Command Prompt at Startup

How to Open a Command Prompt at Boot in Windows 7​

   Information

This will show you how to open a command prompt at boot from the System Recovery Options or Advanced Boot Options screen in Windows 7.

   Note

Command Prompt is a feature of Windows 7 that provides an entry point for typing MS‑DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) commands and other computer commands. The most important thing to know is that by typing commands, you can perform tasks on your computer without using the Windows 7 graphical interface (GUI). Command Prompt is typically only used by advanced users.

OPTION ONE

To Open a Command Prompt at Boot

1. Boot from either your Windows 7 installation disc or Windows 7 System Repair Disc, and press Shift + F10 when at either screen below.



A) Go to step 3.
OR

2. Boot to the System Recovery Options screen, and select the Command Prompt option. (see screenshot below)
A) Continue on to step 3.
3. A command prompt window will now open. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: To exit and restart to the Windows 7 logon screen, close the command prompt window and click on the Restart button on the screenshot below step 2.

OPTION TWO

To Boot to "Safe Mode with Command Prompt"

   Note

This starts Windows 7 in safe mode with a command prompt window instead of the usual Windows interface.

1. Boot to the Advanced Boot Options screen.

2. Select Safe Mode with Command Prompt and press Enter. (See screenshot below)
3. Windows 7 will now start loading Safe Mode with Command Prompt. (See screenshot below)
4. When finished, you are now in Safe Mode with Command Prompt. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: To exit from here, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete or type Exit and press Enter to restart the computer.
That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Open a Command Prompt in Windows 7
• How to Open a Elevated Command Prompt in Windows 7
• How to Create a Windows 7 System Repair Disc

 

[joaodiogo321]

well but i have 2 drives and wanted to defrag both.

so shouldnt it be "defrag /c ..." ?

 

[Brink]

Sure, you could include the other drive letter as well, but the drive letters must have a colon : after them and not the backslash / in front of them. For example, with drive letters C and E.

defrag C: E: /F

 

[joaodiogo321]

i was trying to use that because it says: /C - Perform the operation on all volumes. so it should work...

but ill try individually tonight and will let you know if it works!

 

[Brink]

Ah, I was thinking that you were wanting to do it on that drive letter instead of the switch, and just had the command wrong. Sorry about that. LOL

Yes, you can also use the command below in a elevated command prompt if you wanted to defrag all volumes.

defrag /C /F

 

[joaodiogo321]

yes but even if i do that it gives me those errors....

 

[Brink]

Is that with the separate drive letters?

If so, then you may need to do a repair install if you do not have a restore point available that is dated before (if known when) this issue started to do a system restore with.

 

[joaodiogo321]

well i think i will stick to defragging in safe mode or smth... dont wanna lose my tweaks.
will i get better results with defraggler while running it normally logged in than by defragging with CMD also normally logged in?

Because this is the only thing that is not working.

 

[Brink]

I don't blame you if this is the only issue.

 

[joaodiogo321]

I don't blame you if this is the only issue.

I ended up using defraggler for both drives and im ok with that....
I set it up with similar settings of windows disk defragmenter (not to defrag files with fragments under 64mb)

Thanks for all time spent trying to help me!

 

[Brink]

You're most welcome. That would be the best option.

 

[andyvrc]

this is the tutorial when we want install the windows right? so how if i'am not in the install mode,but in normal boot mode of windows?!

 

[Brink]

Hello Andy,

I'm not sure of what you mean. This tutorial is for how to open a command prompt at boot before Windows is loaded. If you mean how to open a command prompt while in Windows, then the tutorials below can help show you how to.

How to Open a Command Prompt in Windows 7

and

How to Open a Elevated Command Prompt in Windows 7

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[samirah]

need to reformat drives

I need to reformat my computer and am having trouble doing so. I went through the installation disc and chose command prompt when I get there, the directory is x:/sources. My husband thought that this was a virus because when I try to change the directory to c to reformat d or d to reformat c, it won't change from the x drive. But I saw in your tutorial about how to access the command prompt that your screen capture had the x:/sources.

I got to the home directory x, usding cd.. but it will not let me go to a different drive other than x. How can I reformat my c and d drives, and exactly what is the x drive?​

 

[Golden]

Hi,

The X:\Sources> is correct, and nothing to be concerned about. In order to format from that prompt, you need to invoke DISKPART. Use this to guide you, starting at OPTION 2:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2674-partition-volume-create-new.html

Regards,
Golden

 

[samirah]

Thank you so much for your speedy reply, I will give it a try!

 

[andyvrc]

Hello Andy,

I'm not sure of what you mean. This tutorial is for how to open a command prompt at boot before Windows is loaded. If you mean how to open a command prompt while in Windows, then the tutorials below can help show you how to.

How to Open a Command Prompt in Windows 7

and

How to Open a Elevated Command Prompt in Windows 7

Hope this helps,
Shawn

yeah that's what i mean
thx for the advice,and sorry for my bad english

 

[Brink]

You're most welcome Andy. No worries, you're English is good enough.

 

[Scoop]

I have a question about the CMD-mode boots and which ones are booting into RAM.

Method 1: Booting with a Win 7 Install or Repair disc to CMD Prompt:

I'm guessing that CMD is being loaded into RAM and no HDD is required to run anything within CMD, including DISKPART . Is that correct?

Method 2 - Boot to Safe Mode with CMD:

Is that also booting into RAM? Is the OS HDD being accessed when in CMD Safe Mode?

 

[Brink]

Hello Scoop,

Method 1 loads from the DVD at boot instead of Windows. It would be pointless to run anything in a command prompt at boot without a hard drive though.

Method 2 loads Windows in Safe Mode.

Everything still runs using RAM, but not from RAM alone.

 

[Scoop]

Hello Scoop,

Method 1 loads from the DVD at boot instead of Windows. It would be pointless to run anything in a command prompt at boot without a hard drive though.

Method 2 loads Windows in Safe Mode.

Everything still runs using RAM, but not from RAM alone.

Thanks for the info

Method 1, the reason I was curious about it, is if I wanted to run "clean" or "clean all" from DISKPART, I'd like to run those commands outside of the OS and without any other HDD connected to my PC except for the target HDD.

I can use other means, DBAN, etc, but I was curious if I could use DISKPART (CMD) from the bootable Win DVD with no other HDD connected to my PC (no OS drive installed).

Method 2: I'm not sure I understand this part, not running from RAM alone. When booting into CMD Prompt Safe Mode, is the OS HDD being accessed?