Getting a very fast Command Prompt popping up.

Toughbook · Feb 22, 2025

Out of the blue I will get the cmd.exe screen pop up and in a split second it's gone. I "think" it's the cmd screen. How would I go about finding out what it is exactly and why it's happening?

TraderGary · Feb 22, 2025

Here are a few steps you can take to figure out what's causing the cmd.exe screen to pop up and disappear:

Check Task Scheduler: Sometimes, scheduled tasks can trigger the Command Prompt to open briefly. Open Task Scheduler by pressing Win + R, typing taskschd.msc, and hitting Enter. Look for any tasks that might be running at the time you see the cmd.exe screen.
Run a Full System Scan: It's possible that malware or a virus is causing this behavior. Run a full system scan using your antivirus software to rule out any malicious activity.
Check Startup Programs: Some programs set themselves to run at startup and might be causing the cmd.exe screen to appear. Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc, go to the Startup tab, and disable any suspicious or unnecessary programs.
Use Process Monitor: Download and run Process Monitor from Sysinternals. This tool can help you track what processes are being created and might give you a clue about what's causing the cmd.exe screen to appear.
Check Event Viewer: Open Event Viewer by pressing Win + R, typing eventvwr.msc, and hitting Enter. Look for any events around the time you see the cmd.exe screen that might indicate what's causing it.

If you follow these steps, you should be able to pinpoint the cause of the cmd.exe screen popping up.

pseymour · Feb 22, 2025

As TraderGary mentioned, Process Monitor can help a lot here, but it's a bit noisy. There's a filter for ProcMon in my post here to help filter out a lot of the noise and just show processes starting and stopping.

Toughbook · Feb 22, 2025

Thank you gentleman. I will do as advised and report back.

Mooly · Feb 22, 2025

Hasn't this been mentioned a long time ago? I sometimes see cmd open two or three times on my other laptop (regular W11 build). It doesn't always do it and it's all over in the blink of an eye. It is like 'open/close, open/close, open/close and it lasts in total for around 1 second or less for all three instances one after the other.

I know I've read about this before and I don't recall any explanation or cause.

pseymour · Feb 22, 2025

The causes can vary. Each machine needs to be looked at, depending on the owner's tolerance for annoying things. :)

dacrone · Feb 22, 2025

check task scheduler and see what all is running as scheduled.

is this when you first login or periodically or when a certain process is taking place (are you doing the same thing when it tends to happen)?

Tester · Feb 22, 2025

You could try to use app LastActivityView and see what has run at the last moment: LastActivityView - View the latest computer activity in Windows operating system

FrancoDT · Feb 22, 2025

Mooly said:
Hasn't this been mentioned a long time ago? I sometimes see cmd open two or three times on my other laptop (regular W11 build). It doesn't always do it and it's all over in the blink of an eye. It is like 'open/close, open/close, open/close and it lasts in total for around 1 second or less for all three instances one after the other.

I know I've read about this before and I don't recall any explanation or cause.

Your right, this same topic came up a while back as I and some others have noticed the blink of an eye sporadic command prompts. I don't think an explanation as to what they were actually doing was ever found though lol. Maybe this time around someone will know.

Tester · Feb 22, 2025

Few times i have seen this was after a fresh new install, or after a windows update in the past. With the tool i provided usually i could track it to a scheduled task by windows. This will show task that have run for example at startup, and then later are removed again by a script, so you won't find it when opening taskscheduler

Spunk · Feb 22, 2025

You should try Autoruns this will tell you what apps start with Windows and you can see if there is anything you do not want.

How to use Microsoft Autoruns for Windows 11/10 - UMA Technology

Guide to Using Microsoft Autoruns for Windows 11/10

umatechnology.org

Toughbook · Feb 22, 2025

dacrone said:
check task scheduler and see what all is running as scheduled.

is this when you first login or periodically or when a certain process is taking place (are you doing the same thing when it tends to happen)?

I notice it a few minutes after it's either booted up or coming out of sleep.

Spunk · Feb 22, 2025

It will show in the Autoruns app

Toughbook · Feb 22, 2025

I believe I have narrowed it down to either one of 2 programs. This is a relatively new install on this laptop, meaning I have not installed a large amount of programs yet. I have disabled the Samsung Magician and the Absolute Persistence. I ran the Process Monitor and couldn't believe the amount of processes that Magician had running. It was pages upon pages.
If it doesn't do it again I will delete the Samsung as I would bet money it's the guilty party.

Spunk · Feb 22, 2025

You may want to keep Samsung Magician and run it manually as it is a great way to check the health of your SSD and Firmware Updates. Just remove it from starting with Windows by Right click the Taskbar/Taskbar Settings/s going to Startup Apps tab on the left panel and unchecking it.

Morph000 · Feb 22, 2025

I had the same thing, and a few of them.
Turned out to be CCleaner running background tasks.
Disabled in Task Scheduler.
I would venture a different solution - use video capture in Snipping tool or similar to record desktop activity, then you can easily review the popup window and find the offender.
Task manager may or may not reveal the culprit.

FrancoDT · Feb 22, 2025

Morph000 said:
I had the same thing, and a few of them.
Turned out to be CCleaner running background tasks.
Disabled in Task Scheduler.
I would venture a different solution - use video capture in Snipping tool or similar to record desktop activity, then you can easily review the popup window and find the offender.
Task manager may or may not reveal the culprit.

I run CCleaner portable free version so I know that's not it for me as nothing from it runs in the background. My guess is most of us have these flash command prompts but most people don't notice or see them as they are literally the blink of an eye quick.

Morph000 · Feb 23, 2025

I run CCleaner portable free version

Hopefully the one from portableapps rather than Piriform to avoid the Avast advertising.

Steve C · Feb 23, 2025

Toughbook said:
Out of the blue I will get the cmd.exe screen pop up and in a split second it's gone. I "think" it's the cmd screen. How would I go about finding out what it is exactly and why it's happening?

Probably a OneDrive update

Mooly · Feb 23, 2025

FrancoDT said:
My guess is most of us have these flash command prompts but most people don't notice or see them as they are literally the blink of an eye quick.

Curious thought but I wonder if the faster the PC, the less chance you have of seeing them. The Dell laptop I run the standard W11 build on is 13 yrs old now (early i5). I wonder if that could be a factor.

Getting a very fast Command Prompt popping up.

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