Context menu for windows bash admin - windows

I would like to be able to open the windows bash terminal from windows explorer with a context menu. Much like you can do in Ubuntu. I have created a subkey in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/Directory/Background/shell with the command:
powershell -c start -verb runas cmd '/c start /D "%V" bash.exe'
This works well for opening the bash as admin in most directories, but it crashes if the directory has a space in it. It seems to be that bash only takes part of the string, and then can't find the directory to navigate to. I've tried escape quotes around the %V, e.g """%V""" but that didn't help. Any ideas?

Here's an alternate approach that avoids PowerShell. Create a key named "HKLM\Software\Classes\Directory\background\shell\runas" and give it a default value like "Open in bash as administrator". Create a subkey named "command" and give it a default value of "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" /c start /B /D "%V" bash.exe. Change the path to cmd.exe if you have a different system directory. It has to be the fully-qualified path to cmd.exe. – eryksun

Related

Using /c as an argument in CygWin bash script, without translation

I'm trying to run regedit /c reg.txt from within a CygWin bash script to grab the registry contents after which I'll process them with the remainder of the script (yes, I know Powershell is one option but I'd rather stick with the tools I know).
However, when doing this, the regedit program pops up a dialog box complaining about trying to read c:\ and I think this is because CygWin magically converts the /c into the actual drive c:\, similar to the way that cat /h/xyzzy/plugh.txt will show me the file h:\xyzzy\plugh.txt. The dialog box is as follows, you can see the errant parameter underlined:
Is there a way I can stop this translation from happening so that regedit gets the parameters as intended? I've thought of running the regedit separately in a .cmd file but it's a real pain having to maintain two separate files to do a single job (a).
I've also tried running it with cmd /c but that appears to suffer from a similar problem - it just opens up a new command interpreter and waits for input, presumably because the /c is being translated to c:\. While cmd /k dir will list the directory and remain, cmd /c dir does nothing in the cmd.exe instance.
(a) It will work if I use cmd /k otherscript.cmd and then explicitly exit at the end of that script. However, as I said, it's a bit kludgy and I'm pretty certain it would break the second I mount a network share on the k: drive and CygWin starts translating /k into k:\ :-)
As per this MSYS page (upon which MinGW is based, upon which your Git for Windows is based), MSYS will automagically convert POSIX paths to Windows paths for executables not linked to the MSYS DLL.
This includes translating /c into c:\, which is what you're seeing. This explains why both regedit /c reg.txt and cmd /c dir aren't working since the former is attempting to use c:\ as an input to regedit (prompting the warning you see) and the latter is simply starting cmd without executing the arguments.
The method used to prevent translation is to double up the slash, with something like:
regedit //c reg.txt
cmd //c dir
MSYS will remove the leading / and refuse to translate the remainder of the argument, so you'll end up with the /c argument.
You'll still have issues with the first command above since the correct command-line switch to export the registry is /e rather than /c. Change that (and use //e from within MinGW, of course) and it will do what you want.

How to open an elevated cmd using command line for Windows?

