Often in the description of a solution some Windows problems 7 mentioned command line. What is it? This is the name of the system shell that lacks a graphical interface. User interaction with it is carried out by entering queries (commands).
Functions
There are a huge number of functions for it. Using the command line, you can perform any standard PC setup, check the system status, and display the configuration. It can completely replace the graphical interface. And at the same time, its capabilities are wider than those available in the standard Windows shell.
But still, most users need a graphical interface. Therefore, you should resort to working with the terminal as a last resort, when there are no alternative solutions to problems. Now let's take a closer look simple ways its launch and useful commands.
Launch
You can come up with a large number of ways to launch the command line in Windows 7, since the system allows it. But there are three easy options for the average user: in the dialog box "Run", via menu "Start" and through the executable file.
Method 1: Run Dialog Box
Dialog window "Run" is a partial replacement for Windows Terminal. Some commands are similar for them. However, it can also be used to launch the command line.
The easiest way to launch this utility is by simultaneously pressing Win + R. But you can also find it in the menu "Start", chapter "Standard". Enter cmd and click on the button "OK", after which the desired program will start.
Note: the command line opened in this way has limited functionality, since it is only granted user access. Accordingly, some actions will not be available. To unlock them, you need to enable them as an administrator.
Method 2: Start Menu
Menu "Start" designed to quickly call various system elements. Launch it, go to "All programs", open the section there "Standard". It will contain a shortcut to activate the command line. 
Attention: unlike the previous option, in this case it is possible to launch the terminal with administrator rights. To do this, right-click on the desired element and select the second item.
Method 3: Executable file
Both previous methods were associated with indirect options for opening the terminal. But it can also be launched directly, through an executable file. His name - cmd.exe, situated on system disk, on the way Windows/System32.
An alternative access option is to search in Explorer. You can also find the element "Command line" in Start, right-click on it, select "Properties", and then "File location".
For executable filecmd.exe, you can create a shortcut, for example, on the desktop. This will make starting the console much easier in the future. Right-click on the document, select "Send - Desktop...". In this case, you can automatically launch the command line with administrator rights. To do this, open the shortcut properties, go to the section "Compatibility" and check the box next to the appropriate item.
Teams
Request help will display everything teamsWindows 7, available for input into this moment. For most of them, parameters or values can be set. We will consider those queries that may be useful to the average user.
PC shutdown timer
Team shutdown is responsible for turning off the computer. It has the following attributes:
- -s - turns off the PC immediately after entering.
- -s -t 50 - turns off the PC after a certain time (50 is the number of seconds, the number can be changed to any).
- -a - cancel the shutdown timer.
The specified attributes are written with a space after the command. It looks like this: “request attribute”. For example, to turn off the PC after 3 minutes you need to enter the following:
shutdown -s -t 180
Displaying computer configuration
Computer configuration information can be obtained through systeminfo.
The status will be displayed there network connections, installed amount of RAM, applied updates and other information.
Disk check
Team chkdsk causes the state of the logical disk partitions. And using it with the following attributes will perform the check:
Checking system components
To call this function, use the request sfc. It allows you to check the condition of system components and restore them if damage is detected. This useful command, which is often required when correcting errors in executable files.
It starts with the following attributes:
- /scannow - immediately starts the scanning procedure.
- /scanonce - assigns a scan to reboot the PC.
- /scanboot - scanning is always enabled when Windows boots.
An ordinary user who is not well versed in computers may not know about the existence of the Command Line, or may not be able to use it. However, there always comes a time when the user, for some reason, is asked to execute the desired command on the command line. In fact, everything is not as scary as it seems at first glance.
What is the command line?
This is a shell that allows you to assign tasks to the computer in text form. Previously, the operating system did not have a graphical interface and all tasks were performed via text input. Now many things can be done using various windows and graphical buttons, but the command line remains needed to this day.
Some commands are much easier to execute through the command line, and sometimes a graphics glitch leaves you with no other choice. Even if you haven’t had a chance to use the command line yet, we recommend that you start learning it right now.
There are several ways to launch the command line in Windows 7:
- Press the Win+R keys simultaneously. In the window that appears, enter “cmd” and click OK.
- Open Start - Run. Also enter “cmd” and click OK.
- If you need to run Command Prompt as an administrator while using a guest account, click Start - All Programs - Accessories. On the “Command Prompt” line, right-click and select Run as administrator.
Teams
After the above steps, we can start entering the command. Windows 7 command line has classic design, namely a simple black text window in which we can immediately begin entering the desired text. Let's look at the list of basic commands that are most important in everyday use.
