Comptia A+ Command Line Tools & Recovery Console/WinRE Tools

Recovery Console

*A minimal, non-graphical administrative version of Windows that is available in Windows XP & Windows 2000. *You can boot to this and use a command line interface (CLI) to manage the system even if Windows will not start normally. You can: *Enable and disable services *Manage files and disks *Correct boot problems

Windows Memory Diagnostic

*System Recovery Tool within WinRE *Checks the system's memory for errors. Note: Usually, memory errors are caused due to faulty computer chips. So, with the results of the diagnostics, you should contact your computer manufacturer for possible fixes.

Command Prompt

*System Recovery Tool within WinRE *Launches the command prompt where advanced users can perform recovery- and maintenance-related tasks.

Startup Repair

*System Recovery Tool within WinRE *Repairs system files that are missing or corrupted. Note: Corrupt or missing system files can cause problems with starting Windows.

System Image Recovery

*System Recovery Tool within WinRE *Restores a system image created by the user. *The system image is a backup of the partition in which Windows is installed.

System Restore

*System Recovery Tool within WinRE *Restores computer settings and system files to a user-defined time. Note: However, this does not affect the user's personal files and data.

WinRE Windows Recovery Environment

*This replaced Recovery Console in Windows Vista & 7. *A set of tools used to diagnose and repair Windows errors at setup. *Includes several new recovery tools accessible via the System Recovery Options menu.

tracert

Networking command line tool used to determine and test all points along the route the computer uses to send a packet to a destination. Note: If this is unsuccessful, you can use the results generated to determine at what point communications are failing.

nbtstat

Networking command line tool used to display TCP/IP information and other important information regarding a remote computer. Also used to troubleshoot issues with NetBIOS.

net

Networking command line tool used to manage Microsoft network resources from a command line. With the use option, you can connect or disconnect the computer from a shared resource. You can also retrieve information about current network connections.

netstat

Networking command line tool used to show the status of each active network connection, it will display statistics for both TCP and User Datagram Protocol (UDP), including protocol, local address, foreign address, and the TCP connection state. Note: Because UDP is connectionless, no connection information will be shown for UDP packets.

ping

Networking command line tool used to test TCP/IP communications.

nslookup

Networking command line tool used to verify that the computer can connect to a Domain Name System (DNS) server and successfully find an IP address for a given computer name.

ipconfig

Networking command line tool used to verify the configuration of TCP/IP and to release or renew DHCP IP address leases

copy

OS command line tool used to copy a file or files

robocopy (Robust File Copy)

OS command line tool used to copy files and folders/ directories from one location to another, but with more options than the simple copy command.

xcopy

OS command line tool used to copy files or directories from one location to another.

md

OS command line tool used to create a directory

diskpart

OS command line tool used to create, delete, or generally manage any hard drive partitions on the system

rd

OS command line tool used to delete a directory

del

OS command line tool used to delete a file

list or tasklist

OS command line tool used to display all processes currently running on the system.

format

OS command line tool used to format a drive using the file system specified

chkdsk

OS command line tool used to identify hard drive errors and correct the error if possible

shutdown

OS command line tool used to log off, restart, or shutdown the system

fdisk

OS command line tool used to partition or re-partition a hard drive

kill or taskkill

OS command line tool used to stop or terminate a process or task that is running

bootrec

OS command line tool used to troubleshoot or repair startup issues with your operating system (via the command prompt in the WinRE in Windows Vista and Windows 7 only

sfc (System File Checker)

OS command line tool used to verify system files and replace them, if needed. *Sometimes referred to as the Windows Resource Checker.

[command name] /?

OS command line tool used to view online help at the command prompt. Because the syntax for a tool might vary slightly between operating systems, you should check online help for the exact syntax.

cd

OS command line tool used to view the driver letter and folder for your current location, and to change to another directory or folder.

fixboot

Recovery Console command line tool used to create a new partition boot sector to a hard drive partition.

fixmbr

Recovery Console command line tool used to repair the master boot recovery record of the boot partition.