Matt Refghi's Blog » command prompt

Open Command Window Here in Windows 7

Matt Refghi — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 12:00:29 +0000

Despite the numerous graphical advancements introduced in Windows 7, the Command Prompt has remained largely unchanged. Yet, it has always remained a useful, lightweight tool for interacting with the file system. I remember using it often in Windows XP, which was really when I was getting serious about Computer Science. In fact, I looked for ways to improve the command prompt experience. I eventually discovered a power toy for Windows XP titled “Open Command Window Here”. When installed, it would add an extra option to the context menu, which simply said “Open Command Window Here”. It would typically be visible when you right-clicked a folder, and, once selected, would make a new Command Prompt window would appear. This new window would have current location automatically set to the folder you right-clicked. This was particularly useful when you want to access a folder that is deep in the folder structure, and were already seeing it in Windows Explorer.

Unlike Windows XP, Windows 7 ships with this feature; however, it isn’t immediately visible to the user. To access it, you have to hold SHIFT, and then right-click. This will make numerous additional options appear, among them, “Open Command Window Here” can be seen.

In general, I suggest experimenting with the SHIFT modifier – some of the “hidden” contextual options are very interesting.

Rebooting and Shutting Down via Command Prompt

Matt Refghi — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 23:27:43 +0000

When I originally found myself needing to reboot a machine via Remote Desktop, I realized that the shut down option was removed from the Start menu. Instead, I had the option to end my Remote Desktop session, nothing else. CTRL+ALT+DEL understandably didn’t work, as my local machine interpreted the key combination, not the remote machine. Without an obvious solution at the time, I remembered that there was a command line executable that could be used to shut down. The executable worked so well that I put batch file shortcuts on the desktop of the machine, allowing me to either restart or shut down the machine with a simple double-click. Seeing as this proved useful to me, I thought I would share how to do it.

To reboot the remote machine, simply use the following command in its Command Prompt.

shutdown /r /t:1 /y

There are three arguments being specified here: the first tells the shutdown executable that you want to reboot, not shut down. The second tells it to wait 1 second before shutting down, rather than the default 20 seconds. Finally, the third tells it to automatically answer “Yes” to any questions asked by the operating system when shutting down. The latter may speed up the operation, but you may lose any unsaved changes.

To shut down, simply use the following command:

shutdown /t:1 /y

That’s all there is to it. For more information about the shutdown comment, see this Microsoft Support article.

After using this approach for a month or so, I discovered that there was a way to use CTRL+ALT+DEL in Remote Desktop. Instead of CTRL+ALT+DEL, simply press CTRL+ALT+END, and the remote machine will behave as if it received a CTRL+ALT+DEL signal.

Using Ping to Monitor Reboots

Matt Refghi — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:45:01 +0000

When you`re rebooting a computer, and you need to know exactly when it is back online, try using this command:

ping -t

can be an IP or domain name.

This command will keep pinging the machine endlessly, which can reveal exactly when the computer is back on the network. As long as you keep getting “Request time out”, the machine isn’t online yet. When you get a reply, as illustrated below, you know you can connect to the machine.

Example output of ping -t

Personally, I tend to put this window on my secondary monitor, while I continue working on the primary monitor. As soon as the machine is online, I close the window or press CTRL+C to prevent the ping from going on endlessly. Be careful how you use this – some hosts can interpret endless pinging as an attack.

Thanks to François Deschênes for originally showing me this trick.