Windows Power User Shortcuts & Hidden Commands Cheat Sheet

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If you love mastering Windows at a deeper level, this cheat sheet is for you. It’s packed with shortcuts, hidden commands, and lesser-known tricks every power user or IT pro should know. All of these work from the Run dialog (Win + R), Command Prompt, or PowerShell.

⚙️ System Properties

Quickly open specific tabs in System Properties:

  • sysdm.cpl – Main System Properties
  • SystemPropertiesAdvanced – Advanced tab
  • SystemPropertiesComputerName – Computer Name
  • SystemPropertiesHardware – Hardware
  • SystemPropertiesProtection – System Protection
  • SystemPropertiesRemote – Remote settings

💡 Pro Tip: Pin these commands to Start or make desktop shortcuts for one-click access.

🧩 Common .CPL Commands (Control Panel Applets)

Access classic Control Panel tools directly:

  • appwiz.cpl – Programs and Features
  • ncpa.cpl – Network Connections
  • powercfg.cpl – Power Options
  • inetcpl.cpl – Internet Properties
  • mmsys.cpl – Sound settings
  • timedate.cpl – Date & Time
  • desk.cpl – Display settings
  • main.cpl – Mouse settings
  • firewall.cpl – Windows Defender Firewall
  • wscui.cpl – Security & Maintenance
  • intl.cpl – Region & Language
  • joy.cpl – Game Controllers

💡 Hidden Gem: Try control /name Microsoft.<applet> (e.g. control /name Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter) to open sections directly.

🧰 Common .MSC Commands (Management Consoles)

Essential tools for system admins:

  • services.msc – Services Manager
  • devmgmt.msc – Device Manager
  • diskmgmt.msc – Disk Management
  • compmgmt.msc – Computer Management
  • eventvwr.msc – Event Viewer
  • certmgr.msc – Certificate Manager
  • lusrmgr.msc – Local Users and Groups
  • gpedit.msc – Group Policy Editor (Pro only)
  • perfmon.msc – Performance Monitor
  • secpol.msc – Local Security Policy (Pro only)

⚡ System Utilities

Frequently used system tools:

  • control – Control Panel
  • cmd – Command Prompt
  • powershell – PowerShell
  • msconfig – System Configuration
  • regedit – Registry Editor
  • taskmgr – Task Manager
  • explorer – File Explorer
  • cleanmgr – Disk Cleanup
  • mstsc – Remote Desktop Connection
  • dxdiag – DirectX Diagnostic Tool
  • msinfo32 – System Information
  • netplwiz / control userpasswords2 – User Accounts
  • resmon – Resource Monitor
  • sysmon – System Monitor (Sysinternals)

🧠 Bonus Commands & Tips

  • winver – Windows version
  • optionalfeatures – Manage Windows features
  • shell:startup – Startup folder
  • shell:AppData, shell:Downloads, shell:Recent – Special folders
  • osk – On-Screen Keyboard
  • magnify – Magnifier
  • snippingtool or snip & sketch – Screen capture
  • rstrui – System Restore
  • charmap – Character Map
  • fonts – Fonts folder

🧭 Hidden Shell Commands

Access system folders via shell: commands:

  • shell:Common Startup – All users’ startup folder
  • shell:ProgramFiles / ProgramFilesX86 – Program directories
  • shell:System / SystemX86 – System folders
  • shell:SendTo – Send To menu
  • shell:Recent – Recently opened files
  • shell:Downloads / Desktop – User folders
  • shell:ControlPanelFolder / RecycleBinFolder – Core system folders

💡 Automation Tip: Combine these with scripts or batch jobs for maintenance routines.

👨‍💻 Keyboard Shortcuts for IT Admins

  • Win + X – Power User Menu
  • Ctrl + Shift + Esc – Task Manager
  • Win + Ctrl + Shift + B – Restart GPU driver
  • Win + Pause/Break – System Properties
  • Alt + F4 – Close app / Shutdown menu
  • Ctrl + Shift + Right-click (taskbar) – Restart Explorer
  • Win + L – Lock PC
  • Win + D – Show desktop
  • Win + E – File Explorer
  • Win + Tab – Task view
  • Win + Ctrl + D – New virtual desktop
  • Win + Ctrl + F4 – Close desktop
  • Ctrl + Alt + Del – Security screen
  • Win + Shift + S – Screenshot area
  • Win + P – Display mode switch

🧰 Sysinternals Suite

Microsoft’s ultimate toolkit for power users:

  • Process Explorer – Advanced Task Manager
  • Autoruns – Manage startup items
  • TCPView – Monitor network connections
  • Procmon – Track system and registry activity

Install via PowerShell or CMD:

PowerShell
winget install Sysinternals

🪄 For Automation Enthusiasts

Create PowerShell aliases for instant access:

PowerShell
Set-Alias disk diskmgmt.msc

Now just type disk to open Disk Management.

⚙️ PowerShell & CMD One-Liners for IT Automation

🔍 System Info & Diagnostics

PowerShell
Get-ComputerInfo | Select CsName, WindowsVersion, OsBuildNumber
systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"
Get-Process | Sort CPU -Descending | Select -First 10
Get-EventLog -LogName System -Newest 20
Get-NetIPAddress | Where {$_.AddressFamily -eq 'IPv4'}

👤 User & Account Management

PowerShell
Get-LocalUser
net user <username> /add
net localgroup administrators <username> /add
Get-LocalGroupMember Administrators

💾 Disk & Performance

PowerShell
Get-Volume
Get-Disk | Select Number, FriendlyName, OperationalStatus, Size
Get-PSDrive | Where {$_.Provider -like '*FileSystem*'}
chkdsk C:

🌐 Network & Connectivity

PowerShell
test-netconnection google.com
ipconfig /all
Get-NetAdapter | Select Name, Status, MacAddress
ping 8.8.8.8 -t
Get-NetTCPConnection | Group-Object -Property State

🧹 Maintenance & Cleanup

PowerShell
cleanmgr /sagerun:1
Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Temp -Recurse | Remove-Item -Force
Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='Application'; Level=2} | Select -First 10

🔄 Remote & Automation

PowerShell
Enter-PSSession -ComputerName <hostname>
Restart-Computer -Force
Get-Service | Where {$_.Status -eq 'Stopped'} | Start-Service
schtasks /query /fo table /v

💡 Pro Tip: Bookmark this guide or print it out — it’s a life-saver for IT admins, sysadmins, and automation enthusiasts who want to move fast in Windows without touching the mouse.

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