How to Open Command Prompt

Open Command Prompt to Execute Commands in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, & XP

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.

Open Command Prompt in Windows 10

Select the Start button.

Type cmd.

Select Command Prompt from the list.

Open Command Prompt Through the Start Menu

Another way to open Command Prompt in Windows 10 is to look in its Start menu folder:

Select the Start button.

Select the Windows System folder from the list.

Choose Command Prompt from the folder group.

Open Command Prompt Using Power User Menu

One more method 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 In more recent versions of Windows 10, Command Prompt has been replaced by PowerShell, but you can still access it from the Power User Menu by editing the taskbar settings.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

Select the Start button and then swipe up to show the Apps screen. You can accomplish the same thing with a mouse by selecting 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.

Select Command Prompt. 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

Open the Start menu from the bottom-left corner of the screen.

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 choose Command Prompt when it appears in the results.

Go to All Programs > Accessories.

Choose Command Prompt from the list of programs.

Here’s our List of Windows 7 Commands and List of Windows XP Commands if you need a command reference for any of those versions of Windows.

Other Ways to Open Command Prompt

Command Prompt in Windows XP through Windows 10 can also be opened with a command. This is especially helpful if you like using the Run dialog box or if Windows Explorer has crashed and the Start menu is inaccessible (and thus the directions above don’t work).

To do this, enter cmd into the command-line interface. This can be in the Run dialog box (WIN+R) or Task Manager’s File > Run new task menu.

Elevated Command Prompts and Old Windows Versions

In versions of Windows released before Windows XP, like Windows 98 and Windows 95, Command Prompt doesn’t 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 message like one of these after trying to execute the command:

• check that you have administrative rights
• . command can only be executed from an elevated command prompt
• you must be an administrator

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.

How to Run Command Prompt as Admin

This basic guide details 8 ways how to run a command prompt as an administrator on Windows.

Contents

💡 On Windows 10, 8.1, 8 – instead of the command prompt, you can use PowerShell, which supports all cmd.exe commands.

Via List of programs

Run the command prompt as admin from the list of standard Windows programs.

💡 Suitable: Windows 10, Windows 8.

1. Open the Start menu (Ctrl + ESC);
2. Open the Windows System;
3. Right-click Command Prompt – More – Run as administrator.

Run the Command prompt as administrator from the Start menu

Via Quick links menu

We enable the ability to run the command prompt as administrator on the menu on the Start button.

💡 Suitable: Windows 10, Windows 8.

1. Right-click on the Taskbar, select – Taskbar settings;
2. Disable the Replace Command Prompt with Windows PowerShell in the menu…;
3. Right-click on the Start button (Windows + X), select Command Prompt (Admin).

Run the Command prompt as administrator via Quick links

Via Task Manager (quick)

Running a Command Prompt as administrator via the Windows Task Manager (quick way).

💡 Suitable: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7.

1. Call Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+ESC);
2. Click on the File;
3. Hold down the Ctrl key and click Run New Task.

Run the Command prompt as administrator via Task manager

Via Task Manager (standard)

Running the Command Prompt as administrator via the Windows Task Manager (standard way).

💡 Suitable: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7.

1. Call Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+ESC);
2. Click on the File;
3. Click Run New Task;
4. Select the Create this task with administrative privileges check box;
5. Type cmd and click OK.

Via Run menu

💡 Suitable: Windows 10, 8.1, 7.

Open the Run menu.

1. Press the Windows+R key combination (or right-click on the Start button, select Run);
2. Enter the cmd command;
3. Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Enter.

Via Windows 10 Search

Run the Command Prompt as administrator via Windows 10 Search.

💡 Suitable: Windows 10.

1. Press the combination Windows+S (or right-click the Start button, select Search);
2. In the search bar write the command prompt (the result will be displayed earlier than you type completely);
3. In the right part of the window, select Run as administrator.

From Windows folder

Running cmd.exe from the utility location folder is another way to run the command prompt as administrator.

💡 Suitable: for all versions of Windows.

1. Open the System32 folder to the Windows folder (usually C:\Windows\System32);
2. Right-click on the cmd file and select Run as administrator.

Via PowerShell

Another way to run Command Prompt as administrator is from PowerShell.

Run the command in the PowerShell console:

🟢 This article discussed how to run Command Prompt as admin Windows. I hope you were able to run the Command Prompt as as administrator with the chosen method. However, if you encounter any problems when starting the command prompt, feel free to write in the comments. I will try to help.

How to Run Command Prompt as an Administrator in Windows 10

A small tip on how to run your command prompt as an administrator or in other words, open an elevated command prompt, in Windows 10/8/7. We have seen how to launch Command Prompt, and carry out many tasks. But some tasks required elevated privileges to be run. In such cases, you have to open an elevated command prompt window. So let us see how to launch, run or open Command Prompt as an administrator or an elevated CMD with administrative privileges & rights in Windows 10/8/7.

Run Command Prompt as Administrator

In Windows 10 and Windows 8, follow these steps:

Take the cursor to the bottom left corner and right-click to open the WinX menu. Select Command Prompt (Admin) to open an elevated command prompt.

So you see, things have been made easier in Windows 10/8.1.

In Windows 7, follow these steps:

Type cmd in Start search.

In the results, you will see ‘ cmd ‘.

Right-click on it and from the context menu select Run as Administrator.

TIP: This post will help you if you can’t run Command Prompt as administrator.

There are other ways to open an elevated command prompt:

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open the Task Manager. Click on File menu > Run new task. To open a command prompt window, type cmd. Remember to check the Create this task with administrative privileges check-box. Then hit Enter.
2. You can also open an elevated Command Prompt from the Task Manager using CTRL key.
3. Or then simply open the Start Menu or Start Screen and start typing the command line. Next, hold the Shift and Ctrl keys, and then hit Enter to open the command line in an elevated command prompt.
4. Open an elevated command prompt using CMD
5. Run Commands from Windows Start Search Box as an Administrator
6. Run commands from Explorer address bar.

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Anand Khanse is the Admin of TheWindowsClub.com, a 10-year Microsoft MVP (2006-16) & a Windows Insider MVP. Please read the entire post & the comments first, create a System Restore Point before making any changes to your system & be careful about any 3rd-party offers while installing freeware.

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