Lesson 3: Using the Recovery Console

The Windows 2000 Recovery Console is a command-line interface that you can use to perform a variety of troubleshooting and recovery tasks, including the following:

• Starting and stopping services
• Reading and writing data on a local drive (including drives that are formatted with the NTFS file system)
• Formatting hard disks

To install the Recovery Console, start a command prompt in Windows 2000, change to the I386 (or Alpha) folder on the Windows 2000 CD-ROM, and then run the Winnt32 command with the /cmdcons switch. After you install the Recovery Console, you can access it from the startup menu. You can also access the Recovery Console by using the Windows 2000 Setup disks or the Windows 2000 CD-ROM to start your computer and then selecting the Recovery Console option when you are prompted to choose repair options.

After you start the Recovery Console, you must specify which installation of Windows 2000 you want to log on to (if you have a dual boot or multiple boot configuration), and then you must log on as the Administrator user.

There are a number of commands available in the Recovery Console. Table 12.3 describes some of these commands.

Table 12.3 Recovery Console Commands

Command	Description
CD or Chdir	Displays the name of the current folder or changes the current folder
Chkdsk	Checks a disk and displays a status report
Cls	Clears the screen
Copy	Copies a single file to another location
Del or Delete	Deletes one or more files
Dir	Displays a list of files and subfolders in a folder
Disable	Disables a system service or a device driver
Enable	Starts or enables a system service or a device driver
Exit	Exits the Recovery Console and restarts your computer
Fdisk	Manages partitions on your hard disks
Fixboot	Writes a new partition boot sector onto the system partition
Fixmbr	Repairs the master boot record of the partition boot sector
Format	Formats a disk
Help	Lists the commands that you can use in the Recovery Console
Listsvc	Lists all available services and drivers on the computer
Logon	Logs on to a Windows 2000 installation
Map	Displays the drive letter mappings
MD or Mkdir	Creates a folder
More	Displays a text file
RD or Rmdir	Deletes a folder
REN or Rename	Renames a single file
Systemroot	Sets the current folder to the systemroot folder of the system that you are currently logged on to
Type	Displays a text file

In this practice, you will install and start the Recovery Console. You will look at Help to determine the commands available in the Recovery Console, you will use Listsrv to view the services, and then you will use the Disable command to disable the Alerter service.

In this exercise, you will install the Recovery Console.

1. Log on as Administrator.
2. Insert the CD-ROM that you used to install Microsoft Windows 2000 Server into the CD-ROM drive.
3. When the Microsoft Windows 2000 CD window appears, close it.
4. In the Run dialog box, type <X>:\i386\winnt32 /cmdcons (where <X> represents the letter assigned to your CD-ROM drive), and then click OK.

The Windows 2000 Setup dialog box appears.

5. Click Yes to install the Windows 2000 Recovery Console.

Windows 2000 Setup installs the Windows 2000 Recovery Console to your hard disk.

6. Click OK to close the Windows 2000 Server Setup dialog box.

In this exercise, you will use the Help command to view the available Recovery Console commands. You will then view and scroll through a list of all available services. Finally, you will disable the Alerter service.

1. Restart your computer.
2. Select Microsoft Windows 2000 Recovery Console from the boot loader menu.

The Windows 2000 Recovery Console starts up and prompts you to select which Windows 2000 installation you would like to log on to. If you have more than one Windows 2000 installation on this computer, they will be listed here.

3. Type the number corresponding to the installation you want to log on to, and then press Enter.
4. Type password when prompted for the Administrator password, and then press Enter.

5. Type help and then press Enter to see the list of available commands.
6. To view all available services, type listsvc and press Enter.
7. Press Spacebar to scroll through each page of available services until you are returned to a command prompt.
8. To disable the alerter service, type disable alerter, and then press Enter.

You are prompted that the Alerter service has a start type of SERVICE_AUTO_START, but that it is now disabled, with a start type of SERVICE_DISABLED.

9. Type exit and then press Enter to restart your computer.

In this exercise, you will confirm that the Alerter service is disabled, and then you will restart it.

1. Log on as Administrator.
2. Open Computer Management, expand Services And Applications, and then click Services.

Notice that the Startup type value for the Alerter service is Disabled.

3. Double-click Alerter, change the Startup Type to Automatic, and then click OK.
4. Right-click Alerter, and then click Start.
5. Close Computer Management.
6. Restart your computer.

The Windows 2000 Recovery Console is a command-line interface that you can use to perform a variety of troubleshooting and recovery tasks, including starting and stopping services, reading and writing data on a local drive, and formatting hard disks. You install the Recovery Console by starting a command prompt, changing to the I386 (or Alpha) folder on the Windows 2000 CD-ROM, and running the Winnt32 command along with the /cmdcons switch. After you install the Recovery Console, you can access it from the startup menu or by using the Windows 2000 Setup disks or the Windows 2000 CD-ROM to start your computer and then selecting the Recovery Console option when you are prompted to choose repair options.