- regedit - allows you to enter the registry editor.
- ipconfig - shows all necessary information about your IP address.
- ipconfig /all - displays more detailed information about IP, default gateway, subnet mask, dns servers etc.
- explorer - needed to restart Explorer. For example, if your Start menu has disappeared or some kind of glitch has occurred, restart Explorer.
- chkdisk - used for checking hard drive and file system for errors.
- services.msc - launches the control panel for computer services and services.
- systeminfo - displays information about the currently installed operating system.
- gpedit.msc - launches the Local Group Policy Editor, which allows you to configure many of your computer's settings, as well as set various restrictions for users.
This list includes only the basic commands for Windows 7. Let's look at a few more quite frequently encountered problems and how to solve them using the command line.
Battery drains quickly. If your battery starts to drain quickly, it's worth checking to see if a program is to blame. To do this, enter “powercfg /energy” at the command line. Press Enter and wait while the system generates a report on the work done. After that, enter “energy-report.html” and read more details.
Resource Monitor. To monitor your computer's performance, enter the command "perfmon /res". You will start the resource monitor, where you can find out a lot useful information. For example, to identify which programs load the system or why it makes noise from time to time HDD. To do this, go to the Disk section and select “Processes with disk activity.” This way you can find out which program is using the most on your disk.
File system. Using the command line you can convert file system FAT32 to NTFS. To find out what system you have, go to “My Computer” and right-click on the drive, opening the “Properties” tab. The FAT32 system does not allow you to write files to a disk larger than four gigabytes. Therefore, if this is exactly what is installed, it is better to convert the system.
To do this, enter the text “convert c: /fs ntfs” in the command line. In this case, the letter "c" is the selected drive. If you are converting another, then enter the letter of the desired drive.
Electricity. To set the settings for power consumption, enter the text “powercfg.cpl”. Now you can configure various parameters, manage processor power, usb, set required parameters while connecting to the network and much more.
. If you need to find out what devices are installed on your computer or what drivers need to be updated, use Device Manager. To call it, enter “devmgmt.msc” and press Enter. Here you can view all components and external devices connected to your computer.
Color settings. No monitor can display a picture perfectly accurately. Colors may vary when viewed on different monitors. To adjust the color rendering, enter "dccw". In the window that appears, adjust the color calibration so that when printed, the picture does not differ from what you see on the screen.
Standard tasks and programs for performing them. It often happened that after opening a link from an email, the site did not open in the one we needed. Chrome browser(for example) and in Opera? This happens because default programs are selected for basic tasks. To change this, use the "computerdefaults" command. Select all necessary programs default and click OK.
Creating folders. If you need to quickly create a large number of folders, use the command line. To begin, enter the path to the location where these folders will be located. For example, “cd d:win”, where “d:win” is the path to the location we need. After that, write “md” and, separated by a space, indicate the names of the folders, for example “md one two three four”.
Shutdown unnecessary programs . Usually we don't even suspect how many unnecessary programs are running on our system. We installed some and forgot to close/uninstall them, some perform completely unnecessary functions. To view the entire list, enter the command “services.msc” and press Enter. In the list you can see not only running programs at the moment, but also choose which ones will start automatically, along with loading Windows. The Startup Type column shows which ones start automatically. To change this, right-click and select disable.
Disk Management. To open the Disk Control Panel, use the command “diskmgmt.msc”. In the window that opens, you can manage any disks, not only internal, but also external. For example, we want to change the letter to represent external usb drive. To do this, right-click on the desired drive, select the line “Change drive letter or drive path” and click change. After this, all you have to do is write the desired letter and confirm the change.
. To quickly go to the autorun control panel, run the “msconfig” command. The system configuration panel will open. In it you can choose what exactly to launch with operating system. Go to the Startup section and uncheck the boxes next to unnecessary programs. Just be careful not to disable an important program, for example, an antivirus.
Problem Reproduction Action Recorder. This feature originally appeared in Windows 7. What is it for? If, for example, you get the same error, you can run this function and automatically record all the actions leading up to the occurrence of this problem. After this, all the screenshots that the program takes can be transferred to a specialist or sent to technical support. To start the recording function, use the "psr" command.
Factory settings. If you start seeing persistent errors, reset your computer's basic settings. To do this, enter “sfc /scannow”. After this, you may have to update some Windows components again.
Full list of commands
List of all currently available commands just huge. Many of them are needed very rarely, and sometimes the average user does not encounter them even once during all use virtual machine. If you want to learn more about existing commands, enter "help" in the Windows 7 command prompt. You will see a list of commands and their brief meaning.
