Support Tools


The Windows Setup CD-ROM contains a set of very useful diagnostic and maintenance tools that is not installed by default when you install Windows. I recommend that you install these tools on any computer that you personally maintain; or, at least install them on a shared network folder so that you can access them from any computer in your organization or home.

To install the Support Tools, insert your Windows Setup CD-ROM, wait for the menu window to appear, click Perform Additional Tasks if this option appears, then select Browse This CD. (If Autorun is not enabled, open Windows Explorer and browse the CD drive manually.) Open the folder \SUPPORT\TOOLS . If you are logged on as a Computer Administrator, double-click suptools.msi or setup.exe . If you are not currently logged on as an Administrator, right-click suptools.msi or setup.exe , select Run As, and select Administrator as the alternate account.

The installer will copy programs to \Program Files\Support tools, add a Start menu item that opens the Support Tools Help file ( suptools.chm ), and also add \Program Files\Support Tools to the PATH environment variable, so that the tools may be run from the command line.

When the installation is complete, browse the folder \program files\support tools . Documentation is sparse. There are a few .doc files describing a few of the applications (double-click these to open them in WordPad or Microsoft Word). There are .hlp files for a few more applications (double-click to open these in Windows Help). Several more applications are documented in the Support Tools Help File (click Start, All Programs, Support Tools). Others have no online documentation. For these, open a command prompt window and type the name of the program followed by /? ; for example,

 xcacls /? 

For more information about some of the Windows XP support tools, see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/838079. This article assumes you've installed Windows XP Service Pack 2.

The set of Support Tools provided with Windows varies from one version of Windows to another. Table A.2 lists all of the tool programs and the operating systems which with each is supplied. The letters used in the OS column are

2

Windows 2000 Professional

H

Windows XP Home Edition

P

Windows XP Professional

M

Windows XP Media Center Edition


Table A.2. Support Tool Programs

Filename

OS

Type

Description

acldiag .exe

2HPM

CMD

Detects and reports discrepancies in Active Directory Access Control Lists.

activate.exe

HPM

CMD

Activates Windows XP from the command line.

addiag.exe

HPM

CMD

Displays information on published (advertised) applications.

adsiedit .msc

2HPM

MMC

Active Directory LDAP Browse/Edit tool.

apcompat.exe

2

GUI

Application Compatibility tool, runs applications in an environment that simulates earlier versions of Windows.

apimon.exe

HPM

GUI

Profiles Windows API usage and page faults to tune applications.

apmstat.exe

2HPM

CMD

Displays motherboard APM (power management) availability.

bindiff.exe

HPM

CMD

Compares binary files.

bitsadmin.exe

HPM

CMD

Background Intelligent Transfer Service exerciser.

browstat.exe

2HPM

CMD

Displays Browser server status.

cabarc.exe

HPM

CMD

Creates, lists, or extracts Cabinet files.

clonegg.vbs

2HPM

SCR

Sample script, copies global groups from NT domain to Windows 200x.

cloneggu.vbs

2HPM

SCR

Sample script, copies global groups and users from NT domain to Windows 200x.

clonelg.vbs

2HPM

SCR

Sample script, copies local groups from NT domain to Windows 200x.

clonepr.vbs

2HPM

SCR

Sample script, copies users from NT domain to Windows 200x.

dcdiag.exe

2

CMD

Domain Controller diagnostic utility, checks connectivity and replication in a forest of Windows domain controllers.

depends.exe

2HPM

GUI

Dependency Walker, identifies all of the DLLs used by a given program or module.

dfsutil.exe

2HPM

CMD

Queries Distributed File System configuration.

dhcploc.exe

HPM

CMD

Detects authorized and unauthorized DHCP servers.

diruse .exe

HPM

CMD

Displays disk space usage by directory.

dmdiag.exe

HPM

CMD

Displays information about mounted file systems.

dnscmd.exe

2HPM

CMD

Displays and changes data in Windows Server DNS Server.

dsacls .exe

2HPM

CMD

Displays and changes Active Directory Access Control Lists.

dsastat.exe

2HPM

CMD

Verifies correct AD replication.

dskprobe.exe

2HPM

GUI

Disk contents viewer, displays data by file or sector.

dumpchk.exe

2HPM

CMD

Validates format of a system memory dump file.

dupfinder.exe

HPM

GUI

Duplicate file finder, locates identical files stored in different folders.

efsinfo.exe

HPM

CMD

Displays information about Encrypting File System.

exctrlst.exe

HPM

CMD

Lists application services that have registered performance counters.

extract.exe

8EHPM

CMD

Extracts files from Microsoft .CAB files.

filever.exe

2HPM

CMD

Prints version information stored in executable and DLL files.

ftonline.exe

HPM

CMD

Mounts and recovers files from Windows NT 4 RAID volumes .

getsid.exe

HPM

CMD

Displays Security ID associated with a user account.

