How to Open the Command Prompt in Windows 11 and 10

Before you can navigate around the command prompt in Windows 11 and 10, it’s useful to know how to open the command prompt. Here’s how to do so.

How Do I Change Directories in Command Prompt?

Changing directories in the command prompt can be a lot simpler than you’d think. Here’s one method of doing so. This method works in both Windows 11 and Windows 10.

How Do I Navigate to a Folder in Command Prompt?

If drag and drop isn’t convenient or accessible, or you’d prefer to type your commands, there’s another way of navigating to a folder in the command prompt easily enough. Here’s how to do so in Windows 11 and 10.

Why Can’t I Change Directory in CMD? 

If you can’t change directories within the command prompt, you may be doing something wrong or have your permissions set incorrectly. Here are some things to bear in mind that should make it simple to change directories again. 

Check you are typing the correct command. Make sure to start your command by typing cd. You may have mistyped something or typed too many characters. Be sure you’re accurate in your syntax usage. Check the directory exists. Check the directory you’re trying to browse to exists; otherwise, your command won’t work. Type dir to check the contents of a folder. Check you’re browsing the correct hard drive. If you have multiple hard drives installed, check you’re browsing the correct one. Change hard drives by typing X: where X is the letter of the hard drive. Check you have admin permissions. Check you’re running the command prompt as an Administrator; otherwise, you may be limited with what you can do.