BleepingComputer.com: Help with command prompt?

Ok, so i'm new, like realllly new to using the command prompt and i want someone to start from the very basics on how to use it and the commands please and thanks you.

Oh, and i don't know if it matters but i have windows vista home premium

Out of curiosity, why are using the command prompt? Unless you are trying to use some pretty obscure commands, there is almost no reason to use it. I used to use the command prompt in Windows 3.0 when Windows existed within DOS. By the time Windows 98 came about, I stopped using it so I can't be much help with many of the commands.

The Command Prompt requires a bit of study to get it doing what you want.
Also, in Vista, it's usually limited to Standard User privileges unless you specifically choose to elevate it.

To start with, go to Start and type in "cmd.exe" (without the quotes) and press Enter
In the black window that opens up, type "help" (without the quotes) and press Enter
This will give you a list of commands that are built into the Command Prompt executable.

Beyond that, you'll have to identify the executable file that you want to run.
If it's located in your system's Path - you just type the name of the command and press Enter to execute the command
If it's not located in your system's Path - then you've got to type the full path in order to get it to execute.

Beyond that, Google is your friend!

PS - the Command Prompt (cmd.exe) is different from Command.exe (the MS-DOS command line).

It is good to know basic CMD tools.

Ping Ping -t
Ipconfing
Netstat
Ipconfig /all


Just some basic ones I use on the daily working on networks.

There are also some handy file management commands in the command prompt. Although the MS-DOS CLI and the Vista command prompt are different, many of the same commands and conventions exist in both.