12 Windows Commands for Service Desk Support

I do love the GUI and spend most of my time on a Windows computer using it. However, there comes a time in an IT person's life that you would have to resort to the CLI.

The Command Prompt CLI has been with us for many years and has proven itself over time to be stable, quick, and efficient in handling tasks. Though attempts have been made in replacing it with the mighty PowerShell, Command Prompt is still lingering around, even on Windows 11.

I believe command prompt to be a handy tool that every IT technician working in a windows environment should be aware of and have a few of its commands tucked away in their toolbox.

To use Command Prompt, we need to find it. Its location has been moved around on different Windows versions. However, the easiest way to find it is by typing "cmd" or "run" in the search bar on the bottom left of Windows 10, or launching the Run dialog box and typing "cmd" then hit Enter.

Navigation commands and keys:
- up arrow key ~ navigate previously run commands
- down arrow key ~ navigate previously run commands
- tab key ~ autocomplete (handy, minimizes typing)

Managing Tasks and Processes:
To stop any process from continuing, hit ctrl + c
tasklist – List all tasks (basically Task Manager on CLI)
- tasklist /fi "status eq running" ~ filter only running
- tasklist /fo table ~ output in table format
taskkill – End processes
- taskkill /f /pid
- taskkill /t /f /pid
- taskkill /fi "status eq not responding" /f ~ filter only running and force kill