Windows Administration at the Command Line for Windows Vista, Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000

As the only complete reference for Windows command line utilities, this book take an in-depth look at the often-overlooked utilities accessible through the command line in Windows Vista, 2003, XP, and 2000. You’ll learn to locate files, check status, monitor systems, and save time by using scripts to automate time-consuming tasks. Plus, this is the only book on the market with the complete set of Windows command line utilities—including the latest for Vista—and offers solutions that will help increase your productivity.

Table of Contents:
Introduction xxiii Part 1 • Standard Windows Utilities 1 Chapter 1 • Using the Command Line Effectively 3 Understanding Why the Command Line Is So Important 4 The Command Line Made Easy 6 Using Utilities Directly 6 Writing Scripts 8 Scheduling Tasks 8 Relying on Third Party Utilities 8 Viewing the Commands by Purpose 8 Data Specific 9 System Status 9 File and Resource Management 10 Security and System Monitoring 10 Developer and Low-level Tasks 10 Active Directory 11 Services 11 Task Scheduling 12 Updating Your Current Utilities at the Microsoft Download Center 12 Configuring the Command Window 12 Setting the Window Options 13 Changing the Font 14 Choosing a Window Layout 14 Defining the Text Colors 14 Placing a Command Prompt at Your Fingertips 15 Understanding Internal Commands 17 Vista Changes for the Command Line 17 Understanding User Account Control (UAC) Changes 17 Overcoming UAC Problems 18 Giving Yourself Permission 18 Setting Vista Zones on Network Drives 19 Understanding Vista Doesn't Support Old Commands 20 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 20 Chapter 2 • Completing Data-Specific Tasks 23 Creating and Modifying Data Files and Directories 24 Opening Remote Directories with the Append Utility 24 Copying Files with the Command 25 Removing Files with the Del and Erase Commands 27 Removing a Directory Tree with the DelTree Command 28 Modifying Files with the Edlin Utility 29 Repairing System Databases with the ESEnTUtl Utility 30 Decompressing Files with the Expand Utility 34 Creating Directories with the MD and MkDir Commands 35 Moving Files and Renaming Files and Directories with the Move Command 36 Setting and Viewing Application Paths with the Path Command 37 Storing and Retrieving Directories with the PushD and PopD Commands 38 Recovering Lost Files with the Recover Utility 39 Removing a Directory with the RD and RmDir Commands 39 Renaming a File or Directory with the Ren and Rename Commands 40 Replacing Existing Files with the Replace Utility 40 Sorting File Content with the Sort Utility 41 Associating a Folder to a Drive with the Subst Utility 43 Displaying a Directory Structure with the Tree Utility 44 Validating File Operations with the Verify Command .45 Performing Bulk File Transfers with the XCopy Utility 45 Performing Robust File Transfers with the RoboCopy Utility 47 Displaying Data Files 54 Working with Line Printers 54 Printing Data Files with the Print Utility 56 Outputting Data Files with the Type Command 57 Performing a Formatted Printout with Notepad 60 Determining File and Directory Status 61 Determining the Current Directory and Changing Directories with the CD and ChDir Commands 61 Comparing Two Files with the Comp Utility 62 Performing Advanced File Comparison with the FC Utility 62 Working with File Associations and Types 64 Taking Ownership of Files with the TakeOwn Utility 65 Performing Backups with the NTBackup Utility 66 Performing Backups with the WBAdmin Utility 68 Start Backup 69 Get Items 69 Working with ODBC Data Sources 70 Configuring the ODBC Environment with the ODBCConf Utility 70 Creating an ODBC Data Source at the Command Line 72 Managing the Windows Registry 72 Modifying the Registry with the RegEdit Utility 73 Scripting Registry Entries with the RegIni Utility 74 Adding and Removing Servers with the RegSvr32 Utility 74 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 75 Chapter 3 • Discovering the System