The command line is a unique tool, which, despite its similarity to the outdated, as it seems to many, interface similar to the previously used DOS-mode, has quite wide possibilities, access to which is impossible in the regular Windows graphical interface. And you can run it in several ways. But calling the command line with hot keys, despite the protests of some users who are accustomed to using only the mouse, is much more convenient and faster. How to do this, we will discuss further. And for starters, let's briefly dwell on why you generally need to use the console itself and its tools.
What is the command line for?
So, most often, the command console is usually used to eliminate failures in the operating system, check some of its components, perform operations with disks and partitions, enable or disable some Windows functions, standard copying procedures, deleting objects (if logging into the system is impossible), and so on. Of course, this tool loses somewhat to the PowerShell console, which, in addition to the standard command line features, has an expanded set of tools (for example, it allows you to delete the "wired" Windows programs frames). Nevertheless, it is much simpler to use, it will not be difficult to deal with the main commands and operations, especially since there is a brief help system with examples in it.
How to call the command line in "Windows 7" and above the simplest method?
Now directly on the launch. Immediately, note that the console itself can be started on Windows operating systems of the seventh modification and higher in two ways: with normal start and start as administrator. At the same time, even disabling the built-in registration record of the so-called super administrator does not apply to starting the command line. That is why some applets and commands are not executed correctly or it is not possible to execute them at all.
In the simplest and fastest version, the launch is made from the Run menu, which is called up by the quick combination Win + R, after which the combination cmd is entered in the program start line and the enter key is pressed. But where is the “Win” key on the keyboard? As a rule, on standard models, it is located on the left between the Ctrl and Alt buttons (or between Alt and Fn). On some keyboards without a numeric keypad, which are used in laptops or tablets with small screen diagonals, the desired key can be located on the right side to the left of the arrow buttons.
Where is the "Win" key on the keyboard, sorted out. But how can it be used yet? In any system, with its help, you can call up the start menu itself (this corresponds to pressing the "Start" button, and only then go to the desired section. But how to call the command line in "Windows 7" or in any other system from here?
To do this, you need to move to the utility program section (use the arrow buttons to go, use “Enter” to enter the submenu and launch the applet itself).
How to run the command line with keys as administrator?
As already understood, the discussion above was exclusively about the usual start of the console, in which the administrator privileges were not taken into account. But sometimes they are extremely necessary. If we are talking about Windows 7, after calling the execution console, in the launch field of the command line applet as an administrator, you need to check the box. You can move to the desired item using the tabulator (Tab), and set the selection by pressing the space bar. After that, it will remain to confirm the launch with the enter key (moving to the "OK" button is completely optional.
To exit the console, you can use either the exit command or the standard closing of the active window using Alt + F4.
Starting the console directly from a file
You can also use the console start directly from the file, which is located in the System32 directory of the system root folder. In this case, the actions are somewhat more complicated, since it will be impossible to directly call the command line with hot keys, but you will have to use the standard file manager. To call "Explorer", the Win + E combination is used, after which the arrows move through the folders, enter them and open the files by pressing enter. Yes, but if we are talking about calling the command line with hot keys on behalf of the administrator, this technique is not applicable. It’s good if the keyboard itself has a special button for the context menu (usually located to the right either between the Alt and Ctrl buttons, or to the right of the space bar.
But for those keyboard models on which there is no such button, you can use the combination Shift + F10 (when using Ctrl + Shift + F10, an extended context menu opens).
The nuances of running the console in Windows 10
In the eighth and tenth versions of the system, in the program launch console, the start point of the executable command on behalf of the administrator may be absent. In this case, you can use the above method, but the easiest way is to use hot keys in another option to access the command line.
From the Run menu, the taskmgr command first launches the Task Manager, presses the Alt button to activate the file menu, selects the start point for the new task with the down arrow, and then a window appears repeating the “run” console, but with the start point of the task with administrator rights.
To access the "Task Manager" you can also use combinations like Del + Alt + Ctrl or Esc + Shift + Ctrl, which is much simpler. The context menu of the start button is called up by a quick press of Win + X, and there is already a start point for the command console both in normal mode and with administrator rights.
Using keyboard shortcuts at system startup
On Windows 7 and earlier, there is also a keyboard shortcut to invoke the command line. At the very beginning of the download, you can call an additional start menu. To do this, use the F8 key (sometimes Alt + F8 or something similar).
After that, a boot point with command line support is simply selected.
Note: to return the use of F8 in the eighth and tenth versions of Windows, in the command console running with administrator rights, run the command “bcdedit / set {current} bootmenupolicy legacy” (without quotes at the beginning and at the end).
Console start when booting from removable media
To start the command line, Windows hot keys at startup from removable media, for example, from any boot, installation or recovery disk, are used in a single combination - Shift + F10 (both for all versions of the system and for all types of software present on the drives) .
Note: to exit the console when you are finished working with it, it is best to use the exit command, after which you can go to other menu items by navigating through them using additional keys, as described in the examples above.