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.