Support Tools

Windows Support Tools help you deploy Windows XP Professional, manage your network, and troubleshoot problems. You can find Windows Support Tools in the \Support\Tools folder on your operating system CD. The folder also includes two cabinet files, Deploy.cab and Support.cab, which contain numerous tools in compressed form. For information about installing Support Tools, including how to extract tools within Deploy.cab and Support. cab, see Readme.htm in the \Support\Tools folder.

Table 4-1 lists some of the key deployment tools that are in the \Support\Tools folder.

Table 4-1: Support Tools That Aid in Deployment

Name	File Name	Description
Application Compatibility Program	Apcompat.exe	The Application Compatibility Program is designed to overcome the most common causes of application incompatibility with Windows XP Professional. The Application Compatibility Program does the following: Fixes conflicts between operating system versions and applications Finds memory management conflicts. Checks for Temp folder path incompatibility. Detects whether disk space is adequate. Stores application compatibility settings.
Setup Manager	Setupmgr.exe	A wizard-based tool that helps you create unattended answer files. Setup Manager also creates a network distribution share, required for unattended and Sysprep deployments.
System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) 2.0	Sysprep.exe	A utility that prepares a system on a hard disk for duplication (cloning) and customization. It does not actually perform the duplication of the reference image onto destination computers (third-party utilities are required for this purpose), but ensures that the security identifiers (SIDs) are unique for each installation. In addition, Sysprep can help you customize duplicated images by adding computer-specific information such as user name, computer name, time zone, and domain membership.
Deploy.chm	Deploy.chm	A Help file that contains information about using Setup Manager, as well as a complete reference to section headers and keys that can be used in an answer file. An answer file answers the questions asked during setup. Deploy.chm replaces Unattend.doc, the answer file reference for previous Microsoft Windows NT based operating systems. For more information about using answer files and automated installations, see Automating and Customizing Installations in this book.