Status 77 Getting System Status Information 77 Obtaining Driver Information with the DriverQuery Utility 78 Obtaining DirectX Status with the DXDiag Utility 79 Monitoring the File System with the FSUtil Utility 80 Managing Volume Labels with the Label Utility 92 Determining Memory Status with the Mem Utility 92 Obtaining General System Information with the MSInfo32 Utility 93 Managing Environment Variables with the Set Command 96 Managing Environment Variables with the SetX Utility 98 Determining the Operating System Version with the Ver Command 100 Getting Volume Information with the Vol Command 100 Viewing the Volume Shadow Service Data with the VSSAdmin Utility 100 Working with Plug and Play (PnP) 101 Performing Unattended Driver Installation with the PnPUnattend Utility 101 Managing PnP Setups Using the PnPUtil Utility 101 Recording System Status Information 102 Managing System Events with the EventCreate Utility 102 Triggering System Events with the EventTriggers Utility 104 Managing Event Information with the WEvtUtil Utility 106 Working with Performance Information 111 Adding Performance Counters with the LodCtr Utility 111 Managing Performance Logs and Alerts with the LogMan Utility 112 Viewing the Results of Changes with the PerfMon Utility 116 Reconfiguring Performance Logs with the ReLog Utility 116 Tracking Performance with the TypePerf Utility 118 Removing Performance Counters with the UnlodCtr Utility 119 Assessing Your System with the WinSAT Utility 119 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 120 Chapter 4 • Locating Files and Other Resources 121 Locating Files 121 Finding Files and Directories with the Dir Command 122 Finding Files and Directories with the Where Utility 124 Detecting Shared Open Files with the OpenFiles Utility 124 Locating Information in Files with the Find and FindStr Utilities 127 Monitoring Files 129 Changing File and Directory Attributes with the Attrib Utility 130 Changing File and Directory Access with the CACLs Utility 132 Changing File and Directory Access with the ICACLs Utility 134 Determining File and Directory Status with the ChkDsk Utility 136 Performing Boot Time Disk Checks with the ChkNTFS Utility 137 Encrypting Data with the Cipher Utility 139 Compressing Data with the Compact Utility 141 Working with Other Resources 143 Converting Program Groups with the GrpConv Utility 143 Managing Power Settings with the PowerCfg Utility 143 Working with Terminal Server 148 Obtaining Session Status Information with the Query Utility 153 Working with Remote Access Server 155 Setting Up a Telephony Client with the TCMSetup Utility 157 Communicating with Telnet 158 Managing the System Time with the W32Tm Utility 161 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 165 Chapter 5 • Securing and Monitoring a System 167 Working with the Network 168 Managing the ATM Call Manager with the ATMAdm Utility 168 Getting the Media Access Control Information with the GetMAC Utility 168 Getting the NetWare Routing Information with the IPXRoute Utility 169 Managing WinHTTP Proxy Configuration with the ProxyCfg Utility 170 Managing the Network with the Net Utility 171 Discovering TCP/IP Diagnostic Tools 184 Managing FTP Servers with the FTP Utility 208 Working with Users 209 Monitoring Users with the AuditUsr Utility 210 Configuring Profiles the CMStP Utility 211 Obtaining Group Policy Results with the GPResult Utility 212 Managing Group Policies with the GPUpdate Utility 213 Sending Messages with the Msg Utility 214 Auditing User Access with the AuditPol Utility 214 Obtaining User Login Information with the QUser Utility 218 Discovering User Identity with the WhoAmI Utility 218 Virus and External Intrusion Protection 219 Removing Viruses with the BlastCln Utility 220 Managing the File System with the FltMC Utility 221 Detect and Remove Malicious Software with the MRT Utility 223 Verifying System Files with the SFC Utility 223 Verifying Drivers with the Verifier Utility 224 Configuring the System Setup 226 Managing the Boot Configuration with the BootCfg Utility 226 Managing the Boot Configuration