How do I open a elevated command prompt using command lines on a normal cmd?
For example, I use runas /username:admin cmd but the cmd that was opened does not seem to be elevated! Any solutions?
I ran into the same problem and the only way I was able to open the CMD as administrator from CMD was doing the following:
Open CMD
Write powershell -Command "Start-Process cmd -Verb RunAs" and press Enter
A pop-up window will appear asking to open a CMD as administrator
I don't have enough reputation to add a comment to the top answer, but with the power of aliases you can get away with just typing the following:
powershell "start cmd -v runAs"
This is just a shorter version of user3018703 excellent
solution:
powershell -Command "Start-Process cmd -Verb RunAs"
Simple way I did after trying other answers here
Method 1: WITHOUT a 3rd party program (I used this)
Create a file called sudo.bat (you can replace sudo with any name you want) with following content
powershell.exe -Command "Start-Process cmd \"/k cd /d %cd%\" -Verb RunAs"
Move sudo.bat to a folder in your PATH; if you don't know what that means, just move these files to c:\windows\
Now sudo will work in Run dialog (win+r) or in explorer address bar (this is the best part :))
Method 2: WITH a 3rd party program
Download NirCmd and unzip it.
Create a file called sudo.bat (you can replace sudo with any name you want) with following content
nircmdc elevate cmd /k "cd /d %cd%"
Move nircmdc.exe and sudo.bat to a folder in your PATH; if you don't know what that means, just move these files to c:\windows\
Now sudo will work in Run dialog (win+r) or in explorer address bar (this is the best part :))
According to documentation, the Windows security model...
does not grant administrative privileges at all
times. Even administrators run under standard privileges when they
perform non-administrative tasks that do not require elevated
privileges.
You have the Create this task with administrative privileges option in the Create new task dialog (Task Manager > File > Run new task), but there is no built-in way to effectively elevate privileges using the command line.
However, there are some third party tools (internally relying on Windows APIs) you can use to elevate privileges from the command line:
NirCmd:
Download it and unzip it.
nircmdc elevate cmd
windosu:
Install it: npm install -g windosu (requires node.js installed)
sudo cmd
I use nirsoft programs (eg nircmdc) and sysinternals (eg psexec) all the time. They are very helpful.
But if you don't want to, or can't, dl a 3rd party program, here's another way, pure Windows.
Short answer: you can while elevated create a scheduled task with elevated privileges which you can then invoke later while not elevated.
Middle-length answer: while elevated create task with (but I prefer task scheduler GUI):
schtasks /create /sc once /tn cmd_elev /tr cmd /rl highest /st 00:00
Then later, no elevation needed, invoke with
schtasks /run /tn cmd_elev
Long answer: There's a lot of fidgety details; see my blog entry "Start program WITHOUT UAC, useful at system start and in batch files (use task scheduler)"
The following as a batch file will open an elevated command prompt with the path set to the same directory as the one from where the batch file was invoked
set OLDDIR=%CD%
powershell -Command "Start-Process cmd -ArgumentList '/K cd %OLDDIR%' -Verb RunAs "
While both solutions provided by Dheeraj Bhaskar work, unfortunately they will result in the UAC dialog showing up on top (z-order-wise) but not getting focused (the focused window is the caller cmd/powershell window), thus I either need to grab the mouse and click "yes", or to select the UAC window using Alt+Shift+Tab. (Tested on Win10x64 v1607 build14393.447; UAC = "[...] do not dim [...]".)
The following solution is a bit awkward as it uses two files, but it preserves the correct focus order, so no extra mouse / keyboard actions are required (besides confirming the UAC dialog: Alt+Y).
cmdadm.lnk (shortcut properties / Advanced... / Run as administrator = ON)
%SystemRoot%\System32\cmd.exe /k "cd /d"
su.bat
#start cmdadm.lnk %cd%
Run with su.
Make the batch file save the credentials of the actual administrator account by using the /savecred switch. This will prompt for credentials the first time and then store the encrypted password in credential manager. Then for all subsequent times the batch runs it will run as the full admin but not prompt for credentials because they are stored encrypted in credential manager and the end user is unable to get the password. The following should open an elevated CMD with full administrator privileges and will only prompt for password the first time:
START c:\Windows\System32\runas.exe /user:Administrator /savecred cmd.exe
My favorite way of doing this is using PsExec.exe from SysInternals, available at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897553
.\psexec.exe -accepteula -h -u "$username" -p "$password" cmd.exe
The "-h" switch is the one doing the magic:
-h If the target system is Vista or higher, has the process run with the account's elevated token, if available.
I've been using Elevate for awhile now.
It's description - This utility executes a command with UAC privilege elevation. This is useful for working inside command prompts or with batch files.
I copy the bin.x86-64\elevate.exe from the .zip into C:\Program Files\elevate and add that path to my PATH.
Then GitBash I can run something like elevate sc stop W3SVC to turn off the IIS service.
