What is the difference between cmd.exe and command.com?

A. Windows NT/Windows 2000 supply cmd.exe and command.com. CMD.EXE isthe Windows NT command line interface, its NOT a DOS window. COMMAND.COM is a16-bit DOS application which is used for older DOS compatibility and actuallyruns inside the NTVDM (NT Virtual DOS Machine) due to its 16-bit nature.

What may surprise you is the face that COMMAND.COM and CMD.EXE have almostidentical features and this is because any command entered in COMMAND.COM it ispackaged up and sent to CMD.EXE for execution and thanks to this COMMAND.COM cantake advantage of all the functions and facilities of CMD.EXE. This is possibleas the version of COMMAND.COM shipped with NT IS a special NT version designedto pass all execution to CMD.EXE.

If you had Task Manager running you would actually see a CMD.EXE processstarted when executing commands in COMMAND.COM.