Best 2 Ways to Boot to Command Prompt in Windows 10

https://www.minitool.com/data-recovery/boot-to-command-prompt-windows-10-009.html

Here are best 2 ways to allow you to boot to Command Prompt in Windows 10 PC or laptop. By
starting Windows 10 in Command Prompt, you can use Command Prompt Windows 10 commands
to diagnose, troubleshoot and repair Windows 10 problems. MiniTool software are also available to
help you recover data, backup OS/files, restore Windows, etc.
On This Page :

 Way 1. Boot to Command Prompt Windows 10 through Advanced Startup Options

 Way 2. Start Windows 10 in Command Prompt with Installation DVD/USB
 How to Repair Windows 10 Using Command Prompt
 Best Windows 10 Backup, Restore and Recovery Software – MiniTool ShadowMaker
 Recover Lost Data from Windows 10 PC (Boot or Can’t Boot)
 Bottom Line

How do I boot to Command Prompt Windows 10?

How to repair Windows 10 using Command Prompt?

Windows Command Prompt is a Windows built-in utility allowing users to type computer
commands to perform tasks or open applications without Windows graphical interface. You can
open CMD in Windows 10 to troubleshoot and fix problems in your Windows 10 computer.
Especially when your PC/laptop won’t turn on, booting Windows 10 into Command Prompt would
be very helpful to fix Windows 10 problems later.

This tutorial provides 2 ways with step-by-step guides to open Command Prompt at boot in
Windows 10. Learn how to access Command Prompt Windows 10 while booting and repair
Windows 10 problems with Command Prompt.

Also read: Discover the essential steps for successful hard drive recovery in this informative
article.

Tip: If you want to recover deleted files from computer hard drive, memory card, USB, external
HDD, SSD, etc., you can try MiniTool Power Data Recovery.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Way 1. Boot to Command Prompt Windows 10 through

Advanced Startup Options
You can start Windows 10 into Command Prompt by using Advanced Startup options. Check below
how to access Advanced Startup options in Windows 10 and open Command Prompt at boot in
Windows 10.

Situation 1: Windows 10 Can Boot

If your Windows 10 computer can successfully boot, you can get into Advanced Startup options
window from Settings.
Step 1. Click Start -> Settings to open Settings Window. Next click Update & Security, and
choose Recovery in the left panel.

Step 2. Click Restart now button under Advanced startup, and your Windows 10 computer will
restart now.

Step 3. When you see the Choose an option screen, click Troubleshoot -> Advanced options.

Step 4. Click Command Prompt option. Choose an account to continue and enter the password for
this account. If you don’t set a password for Windows 10 computer, then just click Continue to
skip it. You should enter into the Command Prompt window now.

Alternative way to access Advanced options window:

To get into Advanced options window, you can also click Start -> Power, hold on Shift and click
Restart. If you are in the sign-in screen, you can press and hold Shift key and click Power ->
Restart at the lower-right corner. This will restart Windows 10 computer into the Advanced
Options window. Please do not release the Shift key until you see the blue Choose an option
screen.

Then you can click Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> Command Prompt to boot your
Windows 10 computer into Command Prompt screen.

Situation 2: Windows 10 Can’t Boot

If your Windows 10 computer won’t boot, you can try to turn off and turn on your Windows 10
computer three times. Each time when you see the Windows logo while booting, press Power
button immediately to turn the computer off. Repeat this operation three times. It should enter into
Windows Recovery Environment in booting for the third time. Then you can click Advanced
options button to follow the same steps in Situation 1 to boot to Command Prompt Windows 10.

If this way can’t work, then you should check Way 2 to boot to Command Prompt in Windows 10
with installation media or recovery disk like a Windows 10 repair/recovery disk or a Windows 10
recovery USB drive.

Bonus: How to Start Windows 10 in Safe Mode with Command Prompt

Windows 10 Safe Mode allows you to access Windows in a stripped down version which only loads
essential drivers and services. Many drivers are not loaded and there is no networking. This is very
helpful if your computer suffers a malware/virus infection and help you easily remove it before the
malware is loaded.

You can easily start Windows 10 in safe mode with Command Prompt. And use Command Prompt
Windows 10 Safe Mode to conduct Windows 10 boot repair, disk repair, and more with Command
Prompt Windows 10 commands like CHKDSK, SFC Scannow, BootRec commands, etc.

Step 1. You can follow the same 1-3 step in Situation 1 in this post to access Advanced options
window.

