Windows Run commands you probably never knew

The Windows Run box is a very useful utility to launch programs and applications quickly. There are more than a hundred run commands that let you launch all sorts of built in Windows applications such as Control Panel modules, and system tools like Disk Defragmenter, Device Manager, Group Policy Editor etc. Most of these commands are well documented – you will find plenty of run command lists on the web, published and republished countless number of times. But I’m pretty sure you will never find the following commands in any of these lists.

Trick 1: Open your home directory

The home directory is located at C:\Documents and Settings\Username in Windows XP and C:\Users\Username in Windows Vista and 7. The quickest way to open this directory is to open the Run box (Win+R) and type “.” – a single dot. Then hit enter. Try it.

Trick 2: Open the users directory

The users directory is the directory one folder above the home directory, i.e. C:\Documents and Settings in Windows XP and C:\Users in Windows Vista and 7. To open this directory, type 2 dots in the Run box and hit enter.

Trick 3: Open My Computer

To quickly open My Computer, open the Run box and type 3 dots, like this.

Trick 4: Open system drive

The system drive is the one where Windows is installed, usually the C drive. To open this drive through the Run box type “\” – the backslash.