Running the command gives me the UAC dialog, properly focused with keyboard control and upon accepting the dialog I return to my shell.
Dheeraj Bhaskar's method with Powershell has a missing space in it, alt least for the Windows 10 incarnation of Powershell.
The command line inside his sudo.bat should be
powershell.exe -Command "Start-Process cmd \"/k cd /d %cd% \" -Verb RunAs"
Note the extra space after %cd%
;)Frode
Similar to some of the other solutions above, I created an elevate batch file which runs an elevated PowerShell window, bypassing the execution policy to enable running everything from simple commands to batch files to complex PowerShell scripts. I recommend sticking it in your C:\Windows\System32 folder for ease of use.
The original elevate command executes its task, captures the output, closes the spawned PowerShell window and then returns, writing out the captured output to the original window.
I created two variants, elevatep and elevatex, which respectively pause and keep the PowerShell window open for more work.
https://github.com/jt-github/elevate
And in case my link ever dies, here's the code for the original elevate batch file:
#Echo Off
REM Executes a command in an elevated PowerShell window and captures/displays output
REM Note that any file paths must be fully qualified!
REM Example: elevate myAdminCommand -myArg1 -myArg2 someValue
if "%1"=="" (
REM If no command is passed, simply open an elevated PowerShell window.
PowerShell -Command "& {Start-Process PowerShell.exe -Wait -Verb RunAs}"
) ELSE (
REM Copy command+arguments (passed as a parameter) into a ps1 file
REM Start PowerShell with Elevated access (prompting UAC confirmation)
REM and run the ps1 file
REM then close elevated window when finished
REM Output captured results
IF EXIST %temp%\trans.txt del %temp%\trans.txt
Echo %* ^> %temp%\trans.txt *^>^&1 > %temp%\tmp.ps1
Echo $error[0] ^| Add-Content %temp%\trans.txt -Encoding Default >> %temp%\tmp.ps1
PowerShell -Command "& {Start-Process PowerShell.exe -Wait -ArgumentList '-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ""%temp%\tmp.ps1""' -Verb RunAs}"
Type %temp%\trans.txt
)
..
#ECHO OFF
SETLOCAL EnableDelayedExpansion EnableExtensions
NET SESSION >nul 2>&1
IF %ERRORLEVEL% NEQ 0 GOTO ELEVATE
GOTO :EOF
:ELEVATE
SET this="%CD%"
SET this=!this:\=\\!
MSHTA "javascript: var shell = new ActiveXObject('shell.application'); shell.ShellExecute('CMD', '/K CD /D \"!this!\"', '', 'runas', 1);close();"
EXIT 1
save this script as "god.cmd" in your system32 or whatever your path is directing to....
if u open a cmd in e:\mypictures\ and type god
it will ask you for credentials and put you back to that same place as the administrator...
There seem to be a lot of really creative solutions on this, but I found Stiegler & Gui made the most sense to me. I was looking into how I could do this, but using it in conjunction with my domain admin credential, instead of relying on the local permissions of the "current user".
This is what I came up with:
runas /noprofile /user:DomainName\UserName "powershell start cmd -v runas"
It may seem redundant, but it does prompt for my admin password, and does come up as an elevated command prompt.
Here is a way to integrate with explorer.
It will popup a extra menu item when you right-click in any folder within Windows Explorer:
Here are the steps:
Create this key: \HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\dosherewithadmin
Change its Default value to whatever you want to appear as the menu item text.
E.g. "DOS Shell as Admin"
Create another key: \HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\dosherewithadmin\command
and change its default value to this:
powershell.exe -Command "Start-Process -Verb RunAs 'cmd.exe' -Args '/k pushd "%1"'"
Done. Now right-click in any folder and you will see your item there within the other items.
*we use pushd instead of cd to allow it to work in any drive. :-)
For fans of Cygwin:
cygstart -a runas cmd
When a CMD script needs Administrator rights and you know it, add this line to the very top of the script (right below #ECHO OFF):
NET FILE > NUL 2>&1 || POWERSHELL -ex Unrestricted -Command "Start-Process -Verb RunAs -FilePath '%ComSpec%' -ArgumentList '/c \"%~fnx0\" %*'" && EXIT /b
The NET FILE checks for existing Administrator rights. If there are none, PowerShell restarts the current script (with its arguments) in an elevated shell, and the non-elevated script closes.
To allow running scripts -ex Unrestricted is necessary.
-Command executes the following string.
Start-Process -Verb RunAs runs a process As Administrator:
the shell (%ComSpec%, usually C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe) starting (/c) the current script (\"%~fnx0\") passing its arguments (%*).
Maybe not the exact answer to this question, but it might very well be what people need that end up here.
The quickest way by far is to:
CTRL+ALT+DELETE
Run TASK MANAGER
Click FILE > Run New Task > type in "cmd" and tick the "Create this task with administrative privileges." box.
Not sure if this helps but this is how I managed to do it. Doesn't help if you need a command to run from batch but hey-ho ... I needed this just because windows explorer is corrupted and needed to fix it.
This is my workaround. Hope this helps someone if not the original poster.
A little late for an answer but answering anyway for latecomers like me.
I have two approaches. First one is based on little alteration to #Dheeraj Bhaskar's answer and second one is new(that is not mentioned in any answer here).
