![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/image7.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIn Windows 10, the \u201ctraditional\u201d command prompt that we\u2019ve been using for years (dozens of years, to be exact) has been replaced by PowerShell. Of course, you can still call good old cmd.exe, but all menus and hotkeys now contain PowerShell as a default option, instead of CMD. Let\u2019s sort things out: why did this happen and what\u2019s the difference between these console applications?<\/p>\n
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Stay awhile and listen.<\/p>\n
Table of Contents<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
![\"Command](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/cmd.jpg\")
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CMD, or command prompt, originated from the Microsoft MS-DOS command-line shell and was used not only by system administrators but by end-users as well. (However, the dividing line between these two categories was, as you might remember, hardly noticeable.) Later on, when Microsoft introduced Windows NT, it was shipped with cmd.exe \u2013 the command line app that resembled its DOS predecessor and was compatible with it but also had additional functions. That was in 1987. Since then, cmd.exe has been a built-in app for all Windows operating systems.<\/p>\n
![\"Windows](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ps.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
PowerShell is more than just a \u201cpowerful shell\u201d. After its release in 2006, this fully-fledged object-based scripting environment quickly became widespread among system administrators, who enjoyed its ease and functionality. PowerShell is based on CMD but leaves it far behind in terms of usefulness. With PowerShell, you can automate various tasks; for instance, managing Active Directory or implementing user access levels.<\/p>\n
In this document you'll find a PowerShell script that checks the status of the services listed below and sends an email alert if any of them is turned off:<\/p>\n
![\"CTA\"](\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/5442029\/1555841d-7c2e-4434-84c6-e67830d5e7c1.png\")
<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n![\"WP](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Powershell-alerts-icon.png\"){kind=icon}
<\/div>\n<\/div>\nBefore talking about the differences, it is worth discussing the characteristics that are shared by CMD and PowerShell. First of all, they have similar ancestors: the teletype machines of the 19th century. These machines were used in a similar way to all command lines nowadays. Even though technologies have developed drastically, a user still enters symbols on a machine and receives a result after these symbols have been interpreted and processed by this machine \u2013 like many years ago. Another point is that CMD and PowerShell appear to be attachments to the Windows console. Neither of them is a console itself; they\u2019re just additions.<\/p>\n
And this functionality \u2013 we finally come to the PowerShell vs CMD technical comparison \u2013 differs a lot. Since CMD is a child of the MS-DOS command line, it inherited simple batch commands that any former DOS user remembers \u2013 like \u201ccd\u201d or \u201cdir\u201d. These commands can be used to create scripts, and sometimes these scripts have to be very complicated in order to handle a given task. In PowerShell, there are no commands; instead, administrators utilize cmdlets (\u201ccommand-lets\u201d) \u2013 small scripts with clear names. One PowerShell cmdlet can replace a long sequence of CMD commands. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n
![\"CTA\"](\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/5442029\/aa07fdb8-7776-46a5-9fa0-ec6e93f0f0a6.png\")
<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\nChanging a directory:<\/b><\/p>\n
Command prompt<\/p>\n
![\"Changind](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/image6-1.png\")
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Windows PowerShell<\/p>\n
![\"Changind](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/image4-1.png\")
<\/p>\n
Getting the last backup type from logs and displaying it<\/b><\/p>\n
Command prompt script<\/p>\n
![\"Getting](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/image3-2.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"Getting](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/image1-2.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Getting](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/image5-1.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Getting](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/image2-2.png\")
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