Objectives

  • Navigate Windows: files, Control Panel/Settings, Task Manager.
  • Run a small set of Command Prompt commands used in exams (DIR, CD, MD, COPY, TYPE).

Theory: Operating system.

Use Command Prompt on Windows. Do not download unknown tools. Do not attempt to bypass security or other users’ accounts.

Tasks (50 minutes)

  1. GUI (20 min). Create a folder IT231-Lab2 on the Desktop. Create a text file readme.txt inside it. Copy it to Documents. Show hidden extensions in File Explorer. Open Task Manager and note CPU and memory use.
  2. Settings (10 min). Find display resolution, date/time, and Wi-Fi (or Ethernet) status. Write them down.
  3. Command Prompt (20 min). From IT231-Lab2:
    • dir
    • mkdir backup
    • copy readme.txt backup\
    • cd backup then dir
    • cd ..
    • type readme.txt

Optional (if Command Prompt history is taught): help dir and explain one switch.

Before You Start

  • Log in with your own lab account. Do not use or change another user’s account.
  • Open Notepad and File Explorer before you start; you will switch between them.
  • Know the two ways to open Command Prompt: press Win + R, type cmd, press Enter; or search “Command Prompt” in Start.
  • Your Desktop may be inside OneDrive. In that case its path is %USERPROFILE%\OneDrive\Desktop rather than %USERPROFILE%\Desktop.

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Create the folder and file. Right-click the Desktop, choose New → Folder, and name it IT231-Lab2. Open Notepad, type two lines (your name and today’s date), then File → Save As. Browse into IT231-Lab2, set Save as type to Text Documents (*.txt), and name the file readme.txt.
  2. Show file extensions. In File Explorer, Windows 11: View → Show → File name extensions. Windows 10: View tab, tick File name extensions. You should now see readme.txt, not just readme.
  3. Copy to Documents. Right-click readme.txt and choose Copy, open Documents, then right-click and Paste (or use Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V).
  4. Task Manager. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc. On the Performance tab, note the CPU % and Memory % used. On Processes, note which program uses the most memory.
  5. Settings. Open Settings (Win + I): System → Display for resolution, Time & language for date and time, Network & internet for connection status.

  6. Command Prompt. Move to your folder, then run the commands in order. The expected results are shown after each :::

    cd %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\IT231-Lab2     :: prompt now ends in \IT231-Lab2>
dir                                     :: lists readme.txt with its size and date
mkdir backup                            :: no message means success
copy readme.txt backup\                 :: "1 file(s) copied."
cd backup                               :: prompt now ends in \backup>
dir                                     :: shows the copied readme.txt
cd ..                                   :: back to \IT231-Lab2>
type readme.txt                         :: prints your two lines of text
  7. Explore a switch. Run dir /? (or help dir). Try dir /w (wide list) and dir /o:s (sorted by size), and write one sentence on what each switch does.

Check Your Work

Checkpoint How to verify
Folder and file IT231-Lab2\readme.txt exists, and a copy is in Documents
Extensions visible File Explorer shows .txt after the file name
Command session Your screenshot shows every command with its output, including “1 file(s) copied.”
System readings Resolution, date/time, network status, and CPU and memory % are written down

Common Errors and Fixes

Problem Fix
File saved as readme.txt.txt Extensions were hidden when you typed .txt. Show extensions and rename the file to readme.txt.
“The system cannot find the path specified.” Your Desktop is probably inside OneDrive. Use cd %USERPROFILE%\OneDrive\Desktop\IT231-Lab2.
“is not recognized as an internal or external command” Check the spelling, and put a space between the command and its argument (mkdir backup, not mkdirbackup).
copy reports 0 files copied Run dir first: you are probably not in the folder that contains readme.txt.

Extension Task

For those who finish early: Use ren readme.txt notes.txt to rename the file in backup, then del to delete it, and rmdir backup to remove the empty folder. Explain why rmdir fails if the folder still contains a file.

Deliverable

Screenshot of File Explorer showing IT231-Lab2 and a screenshot of the Command Prompt session (commands + output).

Viva

  1. What is the difference between a GUI and a command-line interface?
  2. What does cd .. do?
  3. Why might a business still teach a few DOS-style commands?
  4. Where would you look if Windows feels slow?
  5. What is the difference between md and mkdir?
  6. What is the difference between an absolute and a relative path? Give an example of each.
  7. What does Task Manager’s Processes tab tell you?
  8. Why are file extensions useful, and why might hiding them be a security risk?