System Prompt

After you press the ENTER key to either accept the time shown or enter a new one, MS-DOS will show a new prompt on the monitor:

Microsoft (R) MS-DOS(R) Version X.XX

(C) Copyright Microsoft Corp 19XX-19XX

A >

This is the system prompt. When it is displayed, it means that MS-DOS is waiting for you to tell it what to do. This is done by typing a DOS command, then pressing the ENTER key.

Cursor

Following the system prompt, you will see a blinking underline ( _ ) character.

This is the “cursor.” The cursor shows you where the next character you type will appear on the screen. As you can see here, any command you type will appear immediately to the right of the system prompt and on the same tine. Application software often uses the cursor as well, allowing you to use the cursor control keys to move the cursor around on the screen.

MS-DOS Commands

DOS commands instruct your computer to perform tasks such as display a disk directory, copy a file, delete a program, etc.

4-6 Using MS-DOS With Your Computer