Approach 1: Create a admin command for windows(just for the sake of flexibility).
#ECHO OFF
powershell -Command "Start-Process %1 -Verb RunAs"
Open notepad -> copy/paste above script -> save it as admin.bat in c:\windows
A lot can be added in the above script to make it better but I've tried to keep it simple and also because I'm not an expert in batch scripting.
Now you can use admin as command to run any other command or application with elevated privileges.
To answer the original question- type admin cmd in standard cmd.
Approach 2:Using runas command. For this we need to enable the built-in Administrator account if not already enabled and set a password. This account is disabled by default on most systems.
When manufacturing PCs, you can use the built-in Administrator account to run programs and apps before a user account is created. Source
Steps to enable Administrator account-
Hit Windows+R and type compmgmt.msc which will open Computer Management window.
Go to System Tools -> Local Users and Groups -> Users
You should see an account with name Administrator here(more info about this account can be found here).
Right click on Administrator and select Properties.
Check Password never expires. Uncheck Account is Disabled and everything else then click OK. This will enable administrator account on your system. Skip if already enabled.
Again Right click on Administrator and click on Set Password(by default it has no password set but for runas command to work we need to set a password).
Now windows will show you a life threatening warning which you can accept.
OR If you want to play safe then you should login into it after enabling this account and set a password from there.
Now runas command should work-
Start a standard cmd and type-
runas /user:administrator cmd
EXTRA:
Now we can create something similar to Linux's sudo command. Create a sudo.bat file with following script and save it in c:\windows.
#ECHO OFF
powershell -Command "runas /user:administrator %1"
Now we can do sudo cmd
I did this for my smartctl, and it became a portable App.
I borrowed it from here.
#echo off
set location=%cd%\bin
powershell -Command "Start-Process cmd -Verb RunAs -ArgumentList { '/k "TITLE Smartctl" & color 07 & pushd "%location%" & prompt $g & echo "Welcome to Smartctl cmd"' }"
prompt $g hides the long leading path.
pushd "%location%" is similar to cd /d "%location%"
Saved as smartctl.cmd
Create a shortcut for smartctl.cmd
Copy the shortcut to C:\Users\#YourName#\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\StartMenu\Programs
Click search next to the start menu and input smartctl
Right click Pin to Start
Just use the command:
runas /noprofile /user:administrator cmd
Use:
start, run, cmd, then control+shift+enter
You'll get UAC and then an elevated command shell.
Install gsudo tool and use gsudo command. UAC popup appears and eventually command prompt right in the current console window will be elevated:
C:\Users\Someone>net session
System error 5 has occurred.
Access is denied.
C:\Users\Someone>gsudo
C:\Users\Someone# net session
There are no entries in the list.
The tool can be installed using various package managers (Scoop, WinGet, Chocolatey).
Can use a temporary environment variable to use with an elevated shortcut (
start.cmd
setx valueName_betterSpecificForEachCase %~dp0
"%~dp0ascladm.lnk"
ascladm.lnk (shortcut)
_ properties\advanced\"run as administrator"=yes
(to make path changes you'll need to temporarily create the env.Variable)
_ properties\target="%valueName_betterSpecificForEachCase%\ascladm.cmd"
_ properties\"start in"="%valueName_betterSpecificForEachCase%"
ascladm.cmd
setx valueName_betterSpecificForEachCase=
reg delete HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Environment /F /V valueName_betterSpecificForEachCase
"%~dp0fileName_targetedCmd.cmd"
) (targetedCmd gets executed in elevated cmd window)
Although it is 3 files ,you can place everything (including targetedCmd) in some subfolder (do not forget to add the folderName to the patches) and rename "start.cmd" to targeted's one name
For me it looks like most native way of doing this ,whilst cmd doesn't have the needed command
You can use the following syntax, I had the same question and did not think a script should be needed.
runas /profile /user:domain\username cmd
This worked for me, it may be different on your network.
I did it easily by using this following command in cmd
runas /netonly /user:Administrator\Administrator cmd
after typing this command, you have to enter your Administrator password(if you don't know your Administrator password leave it blank and press Enter or type something, worked for me)..
Press the Windows + X key and you can now select the Powershell or Command Prompt with admin rights. Works if you are the admin. The function can be unusable if the system is not yours.
I've created this tool in .Net 4.8 ExecElevated.exe, 13KB (VS 2022 source project) it will execute an application with an elevated token (in admin mode).
But you will get an UAC dialog to confirm! (maybe not if UAC has been disabled, haven't tested it).
And the account calling the tool must also have admin. rights of course.
Example of use:
ExecuteElevated.exe "C:\Utility\regjump.exe HKCU\Software\Classes\.pdf"
I used runas /user:domainuser#domain cmd which opened an elevated prompt successfully.
There are several ways to open an elevated cmd, but only your method works from the standard command prompt. You just need to put user not username:
runas /user:machinename\adminuser cmd
See relevant help from Microsoft community.

