26/11/2025
Essential IT Support Commands Every Beginner Should Know:
- Starting out in IT Support can feel like youβre suddenly responsible for saving the entire planetβ¦ one slow PC and one angry βwhy is the WiFi down?β employee at a time.
But hereβs the good news: most of the daily chaos and problems can be handled with literally a few simple commands. Think of these like your toolbox, your cheat codes, your βI actually know what Iβm doingβ buttons.
π₯οΈ When the PC is running slow
- When a computer starts acting like it needs coffee, these commands help you find the problem and smooth things out.
β’ temp β System temporary files, highlight all and delete it because it'll only take up space and slow your pc
β’ %temp% β User temporary files (the ones people forget exist) same as temp, you don't need it.
β’ prefetch β Cached program files
β’ cleanmgr β Disk Cleanup
β’ taskmgr β Check whoβs eating the CPU like a buffet
β’ msconfig β Control startup programs
β’ services.msc β Stop heavy or stuck services
β’ control update β Check for updates the system has been nagging about
β’ sfc /scannow β Scan and repair system files
β’ DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth β Deep repair magic
β’ chkdsk /f β Fix disk issues
β’ powercfg.cpl β Power settings (yes, power-saving mode can slow things down)
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Use when: the PC freezes, lags, takes 3 years to boot, or sounds like itβs preparing for takeoff.
π When youβre facing network issues
- Internet not working? Users panicking? Perfect time to shine.
β’ ping β See if the connection is alive
β’ ipconfig β IP details
β’ ipconfig /release + ipconfig /renew β Reset your IP like a fresh start
β’ ipconfig /flushdns β Clear bad DNS cache
β’ nslookup β Check if DNS knows the domain
β’ tracert β Find where the connection is dying
β’ netsh winsock reset β Network stack reset (the βplease workβ command)
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Use when: websites donβt load, internet keeps dropping, DNS acts confused, or users start blaming you personally.