To find out more about the command you are interested in, enter “help_team name”. For example, you want to learn more about the Assoc team. To do this, you need to write “help assoc” and press Enter.
The Windows 7 Command Prompt is a feature of Windows that allows you to enter MS-DOS and other computer commands. The importance of this command line is that it allows you to perform tasks without the help of the Windows GUI. Typically, the command line is only used by advanced users.
When working with the command line, the term command line itself also denotes the closing angle bracket (>). This indicates that the command line interface can accept commands.
The current working directory where the command will be executed can be specified on the command line. For example, if when you open a command prompt window, the text “C:\>” and a blinking cursor to the right of the angle bracket (>) are displayed on this line, then this means that the entered command will be executed on the C drive of this computer.
There are several ways to launch the command line. Let's consider launching the Command Prompt from the current user account:
- Press Win+R (Start - Run), enter cmd command and click Ok
As you can see, the command line has been launched with the rights of the current user! To see a list of frequently used commands, at the command prompt, type help and press ENTER. To display additional information for each of these commands, enter help command_name, where command_name is the name of the command about which you want more information (For example, help ping).
Innovations in cmd in Windows 10 - I would like to note on my own that there are many more ways to open the command line in Windows 10 and you can choose more convenient options for yourself (read the life hack by following the link).
Run Command Prompt as Administrator
Some commands may require administrator rights to run. To run the command prompt with administrator rights, you must do the following.
Command line or as it is also called cmd in the Windows 8 operating system is the same as in younger versions of Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, it follows that the same commands work the same in all versions.
So let's first figure out how to launch the command line. To do this, you must have a working computer with an operating system.
Some commands if you work through an account regular user For security reasons, you may not have enough rights to execute, so always run the command prompt with administrator rights. There are 2 ways to launch the command line:
In the window that appears, write cmd and click OK.
A command prompt window will open with a black background.
2) More quick way: via the hot keys Win+R, here also in the window that appears we write cmd, press ok.
In Windows 8, you can only use method 2, since there is no Start menu. Let's write our first help command, which will display a list of all available commands with brief explanations.
List of all existing Windows command line commands:
ASSOC
Print to screen or modify mappings based on file name extensions.
ATTRIB View and modify file properties.
BREAK Locks or unlocks enhanced CTRL+C processing in DOS.
BCDEDIT Sets properties in the boot database that allows you to control the initial boot.
CACLS Lists data and modifies access control lists (ACLs) on files.
CALL Calls one batch file from another, and can also pass input arguments.
CD
CHCP Output or set encoding.
CHDIR Displays the name or moves to another folder.
CHKDSK Diagnostics of the drive for errors.
CHKNTFS Shows or changes drive diagnostics during boot.
CLSO clearing the display of all symbols.
CMD Launches a command program Windows strings. You can run an infinite number of them on one computer. They will work independently of each other.
COLOR Changes and sets the main background of the window and the fonts themselves.
COMP Shows differences and compares the contents of two files.
COMPACT Changes and shows file compression in NTFS.
CONVERT Converts FAT disk volumes to NTFS. The current drive cannot be changed.
COPY Creates a copy of a file or files and places them in the specified location.
DATE Shows or sets the current date.
DEL Destroys one or more files at once.
DIR Shows the names of files and folders with their creation date located in the current folder or specified in the folder settings.
DISKCOMP Compares and shows the differences between 2 floppy drives.
DISKCOPY Creates a copy of the contents of one floppy drive to another.
DISKPART Shows and changes the properties of a disk partition.
DOSKEY Modifies and re-invokes command lines; creates macros.
DRIVERQUERY Displays information about the status and attributes of a device driver.
ECHO Displays text information and changes the display mode of commands on the screen.
ENDLOCAL Brings the environment localization to a close for the batch file.
ERASE Destroys a file or files.
EXIT Terminates the command line program
F.C. Shows the differences between two files or two sets of files and also compares them
FIND Searches for a text string in files or in one file.
FINDSTR Advanced search for text strings in files.
FOR Cycle. Repeats execution of the same command a specified number of times
FORMAT Formatting the drive for use with Windows.
FSUTIL Shows and sets file system attributes.
FTYPE Allows you to change and view file types, which are mainly used when matching by file name extensions.
GOTO Transfers control to another specified command.
GPRESULT Displays information about group policy for a computer or user.
GRAFTABL Gives Windows feature show extended character set in graphical mode.
HELP Lists all data about existing Windows commands.
ICACLS Shows, modifies, archives, or restores ACLs for files and folders.
IF Executes commands based on a given condition.
LABEL Creates, modifies, and destroys volume labels for drives.