with BCDEdit in Vista 228 Accessing the WinPE Network Installer with the NetCfg Utility 232 Accessing the Windows Package Manager with the PkgMgr Utility 232 Configuring Local Security Policies with the SecEdit Utility 233 Adding and Removing Applications with the SysOCMgr Utility 235 Adding and Removing Applications with the OCSetup Utility 235 Getting System Configuration Information with the SystemInfo Utility 236 Interacting with the Internet 237 Converting IIS Logs with the ConvLog Utility 237 Monitoring and Managing IIS with the IISReset Utility 238 Working with IP Version 6 238 Working with General Applications 240 Terminating Tasks with the TaskKill Utility 240 Listing Applications and Services with the TaskList Utility 242 Converting Event Trace Logs with the TraceRpt Utility 243 Perform System Diagnostics with DispDiag 245 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 245 Chapter 6 • Using Developer and Low-Level Utilities 247 Working with Automated System Recovery 248 Backing Up and Restoring System Data with the ASR_Fmt Utility 249 Working with Logical Disks Using the ASR_LDM Utility 250 Working with Protected Files Using the ASR_PFU Utility 251 Using the Start Command 251 Performing Disk Maintenance 253 Managing Removable Storage with the RSM Utility 253 Converting FAT Partitions to NTFS with the Convert Utility 259 Improving Disk Access Performance with the Defrag Utility 260 Compressing Files with the Diantz and MakeCAB Utilities 261 Managing Partitions with the DiskPart Utility 262 Mounting a Volume with the MountVol Utility 267 Managing Disk Performance with the DiskPerf Utility 268 Managing RAID Setups Using the DiskRAID Utility 269 Employing Low-Level Utilities 269 Examining, Modifying, and Debugging Files with the Debug Utility 269 Converting Executables with the Exe2Bin Utility 270 Ensuring Proper Application Execution with the ForceDOS Utility 270 Terminating a Session Using the Logoff Utility 271 Performing System-Level Debugging with the NTSD Utility 271 Managing Compatibility Databases with SDBInst 275 Accessing Functions within DLLs 276 Uninstalling the Operating System with the OSUninst Utility 277 Controlling Services with the SC Utility 278 Shutting Down the System with the ShutDown Utility 282 Replicating COM+ Applications with the COMRepl Utility 284 Managing Type Libraries with the RegTLib Utility 284 Saving and Restoring System Restore Data with the SRDiag Utility 285 Performing Web-Based Enterprise Management Tasks 285 Administering Managed Object Format Files with the MOFComp Utility 286 Interacting with the WBEM Server with the WinMgmt Utility 287 Tracing WinSxS Behavior with the SxSTrace Utility 288 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 288 Part 2 • Using Windows Automation 289 Chapter 7 • Creating CMD and BAT Files 291 Starting the Command Interpreter 291 Using the CMD Switches 292 Modifying Config.NT 297 Modifying AutoExec.NT 301 Modifying Application Behavior Using a PIF 305 Defining Application Compatibility with the SetVer Utility 308 Using Common DOS Utilities 309 Working at the Command Prompt 316 Redirecting Command Line Output to the Clipboard with the Clip Utility 316 Clearing the Display with the CLS Command 316 Managing User Names and Passwords with CmdKey 317 Changing Screen Colors with the Color Command 318 Working with the System Date Using the Date Command 319 Tracking Command Line Actions with the DosKey Utility 319 Obtaining Command Line Help with the Help Utility 321 Working with the System Time Using the Time Command 321 Changing the Command Window Title with the Title Command 322 Creating Batch Files 322 Using the Call Command 323 Using the Choice Command 324 Using the Echo Command 326 Using the Exit Command 327 Using the ForFiles Utility 327 Using the For Command 328 Using the Goto Command 330 Using the If Command 331 Using the Pause Command 334 Using the Prompt Command 334 Using the Rem Command 335 Using the Shift Command 335 Using the TimeOut Utility 335 Using the WaitFor Utility 336 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 336 