Sometimes when you’re
installing Windows, you might
need to perform a minor task
(e.g., check the available
disk space) or a more important
one (e.g., search all disks
for a driver’s .sys file). You
might think that performing
such tasks while Windows is
installing is impossible, but
that’s not the case. What
many people don’t realize is
that you can access a command
prompt window while
installing Windows. All you
have to do is press Shift+F10
when you reach the Installing
Windows phase. This trick
works with
Windows
Server 2008,
Windows
Vista, Windows
Server
2003, and
Windows XP.
Being able
to access the
command
prompt
window during
installation
can be a godsend. For
example, one time Windows
prompted me for a driver’s .dll
file during installation, but I
couldn’t remember where that
file was stored on my disks.
Clicking Browse would’ve
been a hassle because I
would’ve had to look through
all the folders and subfolders
to find the .dll file. Instead,
all I did was press Shift+F10
and run a Find command to
discover exactly where the file
was located.
—Apostolos Fotakelis, systems
administrator, NATO, and
freelance IT consultant