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How can I use unix/linux commands on windows??

Hi, I am following along in a php/mysql tutorial and I have come to a part where I need to use the command prompt.  The person doing the tutorial has a mac and I have windows vista still.  But I it does not recognize ls or ls -la, chmod, etc.  So I am wondering what is the quickest and more efficient way to be able to use my command prompt on my windows like I would on a Linux,/Unix??
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Greg Alexander
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You could use

http://www.cygwin.com/
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yeah I downloaded it and waited like 15 mins for it to finish installing then it says it installed wrong and needed to do it again.  I don't know what settings I am suppose to chose though. . .

Under 'choose a site from this list, or add your own sites to the list'

I have no idea what to choose.  Any tips??
you can also use a LIVE CD like ubuntu.

Boot off the CD and use Ubuntu as the OS temporarily.
http://www.ubuntu.com/
You cannot effectively use Linux or MAC commands to control permissions properly on a Windows machine.  Right-click properties to control the folder (directory) permissions in Windows.  You could install XAMPP instead of installing everything by hand.

http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html

If you want to do it manually (from source) look for a tutorial that is built on Windows.
I do have xampp installed.  I did not know how to use that to control the command prompt
Some things in Windows are easier done from the graphical interface than from the command prompt.  Windows and MAC/Linux are different by design.  You'll need to run different commands to make the changes.  Perhaps post what you're trying to do or where you're stuck in the tutorial and you might get a better answer.
ok I found out the equivalent of ls is dir

but what about ls -la ??
ls -la shows a directory listing with the long format and show all files (including hidden files).

Long format shows the effective file permissions.
yeah but what can I type in windows to do the same thing?

I want to change the permissions (0777, or 0755, etc.), use chmod, chown
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darrickhartman
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Thanks, will do!