Tuesday, September 25, 2007

An A-Z Index of the Windows NT/XP command line

An A-Z Index of the Windows NT/XP command line
ADDUSERS Add or list users to/from a CSV file
ARP Address Resolution Protocol
ASSOC Change file extension associations
ASSOCIAT One step file association
AT Schedule a command to run at a later time
ATTRIB Change file attributes

BROWSTAT Get domain, browser and PDC info

CACLS Change file permissions
CALL Call one batch program from another
CD Change Directory - move to a specific Folder
CHANGE Change Terminal Server Session properties
CHKDSK Check Disk - check and repair disk problems
CHKNTFS Check the NTFS file system
CHOICE Accept keyboard input to a batch file
CIPHER Encrypt or Decrypt files/folders
CleanMgr Automated cleanup of Temp files, recycle bin
CLEARMEM Clear memory leaks
CLIP Copy STDIN to the Windows clipboard.
CLS Clear the screen
CLUSTER Windows Clustering
CMD Start a new CMD shell
COLOR Change colours of the CMD window
COMP Compare the contents of two files or sets of files
COMPACT Compress files or folders on an NTFS partition
COMPRESS Compress individual files on an NTFS partition
CON2PRT Connect or disconnect a Printer
CONVERT Convert a FAT drive to NTFS.
COPY Copy one or more files to another location
CSVDE Import or Export Active Directory data

DATE Display or set the date
Dcomcnfg DCOM Configuration Utility
DEFRAG Defragment hard drive
DEL Delete one or more files
DELPROF Delete NT user profiles
DELTREE Delete a folder and all subfolders
DevCon Device Manager Command Line Utility
DIR Display a list of files and folders
DIRUSE Display disk usage
DISKCOMP Compare the contents of two floppy disks
DISKCOPY Copy the contents of one floppy disk to another
DNSSTAT DNS Statistics
DOSKEY Edit command line, recall commands, and create macros
DSADD Add user (computer, group..) to active directoryDSQUERY List items in active directory
DSMOD Modify user (computer, group..) in active directory


ECHO Display message on screen
ENDLOCAL End localisation of environment changes in a batch file
ERASE Delete one or more files
EXIT Quit the CMD shell
EXPAND Uncompress files
EXTRACT Uncompress CAB files

FC Compare two files
FDISK Disk Format and partition
FIND Search for a text string in a file
FINDSTR Search for strings in files
FOR Conditionally perform a command several times
FORFILES Batch process multiple files
FORMAT Format a disk
FREEDISK Check free disk space (in bytes)
FSUTIL File and Volume utilities
FTP File Transfer Protocol
FTYPE Display or modify file types used in file extension associations

GLOBAL Display membership of global groups
GOTO Direct a batch program to jump to a labelled line

HELP Online Help
HFNETCHK Network Security Hotfix Checker

IF Conditionally perform a command
IFMEMBER Is the current user in an NT Workgroup
INSTSRV Install an NT Service
IPCONFIG Configure IP

KILL Remove a program from memory

LABEL Edit a disk label
LOCAL Display membership of local groups
LOGEVENT Write text to the NT event viewer.
LOGOFF Log a user off
LOGTIME Log the date and time in a file

MAPISEND Send email from the command line
MEM Display memory usage
MD Create new folders
MODE Configure a system device
MORE Display output, one screen at a time
MOUNTVOL Manage a volume mount point
MOVE Move files from one folder to another
MOVEUSER Move a user from one domain to another
MSG Send a message
MSIEXEC Microsoft Windows Installer
MSINFO Windows NT diagnostics
MUNGE Find and Replace text within file(s)
MV Copy in-use files

Windows XP Glossary

• Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT)
1. • is the tool that simplifies the process of migrating users, computers, and groups to new domains. It is not used to migrate files and desktop settings.
• .acw file format
1. • a file created through the accessibility wizard that defines the accessibility options set for the computer
2. • by double clicking the .acw file you will restore the options to the computer
• Address resource record
1. • A resource record used to map a Domain Name System (DNS) domain name to a host Internet Protocol (IP) address on the network
• Administrative templates
1. • Conf.adm to change NetMeeting conferencing software settings.
2. • Windows.adm to define user interface options for Windows 95 and Windows 98 clients.
3. • System.adm to configure core settings such as disabling the Run command and Control Panel.
4. • Inetres.adm to set Internet Explorer policy settings
• ADMT - Active Directory Migration Tool
1. • the tool that simplifies the process of migrating users, computers and groups to new domains.
2. • It is not used to migrate files and desktop settings
• Share Permissions vs NTFS Permissions
1. • Share Permissions
2. o Change
3. o Full Control
4. o Read
• Sharing models
1. • two distinctly different sharing models:
o Simple File Sharing. o Classic sharing.
• Show Sounds
1. • Instructs programs to display captions for program speech and sounds
2. • Configured from the sounds tab in control panel
• Shutdown.exe (Remote shutdown tool)
1. • Allows logoff, shutdown or restarts on local or remote PCs
2. • Windows includes a command-line utility, Shutdown.exe, that allows you to log off, shut down, or restart a computer. The companion CD has an alternative version of Shutdown.exe that also allows you to put your system into standby or hibernation.
SID - Security Identifier
1. Unique to each computer
• Sigverif.exe (File Signature Verifier)
1. • Verifies that the selected file is signed and authorized to run under Windows XP
2. • Determines if a file has been assigned a digital signature and whether that file has been modified after being assigned that digital signature.

