Press Shift+F10 during setup for an admin command prompt — via Microsoft Learn

Trickmedium riskNeeds adminWindows 11Windows 10

On the first setup screen after installation (the out-of-box experience, OOBE), Shift+F10 opens a Command Prompt that already runs as administrator. It's handy for checking disks, loading a driver with pnputil, or reading setup logs before you finish setup.

Takes effect right away

How to do it

When the first OOBE screen appears, press Shift + F10.
Type exit to close the window and carry on with setup.

Everything you run in this window runs with full administrator rights, so be careful. In upgrades started from setup.exe this shortcut is turned off by default; see the /DiagnosticPrompt entry.

Sources

OA 3.0 command line and configuration file syntax — by Microsoft Learn

Source reviewed: 2026-11-02
Link checked: 2026-11-02
Tested hands-on: Not by Oddbyte.Me

Oddbyte.Me hasn't tried this on every Windows build, so keep the undo handy.

oobesetupcommand promptshift f10install

More in Setup & Install

See which Windows editions are inside an ISO or install.wim — via Microsoft Learn

Commandlow riskAdmin

One ISO usually holds several editions (Home, Pro, Education and more), each stored as a numbered index in install.wim or install.esd. DISM lists them along with their version and size, so you know which index is which before you deploy or extract one.

Read the Windows product key stored in your PC's firmware — via Microsoft Learn

Commandlow riskAdmin

Most PCs that came with Windows have the key embedded in the UEFI firmware (OA3), and Windows activates from it automatically when you reinstall the same edition. One PowerShell line reads that key, for example to check which edition it belongs to.

Heads-up: the BypassNRO / ms-cxh local-account shortcuts are being removed — via Windows Insider Blog

MythAdmin

Typing OOBE\BypassNRO or start ms-cxh:localonly at the Shift+F10 prompt used to let you skip the Microsoft account during setup. Microsoft announced in October 2025 that it is removing these known mechanisms, so newer builds require internet and a Microsoft account to finish OOBE.