1998 HEADER
d--x--x--x  2 root  operator  512 Dec 15  1996 bin
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel     512 Dec  5  1998 dsk1
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel     512 Dec  5  1998 dsk2
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel     512 Dec  5  1998 dsk3
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel     512 Dec  5  1998 dsk4
d--x--x--x  2 root  operator  512 Jun 25  1999 etc
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel     512 Dec  5  1998 pub
226 Transfer complete.
490 bytes received in 5.87 seconds (0.08 Kbytes/sec)

[ I didn't get a chance to copy everything here! ]

ftp> quit
---> QUIT
221-You have transferred 0 bytes in 0 files.
221-Total traffic for this session was 5827 bytes in 5 transfers.

This last example is even longer and contains a file download among other things. This is the Geocities server that all the webpage authors use, so it can get pretty slow at times:

C:\WINDOWS>ftp ftp.geocities.com
Connected to ftp.geocities.com.
220-Welcome to the Yahoo! GeoCities FTP server.
220-IMPORTANT: This service has changed!
220-Get all details at:
220-http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/geo/gftp/
220-
220-No anonymous logins accepted.
220-
220-Enter new Yahoo! GeoCities member name
220
User (ftp.geocities.com:(none)): User NAME
331-Enter your Yahoo! GeoCities member password
331
Password: [ PASSWORD is always HIDDEN ]
230-Taking inventory on your homestead
230-Inventory completed
230-You are using 60.3% of your homestead.
230 You have 5.950 MB of space available.
ftp> remotehelp
200 PORT command successful.
214-The following commands are recognized (*'s are unimplemented).
  USER    QUIT    MODE    REST    CWD     STAT    RMD     XCUP
  PASS    PORT    RETR    RNFR    XCWD    HELP    XRMD    SIZE
  ACCT*   PASV    STOR    RNTO    LIST    NOOP    PWD     MDTM
  SMNT*   TYPE    APPE    ABOR    NLST    MKD     XPWD
  REIN*   STRU    ALLO    DELE    SYST    XMKD    CDUP
214 Direct comments to ftp-bugs@ftp2.
ftp> quote SYST
215 UNIX Type: L8
ftp> pwd
200 PORT command successful.
257 "/Athens/6939" is current directory.

---------------------------------------------------------------
[ NOTE: IF THE CONNECTION IS HAVING PROBLEMS OR IS JUST VERY
        BUSY, YOU MAY GET THE FOLLOWING REPLY AT ANY TIME...]

425 Can't build data connection: Connection refused.

[ THE DATA MAY ALSO COME DOWN DURING A LATER COMMAND INSTEAD! ]
---------------------------------------------------------------

ftp> status
Connected to ftp.geocities.com.
Type: ascii; Verbose: On; Bell: Off; Prompting: On; Globbing: On
Debugging: Off; Hash mark printing: Off
ftp> cd CHI
250 CWD command successful.
ftp> dir
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for /bin/ls.
total 400
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   69123 May 23  1997 CG11.JPG
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   80165 Jul 21  1998 STG3.jpg
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   23615 Aug 20 23:05 SonarDiplomaASW.gif
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr    2912 Feb 17  1999 bootcamp.html
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   14636 Aug 20 23:05 sonrdip.gif

226-ASCII mode
226 Transfer complete.
350 bytes received in 0.16 seconds (2.19 Kbytes/sec)
ftp> cd ..
250 CWD command successful.
ftp> cd XYZ
250 CWD command successful.
ftp> dir
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for /bin/ls.
total 1392
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   60793 Jul  7  1998 ATEAM.jpg
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr  102535 Jul 21  1998 CircuitBoard.jpg
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   36964 Jul 21  1998 Harness.jpg
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   38442 Jul 21  1998 MTestSta.jpg
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   43535 Jul 21  1998 Monitors.jpg
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   32785 Jul 21  1998 Projectr.jpg
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   13132 Jul 21  1998 PwrTranHS.jpg
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   58725 Jul  7  1998 TWOBILLS.jpg
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr  120265 Jul 21  1998 Testing.jpg
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   13174 Jul 21  1998 TimeMagGlenCa.jpg
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   67882 Jul  7  1998 WORKSTAT.jpg
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   38044 Jul 21  1998 Wiring.jpg
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr     981 Jun 22  1999 XYTRON.html
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr   23031 Jul 21  1998 Xfrmrs.jpg
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr     957 Nov  8  1998 starman.html
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr     221 Jul 19  1998 tron.html
-rwxrw-r-x   1 webmastr webmastr    1385 Nov  8  1998 twobills.html

