Guide: Fix ‘Command Prompt Not Working in Windows 10’ Issue
In the early days of the computing world, Command Prompt ruled the operating systems before elegant graphical user interfaces became the primary means of interacting with computers. Today, the command prompt is mostly used by advanced users to troubleshoot specific Windows problems, perform administrative functions, and automate tasks through scripts and batch files. What should you do if you try to open the command prompt and it gives an error instead of opening usually? That is today’s topic guideLet’s take a look at some steps that can fix the command prompt not working error so you can go back and run those commands. Fun fact: Command Prompt has a symbol at the beginning of the line prompting the user for a command, indicating that it is ready for input and hence the name Command Prompt. Let’s start.
1. Check Antivirus
Some antivirus software is known to cause problems with the command prompt. One of these antivirus programs is Avast. The consent.exe file has been known to be quarantined, causing the command prompt to crash. If you are using Avast, restore this file or look for an alternative antivirus program.
If you are using a different antivirus program, I recommend disabling it once to see if it fixes command prompt not working on your Windows 10 computer.
2. Command Prompt Shortcut
The Start menu may not work as intended. In that case, you can create a command prompt shortcut on your desktop to launch the same thing. To do this, right-click anywhere on your desktop and select Shortcut under New.
On the pop-up window, type cmd.exe (you do not need to browse to the location of the executable file) in the box, then click Next.
Give it an appropriate name and click Finish. Wait, there’s a little more to take care of.
That shortcut will start the command prompt, but not in administrator mode. To do that, right-click on the newly created shortcut and select Properties.
Select Advanced on the Shortcut tab.
Here, select Run as administrator, click OK and you’re done.
Now try to start the command prompt. Note: This solution is not suitable for shared computers as some users may terminate up accidentally tampering with the system if they are unsure of what they are doing.
3. Create a new user
The command prompt needs administrator rights, which means that the user account you are logged in with requires administrator rights. If you do, some files may be corrupt resulting in the command prompt error. Let’s create a new user account to test this solution. Press the Windows key + I shortcut on the keyboard to launch Settings and select Accounts.
Under Family and other users, select Add someone else to this PC.
Click on ‘I don’t have the login details for this person’.
Now click on ‘Add a user without a Microsoft account’.
Enter the desired username and password here and follow the on-screen instructions to create a new user account. Once done, switch user accounts by pressing Windows key to open the Start menu and select the newly created user account under your current account.
Check if you can run the command prompt now.
4. Update path of system environment variables
Microsoft’s support staff recommends this so we think it would work fine. Type system environment variables in the Search Start menu and select the Edit option.
Select environment variables on the Advanced tab.
Here select Path and click Edit.
Click New and add this to create a new path. C: WindowsSysWow64
Now restart your computer and check if you can start command prompt.
5. System File Checker (SFC)
Open PowerShell with administrator privileges by searching for it in the Windows Start menu or by right clicking on Windows buttonWhen it opens (blue background), run the command below. SFC / Scannow Pro Tip PowerShell is the more advanced version of Command Prompt and you can run all CMD commands on PowerShell. After that, the SFC command checks for irregularities in the system files of your operating system and repairs them if necessary. It can take 15-20 minutes, so sit back and relax. If it doesn’t find any errors, you’ll see a message saying something like ‘no integrity violations were found’. If some corrupt files were found and repaired, you would see a message saying ‘corrupt files have been repaired’ and ‘details have been recorded in a CBS.log file’ with the path to the file also listed. If files are repaired then I recommend that you restart your computer before attempting to open Command Prompt.
6. DISM
Sometimes the SFC command fails to fulfill its job because it cannot find or open the correct files of Windows image. At that point, run the DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) command and run the SFC command again. Reopen PowerShell and run the commands below one by one in that order. DISM / Online / Cleanup-Image / CheckHealth DISM / Online / Cleanup-Image / ScanHealthDISM / Online / Cleanup-Image / RestoreHealth Now go back to point 5 above and run an SFC scan.
7. Delete shortcut menu items
When you install a new app or software, a shortcut to the context menu is added. The context menu appears up when you right-click on your desktop or in an app. Did you notice some new options that weren’t there when you first started using Windows? To remove these context menu items, download ShellMenuView and ShellExView. I recommend that you back up at this pointup to make.
First, launch ShellMenuView and under Menu name you will see all shortcuts to software and app context menus not created by Microsoft. PotPlayer, for example, is a third-party app, while Microsoft developed Windows Media Player. Select all non-Microsoft context menu shortcuts and disable them by clicking the red icon. Repeat the same process with ShellExView. Download ShellMenuView Download ShellExView
8. Safe mode
Maybe a recently installed app is conflicting with the command prompt? Reboot in Safe Mode to find out. To do this, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and select Restart under the Power Options options in the Start menu.
Your PC will now restart and you should see a blue screen with some options. Select Troubleshoot> Advanced options> Startup settings> Restart. You can now choose to reboot in safe mode. Read more about the process here. If the command prompt works in safe mode, then you should uninstall all recently installed apps and reinstall them one by one to see which one breaks the command prompt. I know it’s a tedious process, but you don’t have a choice.
9. System recovery
You can restore your computer to an earlier point in time, and by doing this, you will restore balance in your universe or your PC. Keep in mind that your files and other data will not be deleted. That can eliminate and undo anything that broke the command prompt. To do this, search for Recovery in the Windows Start menu and select Recovery.
Select Open System Restore.
You should now see all recently created system restore points. Click View more restore points to view more options.
Select one and follow the onscreen instructions to restore your PC. The process takes a while and your system may reboot several times.
Your wish is my command
While you can use PowerShell to run any command you wanted to use in Command Prompt, it’s still a good idea to fix the former as it can cause even more problems in the future. If you found another way to fix Command Prompt, let us know in the comments below. The next up: Fed up from the good old command prompt and even PowerShell? Here are three CMD alternatives that will make you forget about these two.
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