Chapter 8 • Working with Scripts 339 Understanding Scripting Languages 339 Learning the Basics of JavaScript 340 Learning the Basics of VBScript 341 Executing Scripts 342 Running Scripts with the CScript and WScript Utilities 342 Configuring the Host and Property Page Options 344 Scripting Networking Solutions with the NetSH Utility 344 Creating a Basic Script 349 Scripting the Command Line and System Environment 350 Scripting the Registry 352 Using the Scripting Objects 354 Working with the WScript Object 355 Working with the WScript.WshArguments Object 356 Working with the WScript.WshShell Object 356 Working with the WScript.WshNetwork Object 358 Impersonating a User with the RunAs Utility 359 Changing the Environment 360 Changing Logons, Ports, and Users with the Change Utility 360 Enabling or Disabling Session Logons with the ChgLogon Utility 361 Listing COM Port Mappings Using the ChgPort Utility 361 Modifying the Install Mode with the ChgUsr Utility 361 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 361 Chapter 9 • Scripting for Active Directory 363 Discovering Helpful Active Directory Utilities 364 Managing Active Directory with the DSQuery Utility 365 Managing the Active Directory Database with the NTDSUtil Utility 371 Working with Objects 373 Creating New Objects Using the DSAdd Utility 373 Listing Objects Using the DSGet Utility 378 Editing Existing Objects Using the DSMod Utility 382 Moving Existing Objects Using the DSMove Utility 382 Deleting Objects Using the DSRm Utility 383 Working with Users, Groups, and Computers 383 Obtaining a User’s Logon Name 384 Obtaining a User’s Full Name 384 Discovering User Group Membership 384 Resetting a User’s Password 385 Displaying a List of Hostnames 385 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 385 Chapter 10 • Using Task Scheduler Effectively 387 Starting and Stopping the Task Scheduler Service 388 Managing Tasks with the SchTasks Utility 389 Working with the AT Utility 395 Combining the AT Utility with Batch Files 396 Creating Script-Based Scheduler Activities 398 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 401 Chapter 11 • After Hours Automation Scripting 403 Defining After Hours Task Candidates 403 Creating Message Queue Backups with the MQBkup Utility 405 Installing Applications with the MSIExec Utility 405 Designing and Testing the After Hours Batch File 409 Adding Debug Information to Batch Files 409 Identifying Batch Files and Their Actions 413 Using a Centralized Data Store 415 Designing and Testing the After Hours Script 417 Mapping a Network Drive 417 Creating a CSV File 420 Remote System Management 424 Creating Remote Connections with the MSTSC Utility 424 Performing Remote Windows Management with the WinRM Utility 425 Accessing a System with the WinRS Utility 428 Providing Fault Tolerance for an After Hours Batch or Script 429 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 431 Part 3 • Relying on Third Party Automation 433 Chapter 12 • Obtaining Command Prompt Enhancers 435 Using XVI32 to View Files in Depth 435 Moving Data with Send To Toys 438 Checking File Integrity Using FCIV 439 Getting the Better XCopy with XXCopy 443 Working with Shell Extensions Using ShellExView 443 Examining Processes Using Process Explorer 445 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 447 Chapter 13 • Increasing Productivity at the Command Line 449 Obtaining Additional Information with ToggIt Command Line Helper 450 Using Quick Shutdown to End a Session Fast 451 Creating a Friendlier Interface with PromptPal 453 Getting a More Functional Command Line with WinOne 454 Automating Email Using sendEmail 455 Viewing XML Files Using XML Notepad 2007 458 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 459 Chapter 14 • Editing and Compiling Batch Files and Scripts 461 Editing All File Types with WinVi 461 Obtaining a Better Notepad with Notepad+ 463 Creating Executable Batch Files with Batch File Compiler 5.2 465 Develop and Compile Batch Files with Quick Batch File Compiler 466 Understanding JavaScript and VBScript Compilers 467 Understanding