Today even in the modern world of Windows Vista and other versions of windows we can step back to the early days of computing and gather information to help Kaspersky and other providers we Beta test software for.

With the help off DOS (Disk Operation System) and a few simple commands we can achieve a lot. If you do not know what you are doing, Yes you can seriously damage programs and make your windows system UnBootable,

The steps are basically the same to launch a Command Prompt in all versions of Windows.

Version One

1. Click on the "Start Button"
   
2. Click on Run
   
3. Type "CMD" in the box and click ok
   

Version Two

1. Click on "Start Button"
   
2. Click on |>All Programs
   
3. Click on |>Accessories
   
4. Click on |>Command Prompt
   

A few simple dos commmands that we will use are :

CD = Change Directory

Dir = Directory Listing

These commands can take switches to alter what the outcome is

"Dir /s/w/p" Stands for Directory with every /Subdirectory/Wideformat

now if we string these commands together we can do alot.

Step One :

Run your Command Prompt.

"With Vista right click the Command Prompt icon in the menu

and select run as Administrator"

Step Two :

Type with out the quotes

"CD \" = ChangeDirectory and \ = the root of the drive.

Step Three :

Type without the quotes "Dir *.log /s/w >dir.txt"

"Dir *.log /s/w >dir.txt" = Directory with *= ("Wildcard = everything") (".log"Log files /S = every subdirectory /W = wide and ">" put it in a file named "dir.txt"

Step Four :

Type withouot the quotes

"notepad dir.txt" = Lanuch "Notepad" with the file "dir.txt"

Step Five :

Click back on the Dos Prompt box CMD window and type without the quotes

"Exit" before hitting Enter it should look like the window below.

You can now send this directory listing to who ever you are testing software for.

More information on the Command Prompt and what is possible can be found:

Here or Here