This article is originally taken from Microsoft website. No idea to write a new article – actually, just too lazy today, to be honest, 🙂
The xp_cmdshell option is a SQL Server server configuration option that enables system administrators to control whether the xp_cmdshell extended stored procedure can be executed on a system. By default, the xp_cmdshell option is disabled on new installations and can be enabled by using the Policy-Based Management or by running the sp_configure system stored procedure as shown in the following code example:
Open the SQL Management Studio and hit below commands,
To allow advanced options to be changed
EXEC sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1; GO
To update the currently configured value for advanced options
RECONFIGURE; GO
To enable the feature
EXEC sp_configure 'xp_cmdshell', 1; GO
To update the currently configured value for this feature
RECONFIGURE; GO
