H:\>date The current date is: Mon 02/15/2010 Enter the new date: (mm-dd-yy) H:\>echo off date The current date is: Mon 02/15/2010 Enter the new date: (mm-dd-yy) echo on H:\>echo hello hello H:\> Turns the command-echoing feature on or off, or displays a message. Used without parameters, echo displays the current echo setting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echo_%28command%29