gflags.exe

2HPM

GUI

Edits Global Flags to enable operating system debug options.

ipseccmd.exe

HPM

CMD

Configures and displays IPSec Security policies.

kill.exe

2

CMD

Kills tasks from the command line (like taskkill ).

ksetup.exe

2HPM

CMD

Sets Windows to use MIT Kerberos authentication server.

ktpass.exe

2HPM

CMD

Creates Kerberos keytab file for UNIX hosts .

ldp.exe

2HPM

GUI

Graphical LDAP browser/query viewer.

memsnap.exe

2HPM

CMD

Displays memory usage of all active processes.

movetree .exe

2HPM

CMD

Moves AD objects between domains.

msicuu.exe

2HPM

GUI

Windows Installer cleanup utility.

msizap.exe

2HPM

CMD

Windows Installer cleanup utility, called by msicuu .

netcap.exe

HPM

CMD

Logs network traffic to a file.

neTDiag.exe

2HPM

CMD

Comprehensive Windows networking diagnostic tool.

neTDom.exe

2HPM

CMD

Manages domain membership and user accounts.

netset.exe

HPM

CMD

Lists, installs , and configures networking components .

nltest .exe

2HPM

CMD

Queries and updates Domain Controller status.

ntfrsutl .exe

HPM

CMD

Displays internal status of File Replication Service.

pfmon.exe

HPM

CMD

Page Fault Monitor, displays memory activity in an application.

pmon.exe

2HPM

CMD

Process Resource Monitor, displays CPU and memory usage.

poolmon.exe

2HPM

CMD

Memory Pool Monitor, displays paged and non-paged pool usage.

pptpclnt.exe

2HPM

CMD

Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol tester, client side.

pptpsrv.exe

2HPM

CMD

Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol tester, server side.

pstat.exe

HPM

CMD

Process Status snapshot utility.

pviewer.exe

2HPM

GUI

Process Viewer, displays the status of active processes on your computer or other networked computers. Lists active threads, memory usage, priority level.

rasdiag.exe

HPM

CMD

Dial-Up Networking diagnostic gathering tool.

reg.exe

2PM

CMD

Edits or displays Registry data.

remote.exe

2HPM

CMD

Remote debugging client/server communication program.

repadmin.exe

2

CMD

Replication diagnostic tool, displays replication topology for Windows 2000 Server domain controllers.

replmon.exe

2HPM

GUI

Monitors and queries AD replication.

rsdiag.exe

2HPM

CMD

Remote Storage diagnostic, displays information in Remote Storage (HSM) databases.

rsdir.exe

2HPM

CMD

Remote Storage file information tool.

sdcheck.exe

2HPM

CMD

Displays Security Descriptors for AD objects.

search.vbs

2HPM

SCR

LDAP directory search tool.

setspn .exe

HPM

CMD

Sets Service Principal Name, repairs certain directory authentication problems.

setx.exe

HPM

CMD

Sets environment variables from the command line.

showaccs.exe

2HPM

CMD

Server Migration tool, lists SIDs found in file system or Registry.

showperf.exe

HPM

GUI

Displays performance counter raw data.

sidhist.vbs

2HPM

SCR

Sample script, demonstrates use of ICloneSecurityPrincipal::AddSidHistory .

sidwalk.exe

2HPM

CMD

Server Migration tool, updates mapped SIDS in file system or Registry.

sidwalk.msc

2HPM

MMC

Security Migration Editor, edits old to new SID mapping.

snmputilg.exe

2HPM

GUI

Browses network data returned by SNMP-enabled devices.

spcheck.exe

HPM

CMD

Service Pack Checker, verifies installation of hotfixes and service packs .

timezone.exe

HPM

CMD

Sets the time zone and daylight savings time start/end dates from the command line.

tlist .exe

2

CMD

Lists tasks running on the system (like tasklist ).

TRacefmt.exe

HPM

CMD

Formats and displays trace information gathered by tracelog .

tracelog.exe

HPM

CMD

Enables and disables tracing of system components during debugging.

tracepdb.exe

HPM

CMD

Creates trace message database used by TRacefmt .

vfi.exe

HPM

GUI

Records snapshot information about files to help detect changes.

whoami.exe

HPM

CMD

Displays current username, security groups, and privileges.

windiff .exe

2

GUI

Compares text files and/or entire folders, highlighting additions, changes and deletions.

wsremote.exe

2HPM

CMD

Remote debugging client/server communication program.

xcacls.exe

HPM

CMD

Edits and displays file Access Control Lists.


For example, tools with no "H" in the OS column are not provided with Windows XP Home edition.

The Type column indicates the program type:

CMD

Command-line program

GUI

Graphical User Interface program

MMC

Microsoft Management Console snap-in. Run by typing start xxx.msc , replacing xxx.msc with the actual filename of the snap-in.

