Get A Windows Run Box Even if Run & Task Manager are Disabled

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware, Troubleshooting

Get A Windows Run Box Even if Run & Task Manager are Disabled

by Lee Mathews Sep 27th 2008

I use Win + R a lot on my own computers, so when a customer's machine comes in with a crippled explorer interface I get a little irked.

Thankfully, I discovered RunMimic to help me get around that annoying little issue. The 21k portable executable looks almost exactly like the regular Windows run box and it's just as functional.

All of the commands I normally need to issue worked without a hitch: services.msc, compmgmt.msc, control, appwiz.cpl, regedt32, cmd. RunMimic also had no problem getting Explorer to access my network file shares.

Since it's portable, this is a nice little app to keep on a flash drive in case of emergencies. RunMimic is not the kind of program I need often, but I tend to work by the old Boy Scout motto: "Be prepared."

Tags: run box, run dialog, RunBox, RunDialog

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Shivaranjan said 12:09PM on 9-27-2008

Nice Find, this will save my ass in emergencies. I have added this to my portable drive.

Molly said 12:39PM on 9-27-2008

requires .NET framework 2.0? you gotta be kidding. :)

however, i much prefer my portable version of UltraExplorer. truly a Swiss knife, including a Command Line Window

http://www.mustangpeak.net/ultraexplorer.html

hazard said 7:13AM on 9-28-2008

Yeah bit of a joke that you need .NET for a simple wrapper to ShellExecute ..

Medlir said 1:02PM on 9-27-2008

I tend to use SysInternals Process Explorer as a replacement run dialog. Of course it's much larger, but it does oh so much more, and on a crippled machine (in the sense of an infected or corrupted machine), killing off extraneous extra processes or suspending known trojan/virus processes is usually one of the first things I do anyway. Not so much if crippled simply means security settings are purposely set to deny you access.

Stuart Halliday said 4:07PM on 9-27-2008

Thanks, I've added it to the list of banned apps on my network.

Keep up the good work. ;-)

Lee Mathews said 4:08PM on 9-27-2008

Laugh...Glad to help, Stu! It's nice to know that I'm helping the mindful sysadmin, too.

sybgtwy said 6:00PM on 9-27-2008

For Stu:

Might as well ban IE and anything else that comes out of the box while you're at it. Better take away my USB ports, CD-ROM, and glue the HDD in place. Make a nice long list, I'm still getting in, adding my apps, and getting my work done.

My problem with some sysadmins is that they think all users are alike. Some users are software developers, and they just get delayed by this stuff.

Lee Mathews said 6:02PM on 9-27-2008

I'm sure Stu's hip enough to realize that he's not going to stop everyone by banning apps. But that's no reason to avoid plugging holes in the dam, so to speak.

Rocketboy said 10:17AM on 9-29-2008

It's a fine line. Either give the users full access, and fix everything that they screw up, or lock them down, and fix all the problems that that creates. Neither answer is the 'wrong' answer.

Jash Sayani said 3:10AM on 9-28-2008

Launchy is a great alternative to this. It too can run when explorer.exe is terminated, etc.

David said 1:02PM on 9-28-2008

Run Dialog Replacement 1.0 is the same only .NET isnt needed.

http://ryzza007.googlepages.com/vb6_code

Lee Mathews said 1:06PM on 9-28-2008

Sweet. Nice find, David...And indeed more useful! Most machines I work on have .Net, but who can argue with fewer dependencies?

KarlW said 9:38PM on 9-28-2008

No need for any of this. Just create a shortcut. For example, you can create a shortcut to cmd.exe if you want a command line.

When the create shortcut wizard comes up, just type in 'compmgmt.msc' if that's what you want.

fr33mumia said 9:47PM on 10-01-2008

yeah..i 2nd this one :D

theBOZman said 4:59PM on 9-29-2008

Not if you are a nerdy guy that hates being locked out on say...free library kiosk pc's and want a little more POWER and can't create stuff like shortcuts.

Ian said 5:41PM on 9-29-2008

Or you can just right-click on the desktop, go to New -> Shortcut, and point it to %SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe.

Chris said 8:43AM on 10-04-2008

OR:

If you can get into IE you are in the system pretty much. Go view source, remove all the text type cmd then save as whatever.bat and save to desktop.

I did this at school and on many public PC's and it works oh so well

Pretty much if it has IE your screwed (or any other app that can save something)

:D

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