Changing the Current Path with CD

When you open the command prompt, the default path is C:\ Users\%username%, with %username% being replaced with your actual user name. For example, if I logged on with a user name of Mike, the default path would be c:\Users\Mike.

You can change the path with the CD command (short for change directory).

• CD \ will take you to the root of the current drive.
• CD .. will take you up one folder.
• CD folderName will take you into the folder specified as long as the folder is in the current folder.
• CD \1st folder\2nd folder\3rd folder will take you to the third folder, as long as the path is valid.

Using the CD Command

1. Launch a command prompt and note the current path. Unless you launched it using Run As Administrator, it will point to a directory with your name in the C:\Users directory.
2. Type CD .. (CD, space, and two dots), and press Enter. This will take you up one folder to the C:\Users folder.
3. Type CD \ and press Enter. This will take to you the root of C:\.
4. Type in Dir and press Enter to view the contents of the root.
5. Type the following command to change the directory to the windows\sytem32 folder:
   CD \windows\system32
   Note that the backslash (\) before windows causes the path to start from the root of the C:\ drive.
6. Type in DIR and press Enter to view the contents of this folder.
7. Press the up arrow twice to recall the CD \ command, and press Enter. You'll be returned to the root.
8. Enter the following command to change to the system32 folder using the windows variable.
   CD %windir%\system32