226-ASCII mode
226 Transfer complete.
1166 bytes received in 1.76 seconds (0.66 Kbytes/sec)
ftp> get Testing.jpg
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for Testing.jpg (120265 bytes).
######################################################
226-ASCII mode
226 Transfer complete.
120687 bytes received in 47.45 seconds (2.54 Kbytes/sec)
ftp> debug
Debugging On.
ftp> cd ..
---> CWD ..
250 CWD command successful.
ftp> close
---> QUIT
221 Goodbye.
ftp> quit

C:\WINDOWS>

How to Find a HostID

Overview

Tweak Software licenses are keyed to the HostID of your computer. In order to generate an evaluation license, we need the correct ID for the computer you will use to test RV. The HostID is sometimes called a MAC Address, Ethernet ID, or Physical Address. This number will look something like this:

00:19:e3:04:8b:80

Finding the HostID of a Macintosh Running OS X

There are two easy ways to find the HostID under OS X. First, you can use the command line command "ifconfig" to print out the network configuration of your computer in a shell. The results should include a section that look something like this:

en0: flags=8863 mtu 1500
        tunnel inet  -->
        inet6 fe80::217:f2ff:feca:91a%en0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x4
        inet 192.168.10.200 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.10.255
        ether 00:16:f2:ca:09:1a

The HostID for this machine is:

00:16:f2:ca:09:1a

Or you can find the HostID in OS X System Preferences. Open Network Preferences, Show 'Built-in Ethernet' and select the 'Ethernet' tab. The 'Ethernet ID' is the correct number.

The HostID for this computer is:

00:17:f2:ca:09:1a

Finding the HostID on a PC running Windows XP

Open a command prompt in Windows. You can do this through the start menu by selecting: Start->All Programs->Accessories->Command Prompt. Or you can open 'run' from the start menu and enter 'cmd' and then press return. Once the command prompt is open, enter the command: ipconfig /all. In the output you should find one or more lines that look like this:

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
 ...
 Physical Address. . . . . . . . . :00-18-F3-4D-97-96 
 ...

The Physical address is your HostID. If you have multiple ID's any one will work, but it is preferable to choose the one associated with your network connection.

Finding the HostID on a computer running Linux

Open a shell and enter the command 'ifconfig.' You should get output that looks something like this:

eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:E0:81:57:3F:58
         inet addr:192.168.1.198  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
         inet6 addr: fe80::2e0:81ff:fe57:3f58/64 Scope:Link
         UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
         RX packets:32000 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
         TX packets:17155 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
         collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
         RX bytes:25611654 (24.4 MiB)  TX bytes:1254023 (1.1 MiB)
         Interrupt:217

In this case the HostID is:

00:E0:81:57:3F:58

MS-DOS command

Below is a listing of each of the MS-DOS commands currently listed on Computer Hope and a brief explanation of what each of the commands do. The below commands are all MS-DOS commands, which means not all the below commands will work in your version of MS-DOS and/or Windows command line. Clicking on the command will open the help page for that command with full details about it.

