My Network Places

My Computer is great when you're working with data that is stored on your computer, but, in the connected world that we live in today, more and more of the data that you need to work with is stored elsewhere, across a computer network. My Network Places (or Network Neighborhood in earlier versions of Windows) is the most convenient way to find those network resources that you need to work with. You will find My Network Places on your desktop and in your Start menu.

Regularly visited network locations can be stored in My Network Places, making them easy to locate when returning to those locations. To add items to this list, click on the Add a network place, which is in the Network Tasks section of the left-hand pane, to open the Add a Network Place Wizard and then step through the wizard's instructions.

Command line

The last way to get around on your computer is the oldest of the methods: the command line. Some people refer to this as MS-DOS, but when you're dealing with Windows, you're normally running the 32-bit command-line application. This application is capable of executing any command found on the system, but is most often used for commands that do not have a Windows GUI component. Microsoft has command-line tools available that allow you to perform most system management tasks from the command line, which is useful when troubleshooting or when creating scripts or batch files to perform tasks.

You access the command line in Windows XP by choosing Start.All Programs.Accessories.Command Prompt. In Windows 2000, choose Start. Programs.Accessories.Command Prompt to open the Command Prompt window.