Windows 7 how to get command prompt through safe mode

It puts the computer back to the startup menu

Going to Safe Mode via F8 is a bit of Trial and Error - the whole start goes very fast, you have to train it.

Another way is to press Reset button on your computer after your Windows started or at some point > it will give you options because "Windows wasn't shut down properly" - one of these options is "Start in Safe Mode".

Matthew Oakley said:

It puts the computer back to the startup menu

Click to expand...

I feel really sorry for the OP. Is no one actually taking the time to understand his issue? This made me cry and laugh at the same time.

Here's the parameters:
Work PC at home, not connected to Company's network.
User forgot the Password to this non-connected PC.
No access to an installation CD

User is able to select 'Start PC in Safe Mode w/Command Prompt'
HOWEVER - The PC only starts up in Safe Mode and takes the User to the LOGIN SCREEN.

IS IT POSSIBLE - To display the COmmand Prompt window without logging in?

Hi Josh, interesting that you picked up on a thread that's nearly 2 years old here. In fact, I deal with this sort of problem on a regular basis, and there is nothing to feel sorry about for the OP. You'll notice that he never replied back with his final solution. We gave him the information, and then MatthewOakley jumped on the bandwagon and asked the same question as the OP in a different syntax.

To answer your direct question, based on the information the OP provided and what you restated; it is NOT possible to display the command prompt window in Window7 without loggin in using built in Windows tools. I mentioned at least 3 multiple open source programs that can recover the OP's password in my Post (did you READ that??). Those are special advanced Linux based tools that manipulate the SAM files in the Windows registry to recovery and or reset the Admin password so that the Command Prompt can be accessed through WindowsRE (Recovery Console). If all 3 of those tools fail to work, then that computer is hosed, and needs to be repaired, replaced, or professionally fixed. Period. I also asked the OP if he tested his hard drive. He did not reply back, yet that is the #1 failed component in all computers older than 3 years old; which a Windows7 computer is going to be. For someone in an IT support position he had little grasp of these procedures. He appeared to lack formal training, and most likely he was not a licensed or certified Technician. Hence, his unwillingness to report back on the solutions we provided him.

So, he either chucked that Computer, or had someone else more experienced in his Company fix it, or perhaps he couldn't solve that problem and is no longer working for that Company on that problem, or perhaps he gave up and just left the IT business. Happens.

You're question has been answered.

<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>

All trades have beginners, amateurs and professionals. Not to mention the wast amount of gray shade between. Happily knowing, some do know. Cheers!

Well said, Pauli!!

<<<BBJ>>>

I have Windows Vista and I think my son improperly shutting down my computer over and over has caused an error preventing my windows from starting. I resorted to safe mode with command prompt and entered a command i was given another but when I went back to reenter the second command that was given it would no longer let me do it. It loads the files but it just scrolls through the same things over and over but never stops to allow me to enter another command. I've gone through all of the options on the screen. One of them makes me think it's going to start in safe mode cause the screen turns blue like in safe mode but it says nothing and does nothing, then I have to turn the computer off again. When I try to do the system repair it brings me to a blue screen. Please help

Hi Shana and welcome to the forum
Sorry to hear about your problem, but without more specific information about the Make/Model of your computer, we can't really help you very well. Have you attempted to use the built-in SYSTEM RESTORE utility in W7? It will undo any changes your son or anyone else made to the computer such as bad programs installed or a virus/malware attack and get your computer to boot into Windows properly. This program is very easy to use and there are numerous videos you can find in YouTube by using Google search to walk you through this.

However, and it's a big however, any kind of software repair can cause complete system failure, and therefore YOU MUST HAVE ALL PERSONAL DATA YOU WISH TO SAVE ALREADY SAVED TO EXTERNAL MEDIA PRIOR TO ATTEMPING ANY SOFTWARE REPAIRS SUCH AS YOU FIND ON THE INTERNET HERE AND ELSEWHER PRIOR TO PROCEEDING, IN ORDER TO AVOID IRRETRIEVABLE DATA LOSS!!! This is really important so, that's why I bold it and put it in RED; better to warn everyone and not just assume that they already know this as most beginning computer users do NOT know this!

Now that we've had that discussion, I will tell you that the System Restore program can fix about 35% of boot problems on Windows computers. It's not a 100% guarantee-and there is inherent risk in permanent data loss, if your data is not properly backed up; hence the Giant RED warning above! ! With your data safely backed up and protected this is the easiest thing to try to fix it. If you cannot run this repair, or the backup needed to protect your data on that computer *in the case that you DON'T have it backed up*, I suggest you pay a licensed Computer Tech independent or at your local repair shop to fix it for you. In the case you decide to attack this yourself (we call this DIY); I wrote a very good Troubleshooting Guide that will produce positive results about 85% of the time for you. Here's the link to my Guide:
Windows 10 - Unclickable Task Bar

This guide contains very detailed step-by-step instructions, sort of like how to put in your own garbage disposal, that will walk you through what you need to do. If you decide to go the DIY route, you have some advantages besides the obvious one of saving yourself some bucks.
What you will need to do is to print out the entire Guide, it's 6-8 pages in length, on a different working computer with an Internet connection and a printer to get yourself a hardcopy of the Guide. Take this Guide back over to your crashed computer and keep it in front of you as you go through the troubleshooting steps. A lots of my students use this hardcopy to take notes on.

One of the big advantages of doing this is that if your computer breaks again from a family member messing it up, virus attack, or other problem, or even on another computer you may own, you can then learn how to fix it yourself. You know the old motto: "give a fish to a man, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime!! The number 1 thing you also need is Patience! You should know than unless you've done this type of troubleshooting before or have considerable computer skills, it's gonna take you from 2-3 days to 1 week just to go through the Guide and run all the tests to identify the problem. That may or may not produce a positive result, for if you find that you have a failed hard drive in your computer and the computer is a laptop, you may not be able to replace it yourself, and may have to pay money to a repair tech or shop to do that, and then you can apply a software fix listed in my Guide such as reinstalling W7 from scratch. If you have a laptop that's easy to do that on with an accessible hard drive cover panel, it only takes 20 min. to fix it, and a few hours to reinstall the Windows OS (W7); but it will still take weeks even months to reinstall all your programs and restore your data from whatever external media you backed it up to prior to starting the T/Shooting process with the Guide.

Now, you have an overview of the process and should you decide to tackle it yourself, you need to feel free to post back any questions you have along the way if you get stuck. And remember, there are no Stupid Questions either! There are hundreds of us here who do this sort of thing for a living and are just chomping at the bit to help you, so Ask! We are here 24x7x365, and we try to answer all questions within 24 hrs. of them being posted. This forum is very responsive which is important when your computer is torn apart and you're going to be rather stressed about whether or not you'll ever get it working again!

Best of luck to you,
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>