Start MySQL from the command line without losing prompt
use "start":
c:>start c:\xampp\mysql\bin\mysqld --defaults-file=c:\xampp\mysql\bin\my.ini
Tested alone and inside a .bat; I am on Windows 8.1 but I expected it works on Windows 7 too
I solved it by installing MYSQL as a service and running net start mysql and net stop mysql. That doesn't solve the issue, so I will leave this open for someone to answer. Otherwise I will accept this as the answer.