Command	Description
Aansi.sysNSI.SYS	Defines functions that change display graphics, control cursor movement, and reassign keys.
append	Causes MS-DOS to look in other directories when editing a file or running a command.
arp	Displays, adds, and removes arp information from network devices.
assign	Assign a drive letter to an alternate letter.
assoc	View the file associations.
at	Schedule a time to execute commands or programs.
atmadm	Lists connections and addresses seen by Windows ATM call manager.
attrib	Display and change file attributes.
batch	Recovery console command that executes a series of commands in a file.
bootcfg	Recovery console command that allows a user to view, modify, and rebuild the boot.ini
break	Enable / disable CTRL + C feature.
cacls	View and modify file ACL's.
call	Calls a batch file from another batch file.
cd	Changes directories.
chcp	Supplement the International keyboard and character set information.
chdir	Changes directories.
chdsk	Check the hard disk drive running FAT for errors.
chkntfs	Check the hard disk drive running NTFS for errors.
choice	Specify a listing of multiple options within a batch file.
cls	Clears the screen.
cmd	Opens the command interpreter.
color	Easily change the foreground and background color of the MS-DOS window.
command	Opens the command interpreter.
comp	Compares files.
compact	Compresses and uncompress files.
control	Open Control Panel icons from the MS-DOS prompt.
convert	Convert FAT to NTFS.
copy	Copy one or more files to an alternate location.
ctty	Change the computers input/output devices.
date	View or change the systems date.
debug	Debug utility to create assembly programs to modify hardware settings.
defrag	Re-arrange the hard disk drive to help with loading programs.
del	Deletes one or more files.
delete	Recovery console command that deletes a file.
deltree	Deletes one or more files and/or directories.
dir	List the contents of one or more directory.
disable	Recovery console command that disables Windows system services or drivers.
diskcomp	Compare a disk with another disk.
diskcopy	Copy the contents of one disk and place them on another disk.
doskey	Command to view and execute commands that have been run in the past.
dosshell	A GUI to help with early MS-DOS users.
drivparm	Enables overwrite of original device drivers.
echo	Displays messages and enables and disables echo.
edit	View and edit files.
edlin	View and edit files.
emm386	Load extended Memory Manager.
ename	Recovery console command to enable a disable service or driver.
endlocal	Stops the localization of the environment changes enabled by the setlocal command.
erase	Erase files from computer.
exit	Exit from the command interpreter.
expand	Expand a Microsoft Windows file back to it's original format.
extract	Extract files from the Microsoft Windows cabinets.
fasthelp	Displays a listing of MS-DOS commands and information about them.
fc	Compare files.
fdisk	Utility used to create partitions on the hard disk drive.
find	Search for text within a file.
findstr	Searches for a string of text within a file.
fixboot	Writes a new boot sector.
fixmbr	Writes a new boot record to a disk drive.
for	Boolean used in batch files.
format	Command to erase and prepare a disk drive.
ftp	Command to connect and operate on a FTP server.
ftype	Displays or modifies file types used in file extension associations.
goto	Moves a batch file to a specific label or location.
graftabl	Show extended characters in graphics mode.
help	Display a listing of commands and brief explanation.
if	Allows for batch files to perform conditional processing.
ifshlp.sys	32-bit file manager.
ipconfig	Network command to view network adapter settings and assigned values.
keyb	Change layout of keyboard.
label	Change the label of a disk drive.
lh	Load a device driver in to high memory.
listsvc	Recovery console command that displays the services and drivers.
loadfix	Load a program above the first 64k.
loadhigh	Load a device driver in to high memory.
lock	Lock the hard disk drive.
logoff	Logoff the currently profile using the computer.
logon	Recovery console command to list installations and enable administrator login.
map	Displays the device name of a drive.
md	Command to create a new directory.
mem	Display memory on system.
mkdir	Command to create a new directory.
mode	Modify the port or display settings.
more	Display one page at a time.
move	Move one or more files from one directory to another directory.
msav	Early Microsoft Virus scanner.
msd	Diagnostics utility.
msdex	Utility used to load and provide access to the CD-ROM.
nbtstat	Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT
net	Update, fix, or view the network or network settings
netsh	Configure dynamic and static network information from MS-DOS.
netstat	Display the TCP/IP network protocol statistics and information.
nlsfunc	Load country specific information.
nslookup	Look up an IP address of a domain or host on a network.
path	View and modify the computers path location.
pathping	View and locate locations of network latency.
pause	Command used in batch files to stop the processing of a command.
ping	Test / send information to another network computer or network device.
popd	Changes to the directory or network path stored by the pushd command.
power	Conserve power with computer portables.
print	Prints data to a printer port.
prompt	View and change the MS-DOS prompt.
pushd	Stores a directory or network path in memory so it can be returned to at any time.
qbasic	Open the QBasic.
rd	Removes an empty directory.
ren	Renames a file or directory.
rename	Renames a file or directory.
rmdir	Removes an empty directory.
route	View and configure windows network route tables.
runas	Enables a user to execute a program on another computer.
scandisk	Run the scandisk utility.
scanreg	Scan registry and recover registry from errors.
set	Change one variable or string to another.
setlocal	Enables local environments to be changed without affecting anything else.
setver	Change MS-DOS version to trick older MS-DOS programs.
share	Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities.
shift	Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch program.
shutdown	Shutdown the computer from the MS-DOS prompt.
smartdrv	Create a disk cache in conventional memory or extended memory.
sort	Sorts the input and displays the output to the screen.
start	Start a separate window in Windows from the MS-DOS prompt.
subst	Substitute a folder on your computer for another drive letter.
switches	Remove add functions from MS-DOS.
sys	Transfer system files to disk drive.
telnet	Telnet to another computer / device from the prompt.
time	View or modify the system time.
title	Change the title of their MS-DOS window.
tracert	Visually view a network packets route across a network.
tree	View a visual tree of the hard disk drive.
type	Display the contents of a file.
undelete	Undelete a file that has been deleted.
unformat	Unformat a hard disk drive.
unlock	Unlock a disk drive.
ver	Display the version information.
verify	Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been written properly.
vol	Displays the volume information about the designated drive.
xcopy	Copy multiple files, directories, and/or drives from one location to another.