- Open Command Prompt from the Run Box Press Windows+R to open “Run” box. Type “cmd” and then click “OK” to open a regular Command Prompt. Type “cmd” and then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to open an administrator Command Prompt.
- Play Older DOS Games in Windows 10 Without Emulators Posted on July 25, 2017 Author Trisha Leave a comment When I enter an occasional conversation with an older person about computers, they sometimes appear to rave about the bygone days of DOS computer games.
Command Prompt is one of the command-line interface programs used to execute commands in Windows operating systems.
Some popular Command Prompt commands you might have heard of include ping, netstat, tracert, shutdown, and attrib, but there are many more. We have a complete list here.
While Command Prompt probably isn't a tool most of you will use on a regular basis, it can really come in handy now and then, maybe to troubleshoot a specific Windows problem or to automate some kind of task.
How you open Command Prompt differs between Windows versions, so you'll find steps below for Windows 10, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, and Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. See What Version of Windows Do I Have? if you're not sure.
Step 1: Open the Start by clicking the Windows logo button on the extreme left on the taskbar (bottom left corner of the screen) or by pressing the Windows logo key on the keyboard. Step 2: In the Start, click or tap All Apps, click or tap Windows System folder, right-click on Command Prompt.
Open Command Prompt in Windows 10
- Click or tap Command Prompt from the list.
Another way to open Command Prompt in Windows 10 is to look in its Start menu folder:
- Select the Start button.
- Find the Windows System folder from the list of apps and tap or click it.
- Click or tap Command Prompt under the Windows System folder.
One more method for opening Command Prompt in Windows 10 is through the Power User Menu. If you're using a keyboard or mouse, choose Command Prompt from the menu that appears after pressing Win+X or right-clicking the Start button.
You might see Windows PowerShell options in the Power User Menu instead of Command Prompt. In more recent versions of Windows 10, Command Prompt has been replaced by PowerShell, but you can still access it from the Power User Menu by editing the taskbar settings.
Open Command Prompt in Windows 8 or 8.1
- Swipe up to show the Apps screen. You can accomplish the same thing with a mouse by clicking on the down arrow icon at the bottom of the screen.Prior to the Windows 8.1 update, the Apps screen can be accessed from the Start screen by swiping up from the bottom of the screen, or right-clicking anywhere, and then choosing All apps.If you're using a keyboard or mouse, a really quick way to open a Command Prompt window in Windows 8 is through the Power User Menu—just hold the WIN and X keys down together, or right-click the Start button, and choose Command Prompt.
- Swipe or scroll to the right on the Apps screen to locate the Windows System section heading.
- Tap Command Prompt under Windows System.A new Command Prompt window will open on the Desktop.
- Microsoft net framework error. You can now execute whatever command you needed to run. See our List of Windows 8 Command Prompt Commands for a complete list of the commands available through Command Prompt in Windows 8, including short descriptions and links to more in-depth information if we have it.
Open Command Prompt in Windows 7, Vista, or XP
- Click Start (Windows XP) or the Start button (Windows 7 or Vista).In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, it's a bit faster to enter command in the search box at the bottom of the Start Menu and then click Command Prompt when it appears in the results.
- Use Command Prompt to execute commands. Here's our List of Windows 7 Commands, List of Windows Vista Commands, and List of Windows XP Commands if you need a command reference for any of those versions of Windows.
Elevated Command Prompts and Old Windows Versions
In versions of Windows released before Windows XP, like Windows 98 and Windows 95, Command Prompt does not exist. However, the older and very similar MS-DOS Prompt does. This program is located in the Start Menu, and can be opened with the command run command.
Some commands, like the sfc command that's used to repair Windows files, require that Command Prompt be opened as an administrator before they can be executed. You'll know if this is the case if you get a 'check that you have administrative rights', '.. command can only be executed from an elevated command prompt', or 'you must be an administrator' message after trying to execute the command.
See How to Open an Elevated Command Prompt for help starting Command Prompt as an administrator, a process that's a bit more complicated than what's outlined above.
Below are the steps on how to get to an MS-DOS prompt or into the Windows command line in all versions of Microsoft operating systems.
Get to a Command Prompt in Windows 10
- Click Start.
- Type cmd and press Enter.
For some commands and options to work in the Windows 10 command line, you must run the command line as administrator. To do this, right-click on the cmd icon and choose Run as administrator.
