Command Prompt at Startup

Brink said:

To run a "Clean" command on the OS drive, you would want to boot from the DVD to open a command prompt.

You wouldn't be able to do so using Method 2 since the OS would be loaded and in use.

Thanks :), that's what I thought but wasn't certain before your posts.

Hey, I am unable to get to command prompt to run at boot using this guide.

I am attempting to repair a friend's laptop (Lenovo T430s, running windows 7), and not having much success.

When I attempt to use Option 1, boot using the Windows 7 Repair disk, via USB, it usually reaches the "Select Language" popup. I select US, but then it does not reach the following popups where it lets you use recovery options, among them the CMD.exe.

When I attempt to use Option 2, boot to safe mode with command prompt, the boot gets stuck at "Loaded: \windows\system32\drivers\CLASSPNP.SYS"

I'm unsure of what else to try, short of letting option 1 run for a few hours in hopes that it it just loading the next pop-up very, very slowly. The thing is, I've reached the next pop-up before on the friend's computer, and attempted the repair, but now I can't even get that far.

Any help would be appreciated.

I do not have a Windows 7 installation DVD. I'm studying abroad, and trying to help a fellow student with what I can get from the internet. Sorry for the delay. Apparently the University IT is going to handle it, so I guess this is all moot now. Thanks anyways!

Shawn,

I have a Win 7 OEM disk for my Desktop PC. Can I get to the CMD prompt using Option 1 <shift> F10 with this disk, the same as with a Retail disk?

The disk package says "OEM System Builder Pack". It's the white OEM package (Win 7 Home Premium x64).

Brink said:

Hey Scoop,

Since it's a retail OEM, you should be able to. If not for any reason, you could also create a System Repair Disc to use for this.

The OEM recovery discs that sometimes come included with preinstalled OEM computers cannot be used for this.

Thanks for the info :) I created the disc and added it to my "restore/recovery" PC kit. Contents looked ok, bootmgr, boot folder, etc.

I didn't see the "create disc" option in my Control Panel but the recdisc.exe worked great. I think the reason I can't see that option in my Control Panel is that I have Acronis 2011 installed and it appears that Acronis overrides the Windows default "Restore" options.

I see an option in Control Panel to "Turn On Windows Backup". When I clicked that option, this dialog appears.

I canceled it since I'm cloning and Imaging with 3rd-party tools.

If that's enabled, does that activate the Windows imaging tool so the user can use the built-in Windows Imaging options?