How to Tame the Windows 10 Command Prompt

Patch Watch: How We Will Move from CBB to Semi-Annual Channels

So did you end up with Windows 10, version 1703 installed on your machine last week? Or did you have a computer where it attempted and failed? Were you as surprised as I was by the installation?

Am I admitting that I, Susan Bradley, the Patch Watch lady, was totally caught off guard that last week 1703 was declared Current Branch for Business (CBB) and thus would be widely released to everyone who chose to defer the feature release? Am I admitting that I, Susan Bradley, the Patch Watch lady, was, or rather, still is confused about the new updating cadence, new name for the feature releases and new patching options? Yes and yes. I’m still trying to figure out the new normal for patching Windows 10.

Let me tell you what I am sure of: Microsoft loves to keep changing the rules, we need to roll with the flow and hopefully this will be the last major change in updating naming and timing.

The names and timing we used to have was called Current Branch (what Home version computers are on) or Current Branch for Business (what Pro versions can opt to do). Last week if you had Windows 10 1607 and had opted to defer feature updates in the user interface or in the registry or in group policy, you were offered up 1703 release. For those that had issues installing 1703 or wish to push off the update even a little longer, you can use the Show hide tool to temporarily block 1703 from installing on your computer.

If you’ve had issues installing 1703 and it’s rolled back, I’d start by looking for a new video driver from your video card manufacturer as the Creator’s release is very finicky about the video drivers installed. I’ve seen many a failed feature install get fixed by finding and installing a video driver. I would strongly recommend going only to the vendor of your computer or the vendor of your video card as I’ve seen malware on sites that advertise drivers. So be careful when searching for drivers and when in doubt, post in the Windows Secrets lounge and I’ll see if I can help out.

New Channel Names

Windows 10, version 1703 introduces new naming to the early builds/later builds that we previously called Current Branch and Current Branch for Business. Now they are called Semi-Annual Channel and Long Term Servicing Channel. You and I will receive updates based on the Semi-Annual Channel. Enterprises who want special purpose machines and workhorse servers will use the Long Term Servicing channel. As noted in the Windows IT pro blog, and the Windows Experiencing Blog the Semi-Annual channel will act similarly to Current branch/Current branch for busienss does now. It will first be pushed out to home machines and once it’s deemed to be solid enough (without bugs) for the rest of Microsoft’s users, it will be pushed out more broadly.

It sounds like anyone receiving the early releases of the Semi-Annual channel – released in March and November – might be a bit buggy and get quite a few reboots as the issues are found and patches are released and thus you might want to push off receiving the Semi-Annual channel a bit and not be first, right? I know I will be looking to push off these channel updates and not be the first to receive them.

Controlling the Semi-Broad Releases

Controlling the feature releases once you are on 1703 is still absolutely doable, but quite honestly, it’s even more confusing to me.

I have noted a difference between computers that are in a network such as a domain and those computers that are not in a network. Those computers that are in a workgroup, not in a domain, appear to fully expose the options to defer the Semi-Broad releases in the future. One problem: the user interface still calls these releases current branch and current branch for business. If you go to the Start menu, then Settings, then Update and security, then Advanced options you should be able to see options there to defer and push off feature updates for up to 365 days as noted in Microsoft documentation. But if you’re in a domain and have set any Windows update settings, you may only see the options to pause updates. It appears to me the only way to push off feature updates is via registry keys or by editing the group policy. It’s very important to note that none of these options are available in Home versions, you can only do this in the Professional version.

Reading through the group policy section documenting the changes between 1607 and 1703 as noted in this documentation is a bit confusing.

Some days have decreased:

For example prior to Windows 10, version 1703, feature updates could be paused by up to 60 days. This number has been changed to 35, similar to the number of days for quality updates.

Some days have increased:

You can now push off receiving feature updates for up to 365 days, up from the 180 days you could defer in 1607 version.

If you are in a workgroup you should be able to see the new options in the user interface: click on start, settings, Update and security and click on advanced options.

Microsoft has made it a bit confusing by not updating the wording in this section to match the new wording but nevertheless the default for Windows 10 Home (that you can’t control) and Windows 10 pro is to install the NEXT feature release anticipated in November as soon as it comes out. I would recommend choosing the options as follows:

• In the first section choose Current Branch for Business
• In the section to push off feature updates, pick “It can be deferred for this many days” and choose 365.
• In the section to push off quality updates (better known as security updates) pick “It can be deferred for this many days” and choose 7 days.

I’ll recommend that you install a feature update before the 365 days are up, but choosing this long of a deferral period means you have control over updating.

It appears to me that if you are on a domain you don’t see these same options. At my office I only see the option to pause updates and no other options are exposed to me in the user interface. The options are still exposed to me via registry keys and group policy but not in the user interface.

In a network be aware that choosing these options via group policy and having Windows Software update services installed also enables “dual scanning” such that the computer will both go to WSUS for it’s updates as well as Microsoft update.

The policies can be set from the following group policy section: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update. You will note in the Defer Windows update section you get two options to defer feature updates as well as quality updates with the same settings as noted in the user interface on workgroup computers. It appears to me that if machines are on a domain, this user interface showing deferral options is hidden and I have to edit via group policy to push off feature releases.

Bottom line: I’m still getting used to the new names and ability to push off feature updates. Here’s hoping that this will be the last major change in release timing and information for Windows 10 and we can settle down to a new normal of patching.

How to Tame the Windows 10 Command Prompt

The command prompt is still alive and well in Windows 10, and here’s how you can use and control it.

