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Is there any way to open cmd.exe in Windows 7 if explorer.exe has been disabled (which means you can't use the Start Menu)

I say Reinstate Monica
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Aman
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5 Answers5

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Yes. Hit CTRL+ALT+DEL and bring up Task Manager. Then on the File menu, hit New Task... Type cmd in the box and BAM! -- a command prompt window. Although, you could also just respawn the shell by typing explorer in the box too.

Wes Sayeed
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    A faster but little known shortcut key for accessing Task Manager in Windows 7 is: Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Ctrl + Alt + Del may not get to Task Manager in one step in Windows 7. – Trekker Oct 01 '14 at 11:57
  • or right click the task bar and select Task Manager there. – jwenting Oct 01 '14 at 12:01
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    @jwenting right clicking on task bar won't work if explorer is dead or disabled – Trekker Oct 01 '14 at 12:09
  • That gives you a cmd, but it is not in elevated mode. Hence pretty useless. – whs Apr 18 '15 at 00:37
  • OP did not say he needed an elevated prompt. If he did, he could use the browse button to find cmd.exe. The Run as Administrator option is on the right-click menu from there. – Wes Sayeed Apr 18 '15 at 00:44
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If you cannot start Explorer, or Explorer's run box has been disabled, and Task Manager's run box has also been disabled, but you can still use Word (or Excel &c.) you can often open the macro editor and use VBA to start any executable you want.

Anonymous Coward
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WIN+R

type cmd -> bam you got a black screen

Community
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Aura
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  • i dont understand how this is not the answer to this quiestion – Aura Oct 01 '14 at 09:53
  • might be because i hate windows .. :D ..thanks for the info BTW – Aura Oct 01 '14 at 09:54
  • If you feel it answers the question perhaps you can explain **why** it does so? For example, where exactly are you when you type ctrl+r? And how does a black screen help? – DavidPostill Oct 01 '14 at 10:00
  • ohhh ithought this is a social site people understand words ... i think i should be using this site very professionally :D – Aura Oct 01 '14 at 10:04
  • @DavidPostill: The black screen helps because it is the command window (commonly referred to as a lack screen). I'm wondering if win+r was meant instead of ctrl+r though since I don't think the latter would do much (well, except refresh my browser window, for example). – Chris Oct 01 '14 at 10:07
  • That's better. Now your answer makes more sense :) – DavidPostill Oct 01 '14 at 10:09
  • @Aura Does this actually work if explorer is dead? – Taemyr Oct 01 '14 at 11:53
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    @Taemyr I just personally tested it on Windows 7, and Win + R does not work when explorer is dead. It would appear that Ctrl + Shift + Esc is the quickest route, via accessing the Task Manager then creating a new task there for cmd. – Trekker Oct 01 '14 at 12:05
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    Win+R is a shortcut for the start menu and then the run command. Since explorer.exe is not running, the start menu is not available hence this will not work. – stackErr Oct 01 '14 at 13:01
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Go to task manager via Ctrl + Alt + Esc and run a new task.

Type iexplore- IE will open then after type 

file:///c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe

in the address bar, press Enter. That's all.

slhck
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Dharma
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0

Just to promote this to an answer (rather than a comment on the currently-highest-voted, but not-actually-the-best-way-to-do-this answer):

Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to bring up the Task Manager. On the Task Manager window's File menu, choose "Run new task". Type cmd in the box and hit Enter or press 'OK'. Alternatively, if you think Explorer would be OK once it's restarted, instead of typing cmd in the box, type explorer.

(In general, if your system has gotten to the point where Windows Explorer has crashed, you don't want to hit Ctrl+Alt+Delete unless you're OK with your computer misinterpreting you and restarting itself. This is especially true if, in the chain of events that led to Explorer crashing, you perhaps have already given the three-finger salute a few times. In this sense, the Task Manager key combination is "safer".)

Martha
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