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Enable Run Command on Windows 7 or Vista Start Menu

A number of people have asked me how to enable the old Run dialog that existed on every other version of Windows until Vista, and is still gone in Windows 7. One of the nice features of the old Run dialog was that it saved the history of what you had typed in.

We should note first that you can always get to the run dialog by just hitting Win + R on the keyboard, which is the simplest way to do so, and would probably be worth getting used to.

Otherwise, you can re-enable the run dialog by right-clicking on the Start Button, selecting Properties, and then clicking Customize on the ensuing dialog window.

You’ll be taken to the Customize Start Menu screen.

Check the “Run command” checkbox in the list, and you should now be in business:.

Note the addition of the Run… button.

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This article was originally written on 02/4/07 Tagged with: Desktop Customization, Windows 7, Windows Vista

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Comments (11)

  1. Claudia

    Vista – ugh.

    Any suggestions about finding the real location of items being shortcut to when looking at explorer.

    How to put folders in the start menu and remove un needed links (all that pre installed garbage).

  2. Marty

    Enabling of the run dialog is about worthless when you can just type your command in the window above the Windows button.

  3. Erika

    I had no idea about win+r, THANKS! I learn SO much stuff from this site. :)

  4. Chris

    Fantastic! I always wondered about this and why they took it off in Vista, I usually use Win+R but sometimes I click the start button and its not there…..not anymore! :)

  5. Halmad

    I use win + R, i dont think enabling Run in vista is necessary, since your Start search works similarly

  6. Cindy

    We have only had our computer for a few months and already it is quite slow. Is there anything I can do to make it faster?

  7. jm

    to cindy: try to scan your computer using mcafee.
    use the maximun protection.
    this is my firstime here hope that my sugestion may help you…

  8. jm

    comand promt helped me a lot run is so important to me.
    i also dont have any idea about win + R…

  9. paul

    When using the run command and calling a console with cmd my vista pc no longer recognises commands such as ping or ipconfig, have you ever come across this before?

  10. a rose is a rose

    thanks so much for the tip above (getting the “run” command in the start menu on vista. it WORKED (and nothing else has)!

  11. Magig

    Very good, The advantage of run command is : it keeps the previose one in the memory and you do not need to retype the command.


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