HOW TO… Run PC tasks automatically using batch files

What you need: Windows Notepad

Time required: One hour

In the days before Windows, when everything was done by typing commands at a prompt rather than pointing and clicking on a desktop, executing several commands in succession could take ages.

So, developers came up with the idea of batch files. These are plain-text files containing a whole series of commands that can be run sequentially simply by launching the batch file itself. These weren’t a sneaky workaround: they were built into DOS, the operating system used by most PCs before Windows appeared.

In fact, they were so tightly integrated into Windows that the first thing it did when it had finished booting was to look for a particular batch file – autoexec.bat – and process its contents immediately. This usually loaded any drivers that were required for devices like mice and printers, set the time and date, and so on.

If you never come across Command Prompt in your daily computer use, you could be forgiven for assuming that such old conventions no longer exist. But they do. Getting to know how they work (or