The command prompt is an application that has come with the Windows operating system for many years. It is designed to allow users to perform administrative functions and execute commands on your computer. However, for you to be able to use the commands, you need to know your way around the command prompt.
The command prompt, which is also called CMD, is a command-line interpreter application available in most Windows operating systems. For instance, “IPCONFIG” is one of the most commonly used CMD commands for Windows OS. By entering this command, you can easily get information regarding your Current IP Address and domain.
What exactly is a command prompt and what does it include? What is the best way to access command prompts on Windows? How to use command prompts? What are the best and common CMD commands on Windows OS? In the rest of this article, I’ll provide information regarding everything you need to know about the command prompt on Windows operating systems.
What is a Windows command prompt and what does it include?
The command prompt in Windows Operating Systems has been around for a long time. To be precise; it was initially released in 1988.
The Windows command prompt commands were very popular during the era of text-based input. Today, however, they are slowly disappearing from the Windows interface. Even at that, several CMD commands, which I’ll be sharing with you later in this post, are still useful today.
Furthermore, CMD commands are primarily used to execute and perform advanced administrative functions. That’s not all; the commands are also useful for troubleshooting your system to fix different types of Windows issues. Interestingly, you can also take advantage of the command prompts to run batch files – a type of script that contains several different commands.
How to access command prompts on Windows OS
There are several ways to open or access command prompts on Windows, depending on the type of OS you’re using.
The best way to open command prompts is to go through the Command Prompt shortcut. You can always find the shortcut in the Start menu of your PC. Many people choose to use the shortcut approach for opening and accessing the command prompt because it’s faster for them.
Another approach to accessing the command prompt in Windows OS is by going through the cmd Run command. Some people even prefer using the cmd.exe from where it’s originally located.
On the Power user menu of some Windows OS, there’s a program called PowerShell. People using this OS also use this program to gain access to the command prompt.
Here’s how to open the Command Prompt on Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10
On Windows 10
Follow the simple and direct steps below to open the command prompt in Windows 10:
- Locate and click on the start button
- Type CMD inside the program search bar and press enter.
- After that, you’ll see a list of programs. Locate and select “Command Prompt” from the list.
Alternatively, you can access the command prompt by going through the start menu.
- To do that, you need to first locate and select the start button.
- Next, locate and select the Windows System folder from the available list.
- Lastly, select Command Prompt from the folder and run it.
On Windows 8 and 8.1
- For you to open the Command Prompt on Windows 8 and 8.1, the first thing you need is to locate and select the Start button.
- Next, swipe up to display the App screen.
- On the screen, scroll to the right and the “Windows System” – it’s a heading.
- Next, locate and click on Command Prompt and start executing your desired command.
On Windows 7, Vista, or XP
The steps below will guide you on how to easily and quickly gain access to the command prompt on Windows 7, Vista, and XP.
- First, locate and open the Start menu of your PC. In case you don’t know, it’s usually located at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
- Next, locate all programs and then select accessories.
- Under the accessories, you’ll see a list of different programs. Locate Command Prompt and click on it to start executing your commands.
How to use command prompts in windows
For you to be able to use command prompts in windows, you need to first get familiar with some of the most popular CMD commands. This is what I’ll be sharing with you before going into how to use the command prompts.
5 best CMD commands and how to use them
- ASSOC
ASSOC is a type of command designed for fixing file association in Windows operating systems.
In case you don’t know, most files are associated with a specific program in Windows OS. The program is designed to open the file by default. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be challenging to remember the associations. Here’s where the need to use ASSOC comes into the scene.
For you to use the ASSOC command on your PC, the first thing you need is to open the command prompt using any of the methods in the previous section, depending on your operating system.
After that, type ASSOC in the command window to view the different file extensions that are associated with the command.
- IPCONFIG
IPCONFIG is another common and best type of command that you can run on your Windows command prompt. The command is effective for getting information regarding your current domain, IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway IP.
As usual, for you to use IPCONFIG, you need to first open the command prompt on your Windows PC. After that, enter the command and you’ll be able to find the necessary information, which you can always use for many things such as troubleshooting routers and connection issues.
- SHUTDOWN
Another common command that you can use on your Windows computer is SHUTDOWN. The command is effective for switching off your computer. What makes this shut-down approach great is that you’ll be able to control how you want the system to shut down.
To use this command, you need to first open the command prompt of your system. After that, type in shutdown /I into the command prompt line. With that, you’ll find a GUI pop-up that allows you to select whether to completely shut down or restart your computer. To avoid the pop-up, all you need is to type shutdown /s into the prompt line.
- Driverquery
Driverquery is a type of command that allows you to identify the drivers, on your Windows computer, that are missing, improperly configured, or outdated.
All you need to do is to type Drivequery into the command prompt to get the necessary information. For more information, such as the directory where the driver is installed, type Driverquery -v.
- Systeminfo
Occupying the last spot on the list of the best and common CMD commands for Windows OS is Systeminfo. By entering this command into the command prompt, you’ll be able to find a detailed configuration overview of your PC.
For instance, for you to remotely acquire the information for your Windows PC, all you need to do is to type into the command prompt the command below:
systeminfo /s [host_name] /u [domain]\[user_name] /p [user_password]