How can I open a Command Prompt (CMD) window during the Windows Vista installation process?
There might be times where you'd want to perform various tasks during the installation process. I can't think of a more specific example other than, for example, picking the Product Key of the Windows installation from within a text file that's on the installation CD (DVD in case of Windows Vista). Here come a neat trick that's been around for many years yet not many know of it: During the GUI phase of the installation you can simply press the SHIFT + F10 keys, and bingo! a nice and black CMD window opens!
and even a nice screenshot of Notepad.exe and Regedit.exe running while the setup process runs in the background:
As more and more files are copied to the installation folder on the hard disk, more and more *.exe programs are available to be run from the CMD window:
Lamer Note: Make sure you know what you do, don't blame me if you wreck your installation while running all sort of programs...