Commands Use Paths

When you execute commands from the command prompt, the system needs to know where to find the command. It fi rst tries to execute it in the current path and then looks for it in predefi ned paths. A path identifies a location on the hard drive.

As an example, when you first launch the command prompt, it will start in the C:\ Users\%username% path by default, where %username% will be replaced with the username you're logged on with. (If you launch it with Run As Administrator, it will start in the c:\%windir%\System32 folder.) If you execute a command (such as IPConfig), it will look for it in the current folder first. If it isn't located in the current folder, it will search the folders identifi ed in the predefi ned paths. If the command isn't located in any of the known paths, you'll see an error. For example, if you type x and press Enter, you'll see this error:

'x' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

Note Documentation commonly uses the terms folders and directories interchangeably In the early DOS days, they were almost always called directories When the Windows GUI came out, they were referred to as folders because the icon looks like a folder It matched a metaphor users could easily understand; that is, files were placed in folders in the real world and they are placed in folders in Windows However, there is no difference between a folder and a directory; both terms mean the same thing.

If the system didn't have predefined paths, it would search only the current folder, and commands would be a lot harder to enter and execute. However, the system starts with several predefined paths. On my system, this path includes all of these directories:

• C:\Windows\system32
• C:\Windows
• C:\Windows\System32\Wbem
• C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\
• C:\Windows\System32\Windows System Resource Manager\bin
• C:\Windows\idmu\com

You can execute the PATH or the SET PATH command to view the predefined path for your system. Some applications will modify the path, and you can also modify the path yourself.