Get to a Command Prompt in Windows 8
- Get to the Start screen
- Type cmd and press Enter.
- OR -
- Move the mouse pointer to the very bottom-left corner of the screen and right-click, or press Windows key + X.
- In the power user task menu, select either Command Prompt or Command Prompt (Admin).
Tip
Get to a Command Prompt in Windows Vista and 7
- Click Start.
- Type cmd and press Enter.
For some commands and options to work in the Windows Vista and 7 command line, you must run the command line as administrator. To do this, right-click on the cmd icon and choose Run as administrator.
If you're attempting to get into an MS-DOS prompt to troubleshoot the computer, boot the computer into Safe Mode.
Get to a Command Prompt in Windows NT, 2000, and XP
- Click Start.
- Click Run.
- Type cmd or command and press Enter.
If you are attempting to get into an MS-DOS prompt to troubleshoot the computer, boot the computer into Safe Mode.
TipWindows 2000 and XP users who cannot boot the computer into Normal Windows mode or Safe Mode can also enter and use the Recovery Console to manage their computer from a prompt.
Finally, if you are experiencing issues getting into Windows NT, 2000, or XP, it may be necessary to run troubleshooting steps from an MS-DOS prompt. It is recommended that the Network Administrator gain access either by using a standard MS-DOS boot diskette or the ERD diskettes created after the installation of Windows NT. Also, they may access MS-DOS by booting from a Windows XP CD.
Get to a Command Prompt in Windows 95, 98, and ME
If you can get into Windows 95, 98 or ME, you can get to an MS-DOS prompt by following the steps below.
- Click Start
- Click Run
- Type 'command' and press Enter.
Following the steps above opens an MS-DOS shell. However, if you are attempting to troubleshoot an issue with the computer and are using Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows 98, we suggest you restart the computer into MS-DOS. To do this, follow the steps below.
How to restart the computer into an MS-DOS prompt
- Click Start
- Click Shutdown
- Choose the option to restart the computer into an MS-DOS prompt.
How To Run Dos Programs
If you cannot get into Windows 95 or Windows 98 to get to an MS-DOS prompt, follow the instructions below (Windows ME does not have this option).
- Reboot the computer
- As the computer is booting, press the F8 key when you hear a beep or when you see 'Starting Windows 95' or 'Starting Windows 98.' Windows 98 users sometimes may find it easier to press and hold the left Ctrl key as the computer is booting.
- If done properly, the user should get to a screen similar to the below screen.
- Select the option for Safe mode command prompt only.
Getting to MS-DOS
If you are running MS-DOS with no other operating systems, the computer should be booting into an MS-DOS prompt automatically, unless you have a shell or other program loading automatically.
Konica minolta 163 driver download full. If the computer cannot load MS-DOS, reboot the computer and as the computer is booting, press the F5 key when you see the message 'Starting MS-DOS' or the MS-DOS version. Pressing this key should load the default settings for MS-DOS.
If this gets you to an MS-DOS prompt and you want to prevent the problem from happening again, edit the autoexec.bat or the config.sys files and remark any bad settings or lines.
Get to MS-DOS in Windows 3.x
If you are running Windows 3.x, it is likely that the computer is booting into Windows automatically and bypassing the MS-DOS prompt. If the computer loads successfully into Windows, to exit to an MS-DOS prompt, from the Program Manager, click the File menu and select Exit.
Run Dos Apps In Windows 10
If the computer cannot load MS-DOS, reboot the computer and as the computer is booting, press the F5 key when you see the message 'Starting MS-DOS' or the MS-DOS version. Pressing this key should load the default settings for MS-DOS.
If you do not want Windows 3.x to load automatically into Windows 3.x, edit the autoexec.bat file and remove the 'win' line.
Other operating system
TipIf you want a command line, you more than likely want to access the Shell or Terminal for your operating system, not MS-DOS.
Run Dos Application In Windows 10 64 Bit
If you are using another operating system (e.g., OS/2 or Linux variant) and you need to get to an MS-DOS prompt, use an MS-DOS boot diskette, unless you are dual booting the computer. Keep in mind that booting from an MS-DOS diskette is not going to allow you to have access to the files used with other operating systems. However, if you're erasing everything and starting over, this would allow you to delete all pre-existing information and start over.
Run Dos Application In Windows 10
Additional information
Run Dos Exe Windows 10
- See our Windows command line definition for further information and related links.
- See our MS-DOS and Windows command line page for a list of all command line commands.