Copying Files(MS-DOS)

                                                                            

This section describes how to copy a single file and a group of files. Copying files creates

a duplicate of the original file and does not remove the original file. This is useful for

many reasons. For example, if you want to work on a document at home, you can copy it

from your computer at work to a floppy disk and then take the floppy disk home.

To copy a file, you will use the copy command. When you use the copy command, you

must include two parameters. The first is the location and name of the file you want to

copy, or the source. The second is the location to which you want to copy the file, or the

destination. You separate the source and destination with a space. The copy command

follows this pattern:

copy source destination

• Copying a Single File

In this section, you will copy the notepad.exe files from the WINDOWS directory to the FRUIT

directory. You will specify the source and destination of these files in two different ways. The

difference between the two methods is explained at the end of this section.

Before you begin this section, make sure the command prompt looks like the following:

C:\FRUIT>

To copy the NOTEPAD.EXE files from the WINDOWS directory to the FRUIT directory

1. Return to the root directory by typing the following at the command prompt:

cd\

The command prompt should now look like the following:

C:\>

Change to the DOS directory by typing the following at the command prompt:

cd windows

The command prompt should now look like the following:

C:\WINDOWS>

2. Make sure the file you are going to copy, NOTEPAD.EXE, is located in the WINDOWS directory

by using the dir command followed by a filename.

dir notepad.exe

A list similar to the following appears:

3. To copy the NOTEPAD.EXE file from the WINDOWS directory to the FRUIT directory, type the

following at the command prompt:

copy c:\windows\notepad.exe c:\fruit

The following message appears:

1 file(s) copied

4. To confirm that you copied the files successfully, view the contents of the FRUIT directory by

typing the following at the command prompt:

dir \fruit

You should see the file listed in the FRUIT directory.