Windows Recovery Console
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by Ryan Smith
Both Windows 2000 and Windows XP include a Recovery Console that gives you the capability
to help you recover your system when your machine has problems booting up or doesn't boot at all.
The Recovery Console allows you to boot into a command prompt and gain access
to (although limited) any FAT, FAT32 or NTFS volumes of your local system.
Using the Recovery Console, you completely bypass the GUI of Windows
2000/XP. Therefore, if you have, for example, a corrupt driver or recently
installed an application that is causing Blue Screen errors, you can hopefully
boot into the Recovery Console and resolve the problem. There are several methods for starting the Recovery Console: When you start the Windows Recovery Console, you will be given the option of
choosing which Windows installation you wish to log into. If you have three
local different installations of Windows 2000 or XP on that system, you will be
presented with three different choices. Once you choice which Windows
installation you wish to log into, you will be prompted for the appropriate
Administrator password. Once this has been entered, you will be taken to the
%systemroot% partition of the Windows installation you logged into. Please note that if the SAM database is missing or corrupt, you won't be able
to log into the Windows Recovery Console. Unfortunately, the Windows
Recovery Console cannot be used to restore an corrupt SAM database without the
use of third party utilities. There are several limitations in use when you are accessing the Windows
Recovery Console. These are as follows:
The following table summarizes the available commands in the Windows Recovery
Console. Please note, each of these commands has various attributes.
Additional information can be found by using the Windows Recovery Console HELP
command.
dir
Ryan Smith
NAME
DESCRIPTION
attrib
Change the attributes of a file or folder.
batch
(ONLY IN WINDOWS XP)
Execute commands specified in a text file, similar to DOS batch files.
bootcfg
(ONLY IN WINDOWS XP)
Allows you to perform boot configuration and recovery.
cd
Change the current folder.
chdir
Change the current folder, but only operates within the
system folders of the current installation of Windows, removable media,
the root folder of any hard disk partition or the local installation
sources.
chkdsk
Checks the drive for errors and if needed, repairs or
recovers the drive.
cls
Clears the screen
copy
Copies a file.
del
Deletes a file.
delete
Deletes a file, but only operates within the system folders
of the current installation of Windows, removable media, the root folder
of any hard disk partition or the local installation sources. Also
does not accept wild card (*) characters.
Display a listing of files and subfolders in a folder.
disable
Disable a Windows service or driver from starting on
startup..
diskpart
Manages partitions on your local hard drives.
enable
Enables a Windows service or driver to start on startup.
exit
Exit's the Windows Recovery Console and restarts your
computer.
expand
Expand a .CAB file.
fixboot
Writes a new Windows boot sector onto the boot partition in
the event of a corrupt boot sector. Also accomplished with using the
Emergency Repair process.
fixmbr
Repairs the Master Boot Record (MBR) of the system
partition.
format
Formats a specified drive with a specified file system.
help
Displays the help files for the Windows Recovery Console.
listsvc
Lists all available services, drivers and their startup
types for the current Windows installation.
logon
Lists all detected installations of Windows and allows you
to logon to one once you input the local administrator password for that
installation.
map
List drive letters, file system types, partition sizes and
mappings to physical devices.
md
Creates a new folder.
mkdir
Creates a new folder, but only operates within the system
folders of the current installation of Windows, removable media, the root
folder of any hard disk partition or the local installation
sources.
more
Display a text file to the screen
net
(ONLY IN WINDOWS XP)
Use the NET USE command to map a network share to a drive letter.
rd
Deletes a folder.
ren
Renames a file, but only operates within the system folders
of the current installation of Windows, removable media, the root folder
of any hard disk partition or the local installation sources.
rename
Same functionality as the ren command.
rmdir
Deletes a folder, but only operates within the system
folders of the current installation of Windows, removable media, the root
folder of any hard disk partition or the local installation
sources.
set
Allows you to display or modify four environment options
(Allow Wild Cards, Allow All Paths, Allow Removeable Media and No Copy
Prompt)
systemroot
Sets the current folder to the %systemroot% folder of the
current Windows installation you are logged into.
type
Displays a text file.
