Introduction

There are many useful customizations you can make after installing the operating system. Some of the configuration options I cover in this chapter include setting the time and date, joining a server to a domain, configuring page files, and configuring startup and failure options. I then cover some settings that disable annoying Windows features. These aren't terribly important from a performance point of view, but are down-right necessary to reduce your frustration level when dealing with a server. Good examples of this include disabling the Manage/Configure Your Server Wizard and the Windows Server 2003 Shutdown Tracker.

Using a Command-Line Interface

Commands to help configure Windows Server are not in short supply. In Table 2-1, I list all the command-line utilities I use in this chapter along with where each can be found.

Table 2-1. Command-line tools used in this chapter

Tool	Windows Server 2003	Windows 2000 Server	Recipes
bootcfg	%SystemRoot%\system32	N/A	2.14
compname	http://www.willowhayes.co.uk/	http://www.willowhayes.co.uk/	2.8
date	CMD shell	CMD shell	2.7
dsmod	%SystemRoot%\system32	N/A	2.10
hostname	%SystemRoot%\system32	%SystemRoot%\system32	2.8
msoobe	%SystemRoot%\system32\oobe	N/A	2.1
net	%SystemRoot%\system32	%SystemRoot%\system32	2.2, 2.7
netdom	Windows 2003 Support Tools	Windows 2000 Support Tools	2.8-2.10
nltest	Windows 2003 Support Tools	Windows 2000 Support Tools	2.10
psinfo	http://sysinternals.com/	http://sysinternals.com/	2.6, 2.16
reg	%SystemRoot%\system32	Windows 2000 Support Tools	2.2, 2.3, 2.7, 2.12, 2.15, 2.17, 2.18
setx	Windows 2003 Support Tools	Windows 2000 Resource Kit	2.11
shutdown	%SystemRoot%\system32	Windows 2000 Resource Kit	2.8, 2.19
srvinfo	Windows 2003 Resource Kit	Windows 2000 Resource Kit	2.6, 2.16
systeminfo	%SystemRoot%\system32	N/A	2.6, 2.12, 2.16
time	CMD shell	CMD shell	2.7
wmic	%SystemRoot%\system32\wbem	N/A	2.6, 2.11, 2.15

Using VBScript

When it comes to querying and configuring basic system properties of a server, WMI fits the bill in most cases. I use a variety of WMI classes throughout the chapter, which I've listed in Table 2-2.

Table 2-2. WMI classes used in this chapter

WMI Class	Recipes
StdRegProv	2.3, 2.8, 2.17, 2.18
Win32_BIOS	2.6
Win32_ComputerSystem	2.6, 2.8, 2.9, 2.14
Win32_Environment	2.11
Win32_Localtime	2.7
Win32_OSRecoveryConfiguration	2.15
Win32_OperatingSystem	2.6, 2.8, 2.16, 2.19
Win32_PageFileUsage	2.12
Win32_Processor	2.6
Win32_TimeZone	2.7
Win32_WindowsProductActivation	2.1