To start MySQL Workbench on Windows select Start, Programs, MySQL and then select MySQL Workbench.

You may also start MySQL Workbench from the command line. To view the available command-line options, issue the command MySQLWorkbench -help | more from the MySQL Workbench installation directory. You will see the following output:

MySQL Workbench 5.1.12 OSS. (C) 2006-2009 by Sun Microsystems.
All rights reserved.

Usage: MySQLWorkbench [options] [model file]

Options
  -help (-h) ...... Print this output
  -open filename .. Open the given filename at startup
  -nologo ......... Do not display the splash screen
  -verbose (-v) ... Print verbose output in the GRT Shell
  -version ........ Print the version information
  -grtversion ..... Print the GRT version information
  -swrendering .... Force the canvas to use software rendering instead of OpenGL
  -log ............ Instruction to save messages (other debug info) to file

The MySQL Workbench version number is displayed followed by a usage message and then the options. Use the -swrendering option if your video card does not support OpenGL 1.5. The -version option can be used to display the MySQL Workbench version number. The -grtversion can be used to display the GRT shell version number. The other options are self-explanatory.