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Windows NT Tip THE SHUTDOWN UTILITY Use the Shutdown.exe utility that's shipped with the Windows NT Resource Kit to reboot the local machine. An example of the usage is Shutdown /l/r/c/y. The command line arguments add flexibility to the utility. Use /l to shut down the local machine, /r to reboot, /c to close all programs, and /y to avoid having to answer Yes to prompts. You can also use this utility in conjunction with the AT command to schedule a shutdown at specific times. An example of this is: AT 23:59 /every:M,T,W,Th,F shutdown /l /r /c /y
ADDING USER ACCOUNTS FROM A WINDOWS NT COMMAND LINE You can add or delete computer accounts from the command line. This type of functionality is essential if you use script or bat files to automate tasks. From the command prompt, use the Net command: Net computer \\computername /Add /Del. You must have the appropriate permissions to add or delete an account in order for this to work.
ADMINISTERING A DOMAIN FROM AN NT WORKSTATION To administer your domain from a Windows NT workstation, follow these steps. First, install the NT Server client-based administration tools. Next, insert the NT Server CD into your NT Workstation and run the <CD- ROM drive>: *\clients\srvtools\winnt\setup.bat file. Doing so will detect your processor and install the correct files in the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder. You'll probably now want to create shortcuts, on either the desktop or the Start menu, for the following applications: * Dhcpadmn.exe--DHCP Manager * Poledit.exe--System Policy Editor * Rasadmin.exe--Remote Access Administrator * Rplmgr.exe--Remote Boot Manager * Srvmgr.exe--Server Manager * Usrmgr.exe--User Manager for Domains * Winsadmn.exe--WINS Manager
Use the Showmbrs.Exe utility from the resource kit and output it to a text file to show membership of groups
ADDING A SECURITY WARNING To create a security warning, open the registry editor and
navigate to Next, double-click the LegalNoticeCaption value and enter the
text
Making an NT boot disk: At any NT machine (Server or Workstation) format the floppy, then copy the following files found in the root: * Ntldr * Ntdetect.com * Boot.ini * Ntbootdd.sys (if you have a non-SCSI enabled bios and are using SCSI drives) Now that you know you've got a boot disk, what are you going to do with it? Well, if you're a staunch believer in fault tolerance, you've implemented mirroring to protect your system partition. But, if one of the disks in your mirror fails, you can use your boot disk and edit your Boot.ini file to point to the partition to boot from.
PRINT SERVER CRASHED? QUICK RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE Back up the \Winnt\System32\Spool\Drivers directory or copy the Save the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ Control\Print
Printmig.exe
The Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Resource Kit provides several powerful NT management resources: Graphical IPConfig (wntipcfg.exe) is a graphical version of NT's standard Ipconfig command. Graphical IPConfig displays the system's IP address, host and domain name, and the DNS and WINS servers that are in use. Remote Process Kill (wrkill.exe) installs as an NT service. This tool lets you list and optionally terminate a remote system's processes. Duplicate Finder (dupfinder.exe) lists all the duplicate filenames that exist in a given disk or directory. The first time you run this utility, the number of duplicates you have will probably surprise you. File and Directory Comparison (windiff.exe) lets you quickly check the file versions of your system's applications and scripts. You select a source and a target directory, and windiff.exe compares the contents of those directories, reporting on any version differences that it finds. Switch Users (su.exe) lets you execute a program under the security context of a different logon ID. You'll find this feature particularly useful when you're performing administrative functions on networked client systems. Switch Users lets you enter the target logon ID and password and the name of the executable function that you want to run. Remote Shutdown GUI (shutgui.exe) displays a handy dialog box that lets you shut down a networked computer (when you run the program without parameters). The tool can display a shutdown message on the remote system, delay the shutdown for a specific period of time, and optionally restart the system. Share UI (shareui.dll) lets you create a special Shared Directories folder in My Computer that you can configure all your system's shares from. With Share UI, you can create and delete shares and edit the permissions of both the hidden and public shares on your system. To install this utility, navigate to the \NTResKit directory. Right-click the shareui.inf file, then select Install from the pop-up menu. Network Watcher (netwatch.exe) lets you display a list of the users connected to your system's shares. The tool can monitor multiple systems, as well as connect and disconnect shares. TweakUI (tweakui.cpl) is a powerful tool that lets you customize the appearance and behavior of the NT desktop. Such customization would otherwise require you to directly change the Registry. TweakUI offers two particularly handy features: You can turn off your CD-ROM drive's AutoPlay feature, and you can choose to clear all your history settings when you log off. To install this utility, navigate to the \NTResKit\PowerToys directory. Right-click the tweakui.inf file, then select Install from the pop-up menu. Command Prompt Here (cmdhere.exe) To install this utility, you need to navigate to the \NTResKit\PowerToys directory. Right-click the cmdhere.inf file, then select Install from the pop-up menu that appears. Following installation, the Command Prompt Here option appears in a pop-up menu that displays when you right-click objects in Windows Explorer. To open a command prompt window in the current directory, simply select the option.
