Recovery Console

The Recovery Console feature provides you with a command-line interface that enables you to repair system problems via a limited set of commands. For example, you could use the Recovery Console to enable and disable services, repair a corrupted master boot record, or copy system files from a floppy disk or a CD-ROM. The Recovery Console gives you complete control over the repair process but can be dangerous if not used with caution. If you're not an advanced user, you should stay away from this set of commands. If you do plan to pursue use of the Recovery Console, I highly recommend consulting the Windows XP Resource Kit.

The Recovery Console can be used in two ways. It can be installed so that it always appears on the boot menu as an alternate OS. Or, you can use it by initiating a repair via the setup routine. Both of these methods are discussed in this section.

TIP

The following procedure assumes you have boot floppies or the original XP CD. If you don't have them (typically because your computer came with XP already installed and many branded computers don't come with an XP CD), you might still be in luck. If the computer a Hewlett-Packard, it has the ability to make a restore/recovery CD using files in a special "maintenance partition" on the hard disk that essentially contains everything that the XP installation CD does. Check the user's manual with the computer or phone tech support and ask them how to install the Recovery Console.

To run the Recovery Console on a system that will not start, do the following:

1.	Insert the Windows XP Setup Disk into your floppy drive or, if you have a bootable CD-ROM drive, insert the Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM drive.
2.	Restart your computer.
3.	Follow the directions on the screen. If you're using the Setup disks, you are prompted to insert the other Setup disks into the disk drive. Loading files might take several minutes. Choose the options to repair your Windows XP installation when prompted (press R for repair instead of Enter to install) and finally to start the Recovery Console when prompted.

NOTE

To see the commands available on the Recovery Console, type help at its command prompt. You can also find useful information at www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/reskit/prmb_tol_ezjh.asp.

To install the Recovery Console on your computer so that it is always available, you must be logged on to Windows XP as a user with a Computer Administrator account type to be able to complete this procedure.

NOTE

Recovery Console must be installed before you install SP2. If you have already installed SP2, you cannot install Recovery Console on your computer. However, you can use the previous procedure to run Recovery Console from the Windows XP product CD.

1.	Log on to Windows as a Computer Administrator user.
2.	With Windows running, insert the Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM drive.
3.	If you're prompted to upgrade to Windows XP, choose No. Or, if you're already running XP, you'll have to click Exit from the Welcome ("What do you want to do?") screen.
4.	At the command prompt (Start, All Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt), switch to your CD-ROM drive, and then type the following: \i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons
5.	A dialog box appears, explaining what the Recovery Console is for, telling you it requires about 7MB of hard disk space, and asking whether you want to proceed. Click Yes.
6.	A wizard starts and copies the files onto your hard disk. That's it.

Now that the Recovery Console is installed, it is listed as a selection on the boot menunot on the Advanced Options Menu.

The following are some notes on installing the Recovery Console:

• To run the Recovery Console after it has been installed, you must restart your computer and select the Recovery Console option from the boot menu.

• You must be logged on as a Computer Administrator user to be able to install the Recovery Console. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure.

• To see the commands available on the Recovery Console, type help at the command prompt.

• You can allow a user to run the Recovery Console without logging on by enabling the Auto Admin Logon attribute in the Security Configuration Editor. The AutoAdminLogin attribute is located in the Console tree under Local Computer Policy, Computer Configuration, Windows Settings, Security Settings, Local Policies, Security Options. Otherwise, once the Recovery Console is started, you'll be prompted for the Computer Administrator user account's password.

• If your computer does not start, you can run the Recovery Console from the Windows XP CD (if you have a bootable CD-ROM drive) or the Setup disks.

• If you install the Recovery Console on a hard disk drive or partition formatted with the FAT file system and later convert the partition to NTFS, you'll need to reinstall the Recovery Console.

In many cases, the Recovery Console offers you enough reach to repair most problems. However, in the event that the Recovery Console fails to support necessary system alterations, you'll need to attempt a parallel installation.