Open Software Solutions

In some cases, you may want to use the command prompt to troubleshoot the Windows Vista Enterprise installation process. By default, the command prompt is enabled in Windows Vista Enterprise. This article describes how to disable the command prompt during the Windows Vista Enterprise installation process.

Note To start a command prompt during the Windows Vista Enterprise installation process, press SHIFT+F10.

During all phases of the Windows Vista Enterprise installation process, Windows Setup and the related setup files examine the Windows Vista Enterprise setup directory for a file that is named the DisableCMDRequest.tag file. When Windows Setup and the related setup files find the DisableCMDRequest.tag file, Windows Setup disables the command prompt for the duration of the Windows Vista Enterprise installation process.

The Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) runs when you start Windows Setup for the first time. To disable the command prompt during the Windows Vista Enterprise installation process in the Windows PE phase, follow these steps:

1.	Verify that the computer has Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) or Windows OEM Preinstall Kit (Windows OPK) installed.
2.	Click Start, click All Programs, click Windows AIK or Windows OPK, and then click Windows PE Tools Command Prompt. Note If you follow these steps on a Windows Vista Enterprise-based computer, right-click the Command Prompt window, and then click Run as Administrator.
3.	Use the ImageX tool to mount the Boot.wim file to a folder. To do this, run the following command: md mount imagex /mountrw WimFileFolderName boot.wim 2 mount Note In this command, WimFileFolderName is a placeholder for the name of the folder that contains the Boot.wim file.
4.	In the Windows Vista Enterprise setup directory, create the DisableCMDRequest.tag file. To do this, run the following command: md mount windows setup scriptsecho.> mount windows setup scripts DisableCMDRequest.TAG
5.	Apply the changes to the Boot.wim file. To do this, run the following command: Imagex /unmount /commit mount
6.	Deploy the image. To do this, use the methods that are specified in the documentation for Windows AIK, for Windows OPK, or for Windows Deployment Services.

After the first restart, Windows Setup will run in other phases, such as Specialize and OOBE. To disable the command prompt during the Windows Vista Enterprise installation process in these other setup stages that follow the Windows PE stage, follow these steps:

1.	Verify that the computer has Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) or Windows OEM Preinstall Kit (Windows OPK) installed.
2.	Click Start, click All Programs, click Windows AIK or Windows OPK, and then click Windows PE Tools Command Prompt. Note If you follow these steps on a Windows Vista Enterprise-based computer, right-click the Command Prompt window, and then click Run as Administrator.
3.	Use the ImageX tool to mount the Boot.wim file to a folder. To do this, run the following command: md mount imagex /mountrw WimFileFolderName boot.wim 1 mount Note In this command, WimFileFolderName is a placeholder for the name of the folder that contains the Boot.wim file.
4.	In the Windows Vista Enterprise setup directory, create the DisableCMDRequest.tag file. To do this, run the following command: md mount windows setup scriptsecho.> mount windows setup scripts DisableCMDRequest.TAG
5.	Apply the changes to the Boot.wim file. To do this, run the following command: Imagex /unmount /commit mount
6.	Deploy the image. To do this, use the methods that are specified in the documentation for Windows AIK, for Windows OPK, or for Windows Deployment Services.

Note After you follow these steps to disable the command prompt during the Windows Vista installation process in other stages of setup, you cannot run audit mode by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+F3.