Step 2. Next choose Startup Settings in Advanced options window. And click Restart to bring
you to the Startup Settings window.

Step 3. Press F6 to access Windows 10 in Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

Create Command Prompt Desktop Shortcut on Windows 10/11

Learn how to create a Command Prompt desktop shortcut on Windows 10/11 and how to create a
desktop shortcut for specific CMD commands.

Read More
Way 2. Start Windows 10 in Command Prompt with
Installation DVD/USB
When your Windows 10 computer can’t boot, then you can create a bootable disk or USB drive to
boot your Windows 10 computer and boot to command prompt Windows 10.

Step 1. Create Windows 10 Installation Media

At first, if you don’t have an installation disc, you can create Windows 10 installation media with
the Windows 10 media creation tool.

Step 2. Access Windows 10 Boot Options Menu

Insert the installation media to your Windows 10 PC and boot PC from it. Press F2, Del, Esc or
other required keys to enter BIOS. Then use the arrow key on the keyboard to select Boot tab to
access Windows 10 boot options menu.

Step 3. Boot Windows 10 PC from USB or DVD

Also use the arrow keys to choose and set the bootable USB drive or DVD disc as the first boot
device. And press F10 to save the configuration and restart the Windows 10 PC.

Step 4. Start Windows 10 in Command Prompt

After the Windows 10 computer boots up and you see the Windows Setup dialog appears, you can
press Shift + F10 keys simultaneously, and this will open Command Prompt at boot in Windows
10.

Tip: After you enter into Windows Setup screen, you can also select the language to install, time
and currency format, keyboard or input method, and click Next. Then click Repair your computer
at the bottom-left corner to enter into Recovery Environment in Windows 10, and then click
Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> Command Prompt, to boot to Command Prompt
Windows 10.

In this way, you can easily open Command Prompt without Windows and open Command Prompt
from BIOS.

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How to Repair Windows 10 Using Command Prompt

By using the best 2 ways above, you should be able to open Command Prompt at boot in Windows
10. The guide above also teaches you how to enter into Command Prompt Windows 10 Safe Mode.
You can now use the Windows 10 Command Prompt commands to repair Windows 10 problems.

1. Command Prompt Windows 10 Boot Repair

To tackle Windows 10 startup issues, you can perform the Windows 10 boot repair in Command
Prompt. You can type these commands to fix Windows 10 boot problems like repair MBR.
  bootrec /fixmbr
 bootrec /fixboot
 bootrec /rebuildbcd

2. Run SFC Scannow Command to Repair Missing/Corrupted System Files

As for how to repair Windows 10 using Command Prompt, SFC (System File Checker) is a
Windows built-in command-line utility that can scan and fix corruption in Windows system files
and replace them a known good version. If you notice your Windows 10 computer can’t boot
properly, you can run SFC command to diagnose problems and fix them.

Type sfc /scannow command line after you boot to Command Prompt in Windows 10, and press
Enter. Windows 10 SFC Scannow utility will start to scan and try to repair any corrupted system
files it detected.

3. Repair Windows 10 with CMD with the Help of DISM

If SFC command-line utility fails to fix the problems, it is probably because it can’t get the
necessary files from the Windows 10 system image which may be corrupted. You can further check
how to use Command Prompt to repair the Windows 10 image.

Windows 10 owns another command-line tool named DISM which can be used to scan and fix
corrupted Windows 10 recovery image within the installation media. You can type the command
lines below in Command Prompt window to check/scan or fix Windows image corruption.

 DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth (check corruption in Windows image)

 DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth (scan corruption in Windows image)
 DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:repairSource\install.wim (repair
corrupted Windows image)

4. Run CHKDSK Command Windows 10 to Check Hard Disk Errors

To repair Windows 10 using Command Prompt, in case your Windows 10 problems are caused by
hard disk errors, you can use Windows 10 CHKDSK command-line tool to scan and fix logical disk
errors. It can also check if there are any bad sectors on computer hard disk.

After you boot to Command Prompt in Windows 10 from Advanced Options or Installation media,
you can type chkdsk *: /f /r command line and hit Enter. Replace “*” with the drive letter of the
target partition.

5. How to Do a System Restore with Command Prompt

Sometimes if the Windows 10 problems are very severe and the command-line utilities above can’t
help, you may try a Windows 10 system restore in Command Prompt.

Step 1. If your Windows 10 computer has severe problems, you can follow the guide above to boot
Windows 10 into Safe Mode with Command Prompt to steer by some ransomware or virus
infection and launch Windows 10 in a simplified version.

