Windows Cheatsheet

Learning .NET development means that I'm spending a lot of time in Windows virtual machines. I cannot stand the cumbersome, ill-featured, pampering environment that Windows provides so I've written this cheatsheet to help myself and other *nix refugees cope. This page is a work in progress and suggestions for improvement are always welcome!

Windows UI tips

System Information

Windows Version:: Start -> right-click Computer -> Properties

Windows CLI tips

Linux to DOS commands

Although there are tens of DOS-to-*nix tables littering the web, they mostly are concerned with users familiar with DOS who need to get by in Linux. I need just the opposite table. Here is a short table of the common commands and options that I use.

Bash command / description	Windows CLI equivalent	Notes
cat	type
cd	cd /d	The /d flag must be used when cd'ing to a different drive letter.
cd ~	cd %userprofile% cd %homepath%
cp	copy
cp -R	xcopy
free	mem
grep	find "needle"	Needs quotes
history	F7
ifconfig	ipconfig
less	more
ls	dir
man	-help or /?
mv	move
rm	del
pwd	cd	"cd" with no arguments returns the current working directory.
shutdown -r	reboot
top	tasklist
vim	edit	VIM can be installed in Windows.

More commands (from DOS to Linux):

Other Windows CLI tips

Change window size: mode 160,80 (width,height)
"cd" to a new directory and store pwd: pushd C:\new\path
Return to directory from pushd: popd
Run CLI as administrator: Start -> Search -> "cmd" -> Ctrl+Shift+ Enter
Send command output to the Windows clipboard: somecommand | clip
Place the contents of a text file into the Windows clipboard: clip < somefile.txt
Find out how much space System Restore points occupy: vssadmin list shadowstorage
Enable QuickEdit mode to enter the contents of the clipboard by right-clicking in the command window.

Date Published: 2011-07-23