the JSC Compiler Supplied with .NET 469 Using the JSC Compiler 469 Creating a Simple Example 472 Working with the .NET Framework 472 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 473 Part 4 • Working with the .NET Framework Utilities 475 Chapter 15 • Understanding the .NET Framework Versions 477 Locating the .NET Framework on Your System 478 Understanding the Concept of Side-by-Side Versions 481 Viewing the Assembly Folder 484 Discovering the Essential .NET Framework Assemblies 486 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 488 Chapter 16 • Configuring the .NET Framework 489 Understanding .NET Framework Configuration 489 Working with the Global Assembly Cache 490 Understanding .NET Security 490 Working with Code Groups 494 Creating and Defining Permission Sets 495 Defining Policy Assemblies 496 Adding Configured Applications 496 Understanding the Use of CONFIG Files 497 Setting Policies Using the CASPol Utility 499 Placing Assemblies in the Global Assembly Cache with GACUtil 502 Installing Assemblies with the InstallUtil Utility 504 Registering Assemblies with the RegAsm Utility 505 Registering Services with the RegSvcs Utility 505 Using the .NET Framework 3.0 Utilities 506 Configuring COM+ Applications with the ComSvcConfig Utility .506 Installing and Configuring Windows Communication Foundation Using the ServiceModelReg Utility 508 Interacting with WS-AtomicTransaction Using the WSATConfig Utility 509 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 510 Chapter 17 • Configuring ASP.NET 513 Locating ASP.NET Errors 513 Fixing Application Registration Errors 514 Fixing File Association Problems 514 Fixing Configuration Problems 517 Creating Web Applications with the ASPNet_Compiler Utility 518 Providing Multiple Browser Support with the ASPNet_RegBrowsers Utility 519 Adding ASP.NET Support to IIS with the ASPNet_RegIIS Utility 520 Adding ASP.NET Support to SQL Server with the ASPNet_RegSQL Utility 523 Using the Command Line 524 Working with the ASPNet_RegSQL Utility Wizard 526 Understanding the ASPNet_State Service 527 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 528 Part 5 • Windows Vista Special Features Preview 529 Chapter 18 • Using Windows PowerShell 531 An Overview of Windows PowerShell 531 Why Use the Windows PowerShell? 532 Downloading and Installing Windows PowerShell 533 Understanding the Windows PowerShell Difference 533 Using the New Windows PowerShell Commands 536 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 546 Chapter 19 • Working with Windows PowerShell 547 Using the PS Command Interpreter 548 Creating a Shell Extension with the Make-Shell Utility 550 Creating a Windows PowerShell Script 552 Creating a Simple Script 553 Running the Script 556 Creating a Windows PowerShell Cmdlet and Shell 558 Creating the Cmdlet Code 558 Compiling the Cmdlet Executable 560 Using the Make-Shell Utility to Create the Shell 561 Getting Started with Command Line Tasks 562 Appendix A • 52 Indispensable Command Line Tricks and Techniques 563 Appendix B • A Summary of New and Modified Commands in Vista 569 Glossary 575 Index 597

About the Author :
John Paul Mueller, consultant, application developer, writer, and technical editor, has written over 300 articles and 72 books, including the recent Mastering Microsoft Web Developer 2005 Express Edition. His topics range from programming and operating systems to home security and accessibility. He has contributed articles to such magazines as DevSource, asp.netPro, InformIT, SQL Server Professional, and Visual C++ Developer, among others. His Web site is www.mwt.net/~jmueller. John Paul Mueller, consultant, application developer, writer, and technical editor, has written over 300 articles and 72 books, including the recent Mastering Microsoft Web Developer 2005 Express Edition. His topics range from programming and operating systems to home security and accessibility. He has contributed articles to such magazines as DevSource, asp.netPro, InformIT, SQL Server Professional, and Visual C++ Developer, among others. His Web site is www.mwt.net/~jmueller.