SCR

Windows Script Host Script, mostly meant to serve as an example for writing your own scripts. Issue the command

 cscript //H:cscript 

 

(just once) to make these work properly from a command-line prompt.


Application Compatibility Toolkit

The 32-bit Windows Application Programming Interface (Win32 API) through which Windows provides service and support to application programs has been evolving since its debut with Windows 95. Certain system functions behave slightly differently from one version of Windows to the next , and these differences can trip up an application that depends on a specific behavior. Windows XP lets you set gross compatibility settings through the Compatibility tab on each program's Properties page, but the Application Compatibility Toolkit lets you make extremely fine-grained adjustments to the behavior of specific API functions. This toolkit is meant primarily for software developers, but in some cases end users might find it useful as wellif the company that produced the application is of no help, it can't hurt to mess with these settings before giving up entirely.

The version provided on the Windows XP Setup CD-ROM is version 2.0, via the setup program \SUPPORT\TOOLS\ACT20.EXE , but this is now obsolete. You should download the current version from www.microsoft.com/downloads (search for Application Compatibility Toolkit). The toolkit programs are installed on your hard disk in \Program Files\Application Compatibility Toolkit . Documentation is provided in the default.htm file in that folder; it opens in Internet Explorer. The programs are listed in Table A.3.

Table A.3. Application Compatibility Toolkit Programs

Program

Type

Description

appverif.exe

GUI

This tool watches a designated application while it runs, and reports any attempts the program makes to use the Windows API incorrectly.

CompatAdmin.exe

GUI

Edits the systemwide database of application compatibility settings set for specific applications.

gflags.exe

CMD

Enables and disables debugging options built into the Windows kernel.

GrabMI.exe

CMD

Extracts name and version information from files that is useful for constructing compatibility rule sets.

PageHeap.exe

EXE

Monitors the Windows page heap (allocatable memory) for heap- related bugs .

QFixApp.exe

EXE

Lets you test combinations of compatibility fix settings on an errant applications, by applying " layers " (sets of related fixes), by making adjustments to specific API behaviors.

demoapp.exe

EXE

A sample application that has known problems with specific API functions can be used to test and demonstrate process of compatibility adjusting and testing.


Deployment Toolkit

If you are in the business of (legally) installing identical Windows configurations on large numbers of computers, you may be able to save a lot of time by using the Windows Deployment Toolkit. The toolkit lets you configure a fresh, clean installation of Windows to your likingyou can install applications, add user accounts, make Windows settings, and so on. Then, you run a special Deployment Toolkit program that prepares Windows for duplication. It ensures that the copies will have unique security databases, don't all share a single product ID code, and don't look like illegal copies to Windows Activation. After this preparation step, you can copy the "master" computer's hard disk as many times as necessary. When installed into a new computer, "cloned" disk copies will contain your preinstalled settings and applications.

You should know that Microsoft doesn't provide a disk duplication tool with the Deployment Toolkityou have to use a third-party disk cloning program or hardware device for thatbut once duplicated , each copy will boot up fully configured, customized, with whatever applications and settings you put into the original.

The deployment kit may be installed from the Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Setup disc, from \ SUPPORT\TOOLS\DEPLOY.CAB . However, the version on the CD-ROM is tied to the service pack level of that CD-ROM. If you intend to apply service packs to the computer before cloning it, you should download and use the deployment toolkit version that applies to the final service pack level. Updated deployment toolkits (new versions of DEPLOY.CAB ) are provided on Microsoft-issued Windows Service Pack CD-ROMs, or you may download the correct version from www.microsoft.com/downloads. Search for Deployment Tools, and select the correct Windows operating system version and service pack level.

The toolkit arrives as a .CAB compressed file. To view the instructions for installing and using the toolkit, follow these steps:

1.
Use Windows Explorer to locate the DEPLOY.CAB file, and double-click DEPLOY.CAB to view the files within. Or, from the command line, type start deploy.chm .

2.
Drag the help file DEPLOY.CHM into your desktop.

3.
Double-click DEPLOY.CHM on your desktop to view the help file.

The deployment toolkit includes the programs listed in Table A.4.

Table A.4. Deployment Toolkit Programs

File

Description

deploy.chm

Help file describing the deployment process.

ref.chm

Help file documenting deployment configuration files.

cvtarea.exe

Allows specific placement of files in a FAT disk partition. Useful when your disk duplication system requires that disks be distributed in FAT format for later conversion to NTFS. cvtarea lets you reserve empty spaces on the disk to make the NTFS conversion more efficient.

factory.exe

A component program used by sysprep.exe .

oformat.com

Formats a FAT-32 partition in such a way that later conversion to NTFS will be more efficient.

setupcl.exe

A component program used by sysprep.exe .

setupmgr.exe

A Wizard program that helps create configuration files needed for the cloning process.

sysprep.exe

A command-line tool that prepares a freshly installed and configured copy of Windows for duplication.





Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows
Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 0789736950
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 128

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net