Tip: If your computer can boot normally, you can press Windows + R keys and type cmd in the
Run window to open Command Prompt.

Step 2. Then type the following command in Command Prompt window: rstrui.exe, and hit Enter
to open System Restore interface.

Step 3. You can choose the recommended restore point or choose a restore point, and click Next to
follow the instructions to do a system restore for your Windows 10 PC/laptop.

6. How to Reset Windows 10 from Command Prompt

Reset This PC feature in Windows 10 can also be used to fix Windows 10 problems when your
computer can’t run well. It will restore Windows 10 to factory default configuration, but your
personal files can be kept.

Step 1. After you get into Command Prompt window, type this command line: systemreset –
cleanpc, and hit Enter. It will bring you a blue Fresh Start window.

Step 2. Click Next to follow the instructions to reset Windows 10.

This will remove all apps and programs except that come standard with Windows. Apps installed by
the computer manufacturer will be kept. Your personal files and some Windows settings will be
kept. Your device will be updated to the latest version of Windows 10.

Tip: If your Windows 10 computer won’t boot, you can also boot into recovery mode and select
Reset this PC in Advanced options window to reset PC to factory default configuration.

Do you really need to reset or restore Windows 10 from Command Prompt? If the computer can’t
boot, it is a choice to boot to Command Prompt Windows 10 to repair, restore and reset Windows
10. Need to mention that the executed commands can’t be reverted. Please be careful when using
command lines.

Best Windows 10 Backup, Restore and Recovery Software –

MiniTool ShadowMaker
MiniTool ShadowMaker offers an easier way to backup and restore Windows 10/8/7 without data
loss.

You can use this best backup software to:

 Create a system image to backup Windows 10 system to USB drive.

 Create a bootable recovery USB drive or CD/DVD disc to boot your Windows computer
and restore OS to previous state.
 Restore/recover Windows 10 from the recovery USB dive or CD/DVD disc.
 Clone disk to backup content of the entire disk.
 Backup individual files and folders, partitions.
 Set up automatic scheduled backup for the files and folders.
 Sync files to other locations to keep data safe.
 Mount ISO system image as a virtual bootable drive.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Therefore, if booting to Command Prompt Windows 10 fails to repair Windows 10 problems and
your Windows 10 PC can’t boot, you can download and install MiniTool ShadowMaker on a
normal-working computer to create bootable media, recovery drive, to boot, back up, and recover
Windows 10 computer without data loss.

Recover Lost Data from Windows 10 PC (Boot or Can’t Boot)

Unless your Windows 10 computer has physical problems, you can use MiniTool Power Data
Recovery to recover lost data from Windows 10 due to the malfunction of computer, system crash,
malware infection, virus attack, hard drive failure or any other data loss cases.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery, the best free data recovery software for Windows 10/8/7, enables
you to recover deleted files or lost data from computer hard disk, external hard drive, SSD, USB
flash drive, SD card, and more.

Full Solutions to Do Hard Drive Recovery via MiniTool

Many of you are facing hard drive recovery issue in daily life and work. Now, you can use the
MiniTool data recovery software to recover files from hard drive.

Read More
Download and install this 100% clean data recovery program – MiniTool Power Data Recovery –
on Windows 10/8/7. And the simple guide is attached below.

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Step 1. Launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery. Under Logical Drives, you can select the target
partition and click Scan. You can also select Desktop, Recycle Bin, or a specific folder to scan. To
select the whole hard disk to scan, you can click Devices tab and choose the disk.

Step 2. After the scanning process is finished, you can check the scan result to find the lost files you
want, and click Save button to store the recovered files to another location (in an aim to avoid data
overwriting).

Note: If your Windows 10 computer can’t boot due to logical errors, you can still use this tool to
create a bootable media to boot computer into WinPE and use it to recover data when PC won’t
boot.

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Bottom Line
In conclusion, this post introduces 2 ways to allow you to boot to Command Prompt Windows 10,
how to start Windows 10 in Safe Mode with Command Prompt, and offers some solutions for how
to repair Windows 10 using Command Prompt. Also, hope the best Windows 10 backup & restore
software – MiniTool ShadowMaker, and best data recovery software – MiniTool Power Data
Recovery help you with the Windows 10 OS recovery and data recovery.

Please contact support@minitool.com if you still have issues in Windows 10 backup & recovery,
and data recovery.