Great XP Tips

Customize the Title bar text of the Internet Explorer.

1. Click Start > Run > Type gpedit.msc
2. Click User Configuration > Windows Setting > Internet Explorer Maintenance > Browser User Interface
3. Double click on Browser Title
4. Click on Customize Title Bars
5. Change the text to what whatever you want
6. Click on Ok



Speed Up Browsing
When you connect to a web site your computer sends information back and forth. Some of this information deals with resolving the site name to an IP address, the stuff that TCP/IP really deals with, not words. This is DNS information and is used so that you will not need to ask for the site location each and every time you visit the site. Although Windows XP and Windows XP have a pretty efficient DNS cache, you can increase its overall performance by increasing its size.

You can do this with the registry entries below:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters]
"CacheHashTableBucketSize"=dword:00000001
"CacheHashTableSize"=dword:00000180
"MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000fa00
"MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000012d

Make a new text file and rename it to dnscache.reg. Then copy and paste the above into it and save it. Merge it into the registry.



Never Re-Activate After Installation
If you have to reinstall Windows XP you normally will have to reactivate too. Well not anymore. Just copy wpa.dbl after you activated the first time. It is located in the WINDOWS\system32 folder. Now if you reinstall Windows XP just copy the file back and you're up and running again.



Disable Bootup Splash Screen
You can, if you feel like it, disable the Windows XP boot up splash screen. Although this doesn't speed boot times at all, it does allow you to see if there are any boot up messages appearing on your computer that might otherwise be covered up.

1. Edit boot.ini
2. Add " /noguiboot" right after "/fastdetect".

You will need to restart your PC for the splash screen to disappear. To enable the splash screen again, just remove the switch that you added.


Slow Shutdown?
Some people have noticed that they are experiencing a really slow shutdown after installing Windows XP Home or Professional. Although this can be caused a number of ways, the most clear cut one so far is happening on systems with an NVidia card installed with the latest set of drivers. A service called NVIDIA Driver Helper Service is loading up on start up and for whatever reason doesn't shut itself down properly. The service isn't needed and can also increase the amount of memory available to your system. Here is how to disable it.

1: Go into your Control Panel

2: Select Administrative Tools and then click on Services

3: Right click on the file "NVIDIA Driver Helper Service" and then select STOP.

4: To stop this loading up every time you boot up your PC Right click it again and select properties - then where the option "Startup Type" is shown - make sure it is set at Manual



My Computer Won't Shut Down Itself After Installing XP
There are a number of users who are noticing that their PC will no longer automatically power down/shut off without pressing the power off button on the computers unlike in Windows Me/95/2000. There could be a number of reasons for this - but the main one seems to be that ACPI is not enabled on the computer or in Windows XP. Here is how to try that out:

1: Click - Start - Control Panel - Performance and Maintenance - Power Options
Tab

2: Then click APM - Enable Advanced Power Management Support



Shutdown Windows XP Faster
When you shut down Windows XP, the OS tries its best to make sure that all services (they help run things like graphics, printers etc) are shut down. But there are times when they don't close, thus Windows XP tries to give it the chance to shut down itself. This amount of time that windows waits for the service to close is stored in the system registry. If you modify this setting, then windows will shut down the service earlier. To modify the setting, follow the directions below:

* Start Regedit.
* Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control.
* Click on the "Control" Folder.
* Select "WaitToKillServiceTimeout"
* Right click on it and select Modify.
* Set it to a value lower than 2000, say 1000 as a test.



How to Prevent Windows Messenger from Running on Windows XP
Some of you dislike the fact Windows Messenger starts each time you start your computer. To prevent Windows Messenger 4.5 (or later) from running, use the following method:

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).
2. Locate and click the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft

3. On the Edit menu, point to New, click Key, and then type Messenger for the name of the new registry key.
4. Locate and click the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Messenger

5. On the On the Edit menu, point to New, click Key, and then type Client for the name of the new registry key.
6. Locate and click the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Messenger\Client

7. On the Edit menu, point to New, click DWORD Value, and then type PreventRun for the name of the new DWORD value.
8. Right-click the PreventRun value that you created, click Modify , type 1 in the Value data box, and then click OK .
9. Quit Windows Messenger.

This tip is extracted from article Q302089 of the Microsoft Windows XP Knowledge Base.