Ok, several people have asked this question, and I didn't think it was possible. But in some DOS versions on older computers there is a command called dosshell that can be typed at the dos prompt. You type it and hit return and it should bring up a file manager like screen. You use the tab to move around, and when the cursur is on C:\ you hit Tree then Expand All. That will enable you to navigate through all the directories on C:\. In the right window you can highlight more than one file by holding Ctrl down as your scrolling through them with the down arrow key. Then you can hit File and Copy to C:\ or to A:\ I just tried it to C:\ and it copied a load of files all in one go. There is one version of Dos that does not have Shell, if my memory serves me right. But if you're stuck with a Dos only pc then perhaps the answer to the file copying problem is to install a secondhand Dos over the existing one so the Shell can be used. To get back to C:\ at the Dos prompt, type cd c:\ and hit return.

As I recall, The only way to copy Long File Names (from this point on referred to as LFN's), is to use the application XXCOPY.exe. XXCOPY is an extention to Xcopy that is capable of supporting long file names. XXCOPY.exe may be downloaded here. There is also in existance a tool that will provide MSDOS 3.30a and above native LFN support. This tool is called LFNDOS.exe. When loaded into memory, LFN's will be displayed as regular directories, and you will be able to minipulate LFN files identical to convetional 8.3 files. LFNDOS.exe may be downloaded here. If you wish to accomplish the above, but do not wish to load a TSR into memory, there is a set of tools designed to satisfy your needs. These tools are packaged into a self extracting archinve which is entitled LFN.exe. LFN.exe is available for download here. You were correct in stating that there was a version of (stand alone) MSDOS that did not ship with DosShell. In fact, there were four seperate versions that did not ship with DOSSHELL and other utilities. These four versions were DOS 6.0, DOS 6.20, DOS 6.21, and DOS 6.22. Although these versions of DOS did not ship with the utilities that were included in MSDOS 5.00, they are easily obtainable through Microsoft's FTP site. If you are in a directory tree, and you need to get to the parent directory, simply type in "CD.." at the command prompt and press enter. You will immediatly be taken to the parent directory of the directory that you were just in. If you need to get to the root directory of the current drive while you are in the directory tree (such as C:\APPS\WINWORD\TEMP\TMP1097.TMP\), simply type in "CD\" This will take you immediatly to the root directoy of the current drive.

LFNDOS.EXE is not very stable and no longer being developped.Try DOSLFN instead.(As the latest version of DOSLFN,DOSLFN 0.32i is stable enough now): http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~heha/hs_freeware/doslfn.zip