FSUTIL: This is a comprehensive set of file system management tools for XP disguised as a simple command. Using the FSUTIL submenus, you can perform a variety of file system operations, some of which cannot otherwise be done without editing the registry.

Here's some interesting uses for the FSUTIL command and its various sub-commands:

By typing in 'fsutil behavior set disable8dot3 1' you can disable the automatic supplemental support for DOS 8.3 character filenames that Windows XP uses by default. This can speed up folder access and file creation tasks, and is one of the registry changes PCSTATS revealed in our 101 Tech Tips Guide.

In a similar way, typing 'fsutil behavior set disablelastaccess 1' prevents Windows XP from automatically updating the 'last accessed' timestamp on files and folders contained in an NTFS-formatted drive each time they are read. This can considerably speed up file and folder browsing, but may mess up your automated data backups. This is another tweak that can only otherwise be done by editing the registry. The 'fsutil fsinfo' submenu gives you access to a huge amount of detailed information about your drives. Explore it and see what you find.

PING: Quite possibly the most often used command prompt command ever in any version of Windows, considering it can't be accessed from anywhere else. It's the 'killer app' of the command prompt, if you will. The PING command queries a remote (or local) IP address by sending a stream of data to it and listening for a response. If no response is received, you know the intended computer is either not receiving or not responding to the ping. If a response is received, you know the two systems can communicate over the network. This ability makes it the first tool in any network troubleshooter's arsenal.

By default, the XP ping command sends 4 groups of data packets at intervals and reports any successful replies. The '-t' switch sends a continuous stream, only halted by pressing CTRL+C or closing the command prompt window.

You can also ping a DNS or URL address, like www.google.com, which will display that site's public IP address if successful.