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In previous versions of Microsoft Windows, you could open the command prompt in a full screen, which allowed some old DOS applications to function this way. For example, Windows XP had an option in the command prompt properties that allowed you to run it in a full screen.
Note: This article was written during the Windows 10 Technical Preview build phase.
The Windows XP ‘Command Prompt’ Properties window. (Image: Daniel Petri)
The Windows 8 Command Prompt Properties window. (Image: Daniel Petri)
To use the command prompt in full screen in Windows 10, do the following:
1. Open a new command prompt window by launching the appropriate shortcut from the Start menu or page. You can also type “cmd” and press Enter into the Start menu search box. Your command prompt should launch as usual in a resizable window:
A command prompt in Windows 10. (Image Credit: Daniel Petri)
Command prompt in full-screen mode in Windows 10. (Image Credit: Daniel Petri)
“You may be able to work around this problem by installing the Microsoft Windows XP version of the video drivers for your video adapter. Contact the manufacturer of your video adapter for more information about how to obtain the Windows XP version of the video drivers for your video adapter.”
Personally, I would not advise to run an old display adapter driver that was made for an operating system that was released more than 10 years ago.
One method is to change the screen buffer options of the CMD shortcut to match exactly those of your screen. For example, I use a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 on my Windows 8.1 computer:
Screen resolution options in Windows 8. (Image Credit: Daniel Petri)
Changing command prompt width and height properties. (Image Credit: Daniel Petri)
wmic
You can double-click the CMD window title to expand the window to fill the screen.
Then, in the WMIC prompt type:
quit
Now you can run regular CLI commands. This isn’t as good as the full screen, but it’s as close as you can get in Windows 7 or 8.
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