7 Ways to Open Command Prompt on Windows 11, 10, and earlier

If you are a Windows user, you may have come across Command Prompt, one of the Windows Command Line utilities. Although you may not use the application very often, knowing how to open the Command Prompt on Windows will be very useful for performing general administrative, automation, or troubleshooting functions.

However, Command Prompt is not easy to find even though it has been in Windows for several years. In this article, we will show you 7 ways to open Command Prompt in Windows 11, 10 and earlier. Let’s start with the most popular one.

Fun fact: Command Prompt was introduced in 1987 as part of Windows NT to run batch scripts. Since it was the default command line interpreter for Windows before PowerShell took over.

1. The Fastest Way to Open the Command Prompt on Any Version of Windows

This is the most widely used way to open Command Prompt in Windows. It doesn’t matter if you are running on Windows 11, 10 or lower, it works on all.

Step 1: Click Start.

Step 2: Enter Command prompt in the search bar.

Step 3: Now click on ‘Run as administrator’ in the application preferences.

Step 4: Select Yes in the prompt that appears.

That’s it. You should now see the Command Prompt on your desktop.

2. Use Quick Access Menu to open Command Prompt

This is another option to access the Command Prompt. If you are a Windows 11 user, you must follow some additional steps to access the application. Here’s how you can do it on any version of Windows.

For Windows 10 and below

Step 1: Press Win + X to open the Quick Access Menu.

Step 2: Click Command Prompt (Admin).

You may also see Windows PowerShell and Windows PowerShell (Admin) options.

Step 3: Select Yes on the message that appears.

You are in without any trouble.

For Windows 11

Step 1: Press Win + X to open the Quick Access Menu.

Step 2: Click Windows Terminal (Admin).

Step 3: Select Yes in the prompt.

Step 4: This is the new Windows Terminal application (we discussed it in detail below). Now, click on the drop-down arrow.

Want a shortcut to open Command Prompt? Press Ctrl + Shift + 2 here. This will directly open Command Prompt without following the next steps.

Step 5: Click Command Prompt.

Your go.

3. Open Command Prompt with Run Command dialog box

If you are an engineer or a student, this way of opening Command Prompt will be useful in your daily life. Again, a widely used method to open Command Prompt. Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Press Win + R to open the Run command dialog box.

Step 2: Type CMD (can be lowercase or uppercase).

Note: Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open Command Prompt (Admin). If you don’t want to open Command Prompt (Admin), click OK and skip Step 3 to open Command Prompt.

Step 3: Click Yes in the prompt.

Tada! You are in the Command Prompt.

4. Use Task Manager to Launch Command Prompt in Windows

If you’ve been using Windows for a while, you’ve probably used the Task Manager. This nifty tool allows you to Monitor your system performance, among other things. It also allows you to launch Command Prompt with the click of a button.

Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.

Step 2: Go to File tab (upper left corner) and click ‘Run new task’.

Step 3: You will be greeted with the ‘Create New Task’ window. Type cmd (you can use lowercase or uppercase).

Step 4: Check the ‘Create this task with admin rights’ option and click OK.

Now, Command Prompt will open. So yes you have it. If you can’t open Task Manager for some reason, check out our guide on how to fix Task Manager not working on Windows 11 or Windows 10.

5. Open Command Prompt with File Explorer’s address bar: Easiest

You may have located the file path using File Explorer in Windows. However, not many people know that it also helps open Command Prompt. In fact, this is one of the easiest and most underrated by far. Let me show you how.

Step 1: Press Win + E to open File Explorer.

Step 2: Now, type cmd in the address bar (you can use lowercase or uppercase).

Step 3: Press Enter to open Command Prompt.

Easy isn’t it? One thing you need to know about this is that the Command Prompt opens through this method based on the user, meaning it does not open as administrator.

If you want to open Command Prompt as administrator, you may need to use other ways mentioned in this article like the one below.

6. Use File Explorer to Open Command Prompt

This way of opening Command Prompt is different from the one mentioned above. We will use the system’s applications folder to open the Command Prompt. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Press WIN + E to open File Explorer.

Step 2: Copy and paste C:\Windows\System32 into the address bar to get to the System 32 folder.

Step 3: Scroll down and right-click on the CMD.exe file.

Step 4: Select ‘Run as administrator.’

That’s it! It seems like too much to handle including the address path location, but it’s pretty straightforward.

If you don’t want to go through the trouble of searching for a CMD file in System 32, create a desktop shortcut and place it anywhere you want. Follow the next method to learn how to do it.

7. Use Desktop Shortcuts to Open Command Prompt

This method creates a Command Prompt shortcut on the desktop for easier access. This is the last but highly effective method if you use the app daily.

Step 1: Right-click on the Desktop.

Step 2: Select New

Step 3: Select Shortcut.

Step 4: Now type CMD.exe (you can use lowercase or uppercase) and click Next.

Step 5: Give the shortcut a name (eg: CMD Test) and click Finish.

A shortcut file will be created on your Desktop, which you can drag around your preferences. You need to double-click the shortcut to open the Command Prompt.

Note: This shortcut will open the Command Prompt as a user, not an Administrator.

To run this Command Prompt shortcut as administrator:

Step 1: Right click on the shortcut file and click Show more options.

Step 2: Now, select Properties.

Step 3: Click the Advanced button.

Step 4: Check the Run as administrator option and click OK.

Step 5: Click Apply and then click OK in the Properties window.

Now you just need to double click on the shortcut file to open Command Prompt as Administrator. Cool, right? Now that you know how to open apps, check out these awesome Command Prompt tricks you can use.

Now, if you are using Windows 10 or Windows 11, you will find Command Prompt missing from the Power Users menu. Wondering how to access Command Prompt in such a case? Move on to the next section.

How to change from Windows PowerShell to Command Prompt

Although there is no significant difference between them, many people still prefer Command Prompt over PowerShell. If you are one of them, don’t worry. We have you covered with the following simple steps.

Note: The steps are different for Windows 11 and Windows 10. I have explained both below.

For Windows 10

Step 1: Press ‘Win + I’ to open the Windows Settings app.

Step 2: Select Personalize.

Step 3: Click on the Taskbar.

Step 4: Turn off ‘Replace Command Prompt with Windows PowerShell.’

That’s it! It’s quite simple. However, in Windows 11, things are a bit different but relatively simple. Let me help you.

For Windows 11

Microsoft added Windows Terminal as the default command line interface in Windows 11, making it easy to access different Command Shells. However, it will open with PowerShell by default. Follow the steps below to change default options and open Windows Terminal with Command Prompt.

Step 1: Right click on the Windows Start button and click on ‘Windows Terminal (Admin).’

Step 2: Click the drop-down option and select Settings.

Step 3: Click the drop-down menu next to the Default Configuration option.

Step 4: Now, select Command Prompt.

Step 5: Finally, click Save in the lower right corner.

After changing this setting, next time you open Windows Terminal or add a new tab by clicking the plus (+) button, it will open your favorite command line interface. If you want to go back to PowerShell or Terminal, replace the Command Prompt search with the command line application you want.

Access Command Prompt in Windows easily

I hope this guide helped you to open Command Prompt on Windows seamlessly. While you’re at it, you might want to check out our article on how to use the Function shortcut on the Command Prompt to use it like a pro.

Please let us know which Windows operating system your machine is running and which method you would like to open Command Prompt using above in the comments section below.

Categories: How to
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