Recovery Console overview
Khalid
If safe mode and other startup options do not work, you can consider
using the Recovery Console. This method is recommended only if you are
an advanced user who can use basic commands to identify and locate
problem drivers and files. In addition, you must be an administrator to
use the Recovery Console.
Using the Recovery Console, you can enable and disable services, format
drives, read and write data on a local drive (including drives
formatted to use NTFS), and perform many other administrative tasks.
The Recovery Console is particularly useful if you need to repair your
system by copying a file from a floppy disk or CD-ROM to your hard
drive, or if you need to reconfigure a service that is preventing your
computer from starting properly.
There are two ways to start the Recovery Console:
· If you are unable to start your computer, you can run the Recovery
Console from your Setup CD.
· As an alternative, you can install the Recovery Console on your
computer to make it available in case you are unable to restart
Windows. You can then select the Recovery Console option from the list
of available operating systems on startup.
After you start the Recovery Console you will have to choose which
installation you want to log on to (if you have a dual-boot or
multiple-boot system) and you will have to log on with your
administrator password.
The console provides commands you can use to do simple operations such
as changing to a different directory or viewing a directory, and more
powerful operations such as fixing the boot sector. You can access Help
for the commands in the Recovery Console by typing help at the Recovery
Console command prompt.
Once you are running the Recovery Console, you can get help on the
available commands by typing help at the command prompt.
To start the computer and use the Recovery Console
***From the Setup CD-ROM
1. Insert the Setup compact disc (CD) and restart the computer. If
prompted, select any options required to boot from the CD.
2. When the text-based part of Setup begins, follow the prompts; choose
the repair or recover option by pressing R.
3. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot system, choose the
installation that you need to access from the Recovery Console.
4. When prompted, type the Administrator password.
5. At the system prompt, type Recovery Console commands; type help for
a list of commands, or help commandname for help on a specific command.
6. To exit the Recovery Console and restart the computer, type exit.
***If you have already installed the Recovery Console
1. During Startup, select Recovery Console from the startup options
menu.
2. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot system, choose the
installation that you need to access from the Recovery Console.
3. When prompted, type the Administrator password.
4. At the system prompt, type Recovery Console commands; type help for
a list of commands, or help commandname for help on a specific command.
5. To exit the Recovery Console and restart the computer, type exit.
####Important
· Because the Recovery Console is quite powerful, it is recommended
for use only by advanced users or administrators.
To install the Recovery Console as a startup option
1. With Windows running, insert the Setup CD into your CD-ROM drive.
2. CLick Start and select Run.
3. Type the following where D: is the CD-ROM drive letter:
D:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons
4. Follow the instructions on the screen.
###Note
· To run the Recovery Console, restart your computer and select the
Recovery Console option from the list of available operating systems.
· You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the
Administrators group in order to complete this procedure. If your
computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also
prevent you from completing this procedure.
· To see the commands available on the Recovery Console, type help at
the at the console prompt.
· If your computer will not start, you can run the Recovery Console
from the Setup CD. See Related Topics for information on running the
Recovery Console when your computer will not start.
To delete the Recovery Console
1. Open My Computer
2. Double-click the hard drive on which you installed the Recovery
Console.
3. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
4. Click the View tab.
5. Click Show hidden files and folders, clear the Hide protected
operating system files check box, and then click OK.
6. At the root directory, delete the \Cmdcons folder.
7. At the root directory, delete the file Cmldr.
8. At the root directory, right-click the Boot.ini file and then click
Properties.
9. Clear the Read-only check box, and then click OK.
10. Open Boot.ini in Notepad, and remove the entry for the Recovery
Console. It will look similar to this:
C:\cmdcons\bootsect.dat="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons
11. Save the file and close it.
#### Warning
· Modifying the Boot.ini file incorrectly may prevent your computer
from restarting. Be sure to delete only the entry for the Recovery
Console.
###Note
· To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.
· It is recommended that you change the attribute for the Boot.ini
file back to read-only after you complete this procedure. You may also
want to hide your system files again.
Recovery Console commands
The following commands can be used with the Recovery Console:
· Attrib
Changes the attributes of a file or directory.
· Batch
Executes the commands specified in the text file.
· Bootcfg
Boot file (boot.ini) configuration and recovery.
· ChDir (Cd)
Displays the name of the current directory or changes the current
directory.
· Chkdsk
Checks a disk and displays a status report.
· Cls
Clears the screen.
· Copy
Copies a single file to another location.
· Delete (Del)
Deletes one or more files.
· Dir
Displays a list of files and subdirectories in a directory.
· Disable
Disables a system service or a device driver
· Diskpart
Manages partitions on your hard drives.
· Enable
Starts or enables a system service or a device driver.
· Exit
Exits the Recovery Console and restarts your computer.
· Expand
Extracts a file from a compressed file.
· Fixboot
Writes a new partition boot sector onto the specified partition.
· Fixmbr
Repairs the master boot record of the specified disk.
· Format
Formats a disk.
· Help
Displays a list of the commands you can use in the Recovery Console.
· Listsvc
Lists the services and drivers available on the computer.
· Logon
Logs on to a Windows installation.
· Map
Displays the drive letter mappings.
· Mkdir (Md)
Creates a directory.
· More
Displays a text file.
· Net Use
Connects a network share to a drive letter.
· Rename (Ren)
Renames a single file.
· Rmdir (Rd)
Deletes a directory.
· Set
Displays and sets environment variables.
· Systemroot
Sets the current directory to the systemroot directory of the system
you are currently logged on to.
· Type
Displays a text file.