Yes, Windows 10 is packed with lots of GUI features, but that doesn’t mean the command prompt is a has-been. Even in Windows 10, the command prompt remains an effective tool for running certain commands and accessing certain features. Though the command prompt has remained more or less the same over the years, you will find some new tricks up its sleeve in Windows 10. So, what can you do with the command prompt and how can you manage and control it to make it easier to use? Let’s look at how to tame the command prompt in Windows 10.

First off, the command you use to open a command shell from the Windows Power Users menu (the menu that appears when you right-click on the Start button) differs based on your version of Windows 10. In the original version and the Anniversary Update, the command is known as Command Prompt. And launching that command places you at the familiar prompt that’s been around since the early days of Windows. In the Spring Creators Update released in April 2017, Microsoft replaced the Command Prompt command with PowerShell in the Power Users menu. Right-click on the Start button to display the menu. If you have an earlier version of Windows 10, the menu displays entries for Command Prompt and Command Prompt (Admin). If you have the Spring Creators Update, the menu displays entries for PowerShell and PowerShell (Admin).

What’s the difference between Command Prompt and PowerShell? Command Prompt is the same tool as always, allowing you to run commands, execute batch files, and more.

PowerShell is a more robust and powerful (hence, the name) tool, offering the same features as Command Prompt but adding a scripting language so you can write more complex scripts.

If you’re running the Windows 10 Creators Update and don’t intend to write PowerShell scripts and would rather have the Command Prompt back in the Power Users Menu, here’s what you can do. Click on the Start button and click on Settings. From the Settings window, click on Personalization and click on the setting for Taskbar. Then turn off the option that says: “Replace Command Prompt with Windows PowerShell when I right-click the Start button or press Windows key + X.” Now right-click on the Start button, and you’ll see Command Prompt and Command Prompt (Admin) in the menu.

Whether or not you change the Power Users menu, there are other ways of opening a regular command prompt. You can simply type cmd in the Cortana search field. Then click on the match for Command Prompt to open a regular command prompt or right-click on the match and click on Run as Administrator to open it with administrator privileges. You can ask Cortana by saying “Hey Cortana, open command prompt,” assuming you’ve turned on the option to trigger the voice assistant by saying “Hey Cortana.” You can also hold down the Windows key and press R to display the Run tool. Then type cmd in the Open field and click OK.

Why open command prompt as an administrator? Certain Windows commands and features require administrative rights to run. If in doubt, it doesn’t hurt to open the command prompt as an admin when you want to use it. Also, if you plan to run certain Windows commands or play around with batch files, you can use either the command prompt or PowerShell. At their heart, both tools offer the same basic functionality. The features and tweaks I’ll serve up here apply whether you’re using Command Prompt or PowerShell.

Using the Command Prompt

Okay, open a command prompt (or PowerShell prompt). Now you’re at the command prompt. What can you do? Lots. You can type help at the prompt to see a list of all the commands you can run. Typing ipconfig is a quick way to find your IP address and other Internet-related information. Typing ping follow by the name or IP address of a website, e.g., ping yahoo.com, tells you if the website is up. Typing tracert followed by the name or IP address of a website, e.g., tracert yahoo.com, shows you the path and number of hops or routers used to communicate with that site. Typing chkdsk checks your hard drive for any problems. Typing sfc /scannow checks your Windows files for any corruption and replaces them with the correct versions.

Typing dir display a list of all the files in your current folder. Typing tree displays your folders and files in a tree structure. (You’ll want to type tree | more to see the tree one line at a time. Typing systeminfo displays details about your version of Windows, your PC’s processor, your memory, and your network connection. Holding down the Control key and pressing C aborts the current command and any output. And finally, typing exit closes the command prompt.

What else might you do at the command prompt? You can edit the Windows Registry and export or import specific Registry keys. Open a command prompt and type regedit. From the Registry Editor, you can export certain keys to back them up and import keys contained in reg files to add or change certain features. But you can also export and import Registry keys from the command prompt. Typing regedit.exe /e software.reg “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftware” exports all the settings in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftware folder in the Windows Registry to a file named “software.reg. Typing regedit.exe changes.reg applies all the settings from a file called “changes.reg” to the Registry. Importing reg files is a handy way to make Registry changes without having to dive into the Registry itself.

Controlling and Tweaking the Command Prompt

You can take advantage of certain shortcuts when using the command prompt in Windows 10. As one example, you can copy and paste text between the command prompt and the Windows GUI. Type a command at the prompt, such as dir. Then select the output and press Ctrl+C. Open Notepad or another text editor in Windows. Press Ctrl+V, and the selected text is pasted. In Windows, select the text of a command you can run at the prompt and press Ctrl+C. Then return to the command prompt window and press Ctrl+V. The text is pasted at the prompt.

You can repeat previous commands that you’ve run at the prompt. Keep pressing the Up arrow key to see each previous command. Type doskey /history to see a list of all the previous commands. If you’ve made a typo with a certain command, press the Up arrow key to display it. Press the left arrow key to move your cursor to the typo to correct it and then press Enter to rerun the command.

Finally, you can change the font, colors, and layout of the command prompt (or the PowerShell prompt). Right-click on the icon in the upper left corner. From the popup menu, click on Properties.

At the Properties window, click on the Options tab to change the cursor size and other elements. Click on the Font tab to change the type and size of the font displayed at the prompt. Click on the Layout tab to change the size and position of the command prompt window. And click on the Colors tab to change the color of the text and background.