How to run a command on command prompt startup in Windows

EDIT
If you want to perform any task at computer startup or based on an
event this is very helpful
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/how-to-schedule-computer-to-shut-down-at-a-certain/800ed207-f630-480d-8c92-dff2313c193b
Back to the question
I have two questions:
I want some specific commands to be executed when I start command prompt.
e.g. cls to clear my command prompt.
I want to execute some commands in a batch file and wait for the user to enter new commands (if any).
e.g. A batch file which will take the user to some specified folder and then wait for the user to rename/delete a file from the command prompt.
How can I do it?
If you want a defined set of commands to run every time you start a command prompt, the best way to achieve that would be to specify an init script in the AutoRun registry value. Create it like this (an expandable string value allows you to use environment variables like %USERPROFILE%):
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor" /v AutoRun ^
/t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d "%"USERPROFILE"%\init.cmd" /f
Then create a file init.cmd in your profile folder:
#echo off
command_A
command_B
...
cls
To remove these changes, delete the registry key:
reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor" /v AutoRun
Make a shortcut
Go to the properties
The bit where it says: C:\Users\<Your username>\Desktop\cmd.exe, you put: -cmd /K <your command here>
e.g.
C:\Users\Lewis\Desktop\cmd.exe -cmd /K color 1f
This is the way to launch 1 command without having to mess about with the registry.
Run multiple commands
You can also use & (and) operator to execute multiple commands.
Eg.
C:\Users\Lewis\Desktop\cmd.exe -cmd /K color 1f & H: & <your command>
Credits: user6589073
I found my answer: I should use the /K switch, using which I can enter a new command on the opened command prompt.
E.g. cmd /K cls will open a command prompt for me and clear it. (Answer for question 1)
and
cmd /K MyBatchFile.bat will start a command prompt, execute the batch file and stay on the command prompt and will not exit. (Answer for question 2).
First, you need to press Windows Key + R.
In the box that appears, type "regedit" (without the quotes).
The Windows Registry Editor should open.
Now, locate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Command Processor.
Once you have clicked on Command Processor on the left side, click Edit on the top bar.
Then go to New > String Value in the Edit menu.
Rename the String Value that appears to Autorun.
Right click on Autorun and select Modify.
Under the "Value Data" area, type in the commands you want to run. You can run multiple by typing && between them.
Expanding a bit, here is an alternative for Windows 10 where multiple aliases can be defined and applied to the Command Prompt upon execution.
Create a file called init.cmd containing aliases on your %USERPROFILE% folder:
init.cmd
#echo off
doskey c=cls
doskey d=cd %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
doskey e=explorer $*
doskey g=git status
doskey l=dir /a $*
Register it to be applied whenever the Command Prompt is executed:
In the Command Prompt, run:
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor" /v AutoRun /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d "%"USERPROFILE"%\init.cmd" /f
Done
Now the contents of init.cmd will run for executions of cmd.exe namely from:
Taskbar shortcut
WIN+R cmd
By typing cmd in the File Explorer address bar
By running cmd.exe directly from C:\Windows\System32
After registering these settings just remember to close/open:
The Command Prompt so the settings are applied
The File Explorer, if you use to launch the cmd via File Explorer address bar
To unregister it, run:
reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor" /v AutoRun
I have a command to run a python program. I do not want to run this command manually after login, I want this command should run automatically after I logged in to my ubuntu. I am using Ubuntu 16.04.
Here is the command.
sh demo_darknet_yolov3.sh , this shell is placed in this directory littro#littro-System-Product-Name:~/MobileNet-YOLO-master/MobileNet-YOLO-master
Depending on your script, you may want to use the cmd.exe /k <input script> method instead of the registry entry Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor\autorun
I have found with the latter, that other programs that launch cmd are affected by the registry entry. For example, I cannot get Visual Studio Native Tools prompt to work properly because my script gets in the way. In my case, the script is a menu with 5 options including to launch various programs manually (I like to minimize my auto-run programs) and set various environment variables (ie., printers, proxy settings, default versions of programs, etc).
If you are doing something static I think either method works fine.
I would have commented on the question or an applicable answer, but I do not have the reputation to comment.

