SRS -

In later Windows versions, they don't even call it "DOS" anymore, it's just called "COMMAND." In most versions, it's at Start - Programs - Accessories - Command Prompt. I use it just enough to keep an icon/shortcut on the desktop, and I still call it DOS there.

Probably my most frequent use is to list files for bookkeeping purposes. It's rather a trivial usage, but Windows doesn't seem to give you any other easy way to do it.

DIR *.*/s>list.txt

will create the file list.txt and write a complete list of all the files (that aren't hidden ones) in whatever folder you happen to be in, including subdirectories. If it's a fairly large folder, I usually open it in Word where I can use global replacements to clean it up for whatever purpose I have in mind.

When I do a "major" backup, it's not too uncommon to burn a dozen or more CDs. I usually make a "burn" folder with a series of folders, bkp01, bkp02, etc., so I can adjust how much will go on each CD before I start burning. I'll run a *.*/s on the whole set, and put a copy on each CD, so that I can open any CD in the set and see which one to look for to find what I want.

Be aware that running a DIR with /s from a root drive can be disconcerting. One recent run on a data drive produced an 8,342 page Word document (42 MB), but it's been real handy. Word search is a whole lot quicker than Explorer's, if all you want is a filename.

John