M.D. Creates an empty directory.
MKDIR Creates an empty directory.
MKLINK Creates symbolic and hard links
MODE Configures system devices.
MORE Sequentially displays information in blocks the size of one screen.
MOVE Moves files from one location to another.
OPENFILES Shows files that are open on a shared folder by a remote user.
PATH Displays or sets the full path to executable files.
PAUSE Stops execution of command line commands and displays information text.
POPD Restores the previous active folder value that was saved using the PUSHD command.
PRINT Prints the contents of a text file.
PROMPT Modifies the Windows command line prompt.
PUSHD Saves the active folder value and moves to another folder.
R.D. Destroys a directory.
RECOVER Revives readable data from a bad or damaged hard drive.
R.E.M. Places comments in batch files and the CONFIG.SYS file.
REN Changes the name of both files and folders.
RENAME Similar team REN.
REPLACE Swaps files.
RMDIR Destroys a directory.
ROBOCOPY Advanced tool for copying files and entire folders
SET Shows, sets, and destroys Windows environment variables.
SETLOCAL Localizes environment changes in a batch file.
S.C. Allows you to work with services
SCHTASKS Allows you to run any programs and sequentially execute the necessary commands according to a given plan
SHIFT Changes the position (shift) of substituted parameters for a batch file.
SHUTDOWN Shuts down the computer.
SORT Sorts input according to specified parameters.
START Launches a program or command in a new window.
SUBST Assigns a drive name to the specified path.
SYSTEMINFO Displays information about the operating system and computer configuration.
TASKLIST Shows a list of all running processes with their identifiers.
TASKKILL“Kills” or stops the process.
TIME Sets and displays the system time.
TITLE Sets the window name for the current session of the command line interpreter CMD.EXE
TREE Displays drive directories in a convenient visual form.
TYPE Displays the contents of text files.
VER Outputs brief information about the Windows version.
VERIFY Checks for file writing errors on the drive.
VOL Displays marks and serial number drive volumes.
XCOPY Creates a copy of files.
WMIC Prints WMI on the command line.
Command line - special program, which allows you to control the operating system using text commands entered in the application window. Its interface is completely text-based, unlike familiar look operating system.
Perform actions using text expressions, of course, is not as convenient as clicking on icons on the screen, selecting menu items, opening program windows. But sometimes it is simply necessary to open the command line, for example, when there are problems in the system, when working with network and equipment settings, or when calling system applications. Here are some examples of its use:
- The systeminfo command allows you to collect information about the system, including installed updates and network information. IN graphical interface It is not possible to receive such data.
- chkdsk - checks the disk for errors and generates a report.
- sfc /scannow is a useful command to start scanning and repairing damaged files.
- ipconfig - allows you to find out the IP address of your computer in a split second.
- ping - check the network operation in case of problems with the router.
- help - the command line will display a list possible commands with brief information about them.
These are just a few examples of the useful uses of this application. In addition, through the program window you can quite successfully work on the computer without using a mouse.
Switching methods
There are several options to open the Windows Command Prompt:
In versions higher than Windows 8, in order to apply this method, you need to click on the magnifying glass next to the user name.
Also for quick launch you can create a desktop shortcut and hotkeys. You can create a shortcut like this:
- In the Explorer window, find the “Windows\System32” folder, right-click on the cmd.exe file in it, then “Create a shortcut” and select a name for it.
- Right-click on an empty space on the screen and find “Create shortcut” in the context menu. In the field that appears, type C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe. Next, select a name and click OK.
Now you can assign hotkeys. Call context menu created shortcut, click “Properties”, “Shortcut” tab, enter the required combination in the “Shortcut” field.
Please note that when launched using the shortcut, search box and explorer, the command line is launched from the System32 folder, and using the "Run" item of the Start menu from Users folders your computer.
Opening with extended rights
Among the methods discussed, some allow you to enable the command line as an administrator. The fact is that even if you use the Administrator account in your current work, you do not have full rights to manage the system. This is done to improve reliability and reduce the risk of damage from malware.
Running as an administrator is a different concept than an administrator account. It involves increasing the level of rights, giving the program the highest access to changing the system. This way, more functions will become available in the application (in our case, on the command line). When opened normally they are simply locked. For example, if you want to disable control accounts via cmd.exe, in normal mode this will not be accessible, only as an administrator.
Thus, the command line is a kind of universal Windows system management tool that allows you to perform various tasks without switching between many windows, menus, and programs. All commands are directed through the text window, you can quickly change network settings, security settings, check or format drives and perform many other functions in seconds.