Inuse.exe provides administrators with the "on-the-fly" capability to replace files currently in use by the operating system. Although you can generally accomplish this by running an application's setup program or a service pack's upgrade program, the setup and upgrade processes typically replace multiple files. For troubleshooting purposes, however, you may need to replace an individual file instead of an entire set of files. The Inuse program provides this level of administrative flexibility. You run Inuse.exe from the command line and include the location of the new file as well as the location of the file you wish to replace. For example, to replace the Prodmod.dll file stored in C:\Program Files\Prodsys with the Prodmod.dll stored on a network server named Updates, you'd enter the following: c:\tools\inuse.exe \\updates\prodmod.dll c:\program files\prodsys\ prodmod.dll Inuse will display the existing filename and version, as well as the replacement filename and version. You'll be prompted to continue and then be given verification that the replacement occurred. If you wish to avoid a confirmation, simply add the /y switch to the end of the command.
Running 16 Bit Programs in Separate Memory Space
In a perfect world, we'd all be running the most up-to-date software, never dealing with the 16-bit apps of days gone by. But since it's not a perfect world, we still have to deal with backward compatibility. Fortunately, NT will run 16-bit, 32-bit, and many DOS applications. However, by default, all 16-bit applications share the same memory space, so if one 16-bit program fails, they all fail. To get around this problem, it's possible to launch 16-bit applications in separate memory spaces. That way, if one application stops responding, it can be shut down without affecting the others. Here are a couple of ways to do it: 1. To start a Windows 16-bit application in a separate memory space for a single instance, at the command prompt simply type: start /separate [path] application_executable (e.g., start /separate c:\programs\app.exe.) 2. You can also launch the program in a separate memory space at the Run command by entering the name of the application and enabling the Run In Separate Memory Space check box. If that check box is grayed out, it's not a 16-bit app.
SETTING THE LOGON SCRIPT NAME FOR ALL USERS IN A GROUP If you decide to implement logon scripts in your network, you need to assign the script to your users. Obviously, you don't want to do this by selecting users one at a time. In User Manager for Domains, it's possible to select multiple users by holding down [Ctrl] as you select users or holding the [Shift] key as you select a range of users. Here's how you can select all users who are a member of a group: 1. Open the User menu and select Users. 2. Click the group you desire and click Select. 3. You can click an additional group and press Select, then click Close. 4. Open the User menu and click Properties. 5. Make any changes you desire. For this example, click on Profile, enter the filename of the logon script, and click OK. Also, as long as the users are still selected, you can make any other desired changes as well. Don't forget, too, that the logon script must be stored in systemroot\system32\repl\import\scripts
TUNE-UP TIME
When tuning the Server Service in Control Panel | Network | Services | Server | Properties, you can choose among the following: * Minimize Memory Used * Balance * Maximize Throughput For File Sharing * Maximize Throughput For Network Applications If you don't use the Server Service for file and print sharing, or if it's used only by a few clients, set it to Minimize Memory Used or Balance. If you don't have enough memory allocated, you may get error messages such as "Not enough server memory/storage to process this request," or, "Server refused connection." If you have Maximize Throughput For Network Applications enabled, the following applications will benefit: * RAS Server * Services for Macintosh * DHCP Server * WINS Server * Internet Information Server * DNS Server * Microsoft File and Print Services for NetWare * Microsoft Directory Service Manager for NetWare * Microsoft Site Server * Other application servers, like SAP R/3 server and Oracle SQL server (uses Sockets) or Lotus Notes server (uses NETBIOS) However, be aware that with Maximize Throughput For Network Applications enabled, performance will suffer for each of the following: * Windows NT File and Print Services for Microsoft Network Clients * Windows NT Primary Domain Controllers * Windows NT Backup Domain Controllers in Resource Domains
FREE TOOLS! The Zero Administration Kit contains some useful free tools: * Floplock--This tool prevents use of the floppy disk drive (even after rebooting) with a Discretionary Access Control List (DACL). If this service is configured to start automatically, only administrators and power users can access the floppy disk drive on a Windows NT workstation, and only administrators can access the floppy disk drive on an NT server. * Con2Prt--This tool provides scriptable functionality to the Add Printer Wizard, so printers can be added or removed from the command line using a script. * FixPrf--Windows Messaging doesn't automatically use the currently logged on user name when it's started. The FixPrf tool forces the Windows Messaging client to load with the user name of the user logging in. Additional information about the Zero Administration Kit is available here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/zak/default.htm
Use DiskKeeper Lite-- A free tool for Defragmenting your NT drives. Read an excellent Article about it here or download the free tool here.
PROACTIVE USE OF PERFORMANCE MONITOR To really understand what's going on in an NT network, you need to have a baseline measurement of system functioning. The Performance Monitor is the best tool for this job, starting with creating a log. It's easy enough to do if you follow these steps: 1. Open Performance Monitor from Administrative Tools (Common). 2. From the View menu, select Log. 3. Click Edit | Add To Log. 4. In the Add To Log dialog box, you'll see a Computer field and an Objects list. In the Computer field, specify the name of the computer that you want to log. In Objects, add the counters that you want to log. 5. Highlight the objects that you'll monitor and click Add, then click Done. 6. Now go to Options and select Log. 7. Specify a filename in the File Name field. 8. At the bottom of the Log Options dialog box you'll see an Update Time section. Keep in mind that the smaller the interval, the larger the log. Specify the desired interval (60 seconds is usually a pretty good indicator). 9. Click Start Log. 10. To stop monitoring and examine your log file