Windows 8 has a wide range of commands that are usually executed using the command prompt. Some of these commands include attrib, tracert, ping, netstat and dir among many more. It is important to understand that in many cases, the command prompt is one tool that is rarely used by many people, but it is essential to know how to open it to make it possible for you to use it in the rare case that you really need to use it. Some of the common instances that would require you to use a CMD prompt in Windows 8 include troubleshooting a particular Windows 8 issue and automating particular tasks.

Through Metro UI

There are several quick tips that you can use to open a command prompt in Windows 8. One of these tips is by right clicking on the Metro UI and then typing cmd. This will bring up the Windows search mode and it will allow you to search for the particular element that you have typed. This will consequently help you to fix the particular Windows 8 problem that you could be experiencing as well as work on the specific tasks that you were searching using the command prompt.

Open CMD Prompt Via System32 Folder

The other ideal quick tip for opening a CMD prompt in Windows 8 is by starting the cmd.exe file in the Windows system32 folder. It is a very simple process to execute and it does not require any special knowledge for you to make it work. First, you simply need to open Windows explorer. Afterwards, you will be able to navigate to the folder C:\Windows\System32. Now, search for the application CMD.EXE and then double click on the application. This will open up the command prompt. For easy access of the command prompt in future, you can choose to add it as a shortcut on the taskbar by double clicking on cmd.exe and then selecting “pin to taskbar”. This will make it super easy to get to in the future.

Using the Run Dialog to Open CMD

One other quick way of opening a CMD prompt in Windows 8 as well as other applications is by opening the RUN dialog in windows 8 and using it to open the command prompt. This is also an effortless process because all you need to do is type the cmd into the RUN dialog. For you to open the RUN dialog, you need to press the Windows Key on the keyboard and then press “R” which will subsequently open the Run dialog. At this point, you can open the CMD prompt by typing cmd and then pressing “enter”.

All Apps in Metro UI

The last method that you can use to quickly open a command prompt in Windows 8 is by right clicking on the metro UI and then clicking on “All Apps” at the very bottom. This will bring up a list of all applications available on your computer. Some of the elements that will also be listed include notepad, paint, command prompt, and calculator among many others. You can simply select and run the command prompt from here.

Hopefully, at this point you were able to get the command prompt working correctly as this article goes into multiple ways to open one up in Windows 8.