Windows 7: cmd.exe: setting startup directory (in a link to cmd.exe)

I am running Windows 7 and when I run cmd.exe I want it to start up
in a directory named C:\foo\bar. I remember being able to create a
link to this executable on the desktop and right clicking somewhere
to set the startup menu of the cmd.exe command prompt by filling
out a field in a transient window, but I cannot find it. I have
found the following argument which however seems more complicated.
I want to set the startup directory for cmd.exe via a popup window.
Changing default startup directory for command prompt in Windows 7
Any ideas?
as mentioned by the other posters already:
the regular approach is to edit the shortcut's properties and fill the field labled "start in". simple as that.
however, for some reason this has no effect on UAC enabled systems if at the same time you also enable the "run as administrator" checkbox in the advanced properties of the shortcut.
a solution is to put everything in the "target" field of the shortcut:
%windir%\System32\cmd.exe /K cd /d "E:\My Folder" & sometest.bat
when running on 64bit and you want to explicitly start the 32bit flavour of the command prompt:
%windir%\SysWOW64\cmd.exe /K cd /d "E:\My Folder" & sometest.bat
for additional information on the command line parameters used above see:
cmd.exe /?
cd.exe /?
When you create a shortcut to cmd.exe, you can open the shortcut properties and find under Shortcut tab the Starts in option that will tell cmd.exe where to start, like here:
Open the properties of a shortcut to cmd and set the directory there:
Try this Shortcut Target:
C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe cd /d %~dp0
Which will start cmd.exe in the shortcut's folder.

open command prompt window and change current working directory

I'm terribly new to scripting on windows. Using windows 7 64.
I'm trying to make a .bat file that I can double click, and have it open a command prompt and automatically cd me to a certain directory.
I tried making a .bat file with
#ECHO OFF
cmd "cd C:\my\destination"
Which opens what looks like a command prompt, but doesn't seem to let me type any commands.
I then tried:
#ECHO OFF
start cmd "cd C:\my\destination"
But this just sent me into a loop opening tons and tons of prompts until my computer crashed :) The .bat file was located in the destination directory if that matters.
This works for me:
#ECHO OFF
cmd.exe /K "cd C:\my\destination && C:"
The quoted string is actually two commands (separated by a double ampersand): The first command is to change to the specified directory, the second command is to change to the specified drive letter.
Put this in a batch (.BAT) file and when you execute it you should see a Command Prompt window at the specified directory.
Use the /K switch:
#ECHO OFF
start cmd.exe /K "cd C:\my\destination"
But IMHO, the most useful switch is /?.
Starts a new instance of the Windows XP command interpreter
CMD [/A | /U] [/Q] [/D] [/E:ON | /E:OFF] [/F:ON | /F:OFF] [/V:ON | /V:OFF]
[[/S] [/C | /K] string]
/C Carries out the command specified by string and then terminates
/K Carries out the command specified by string but remains
/S Modifies the treatment of string after /C or /K (see below)
/Q Turns echo off
...
And only if it does not work, then Google it, as #Neeraj suggested :D
This could be done like that:
#ECHO OFF
cd /D "C:\my\destination"
cmd.exe
If you need to execute a file or command after you open the cmd you can just replace the last line with:
cmd.exe /k myCommand
#ECHO OFF
%comspec% /K "cd /D d:\somefolder"
The /D will change folder and drive and works on 2000+ (Not sure about NT4)
If you take a look at Vista's open command here, it uses cmd.exe /s /k pushd \"%V\" but I don't think %V is documented. Using pushd is a good idea if your path is UNC (\\server\share\folder) To get UNC current directory working, you might have to set the DisableUNCCheck registry entry...
Why so complicated? Just create an alias to cmd.exe, right click on the alias and navigate to its settings. Change the "execute in" to the path you want to have as standard path. It will always start in this path.
just open a text editor and type
start cmd.exe
cd C:\desired path
Then save it as a .bat file. Works for me.
You can create a batch file "go-to-folder.bat" with the following statements:
rem changes the current directory
cd "C:\my\destination"
rem changes the drive if necessary
c:
rem runs CMD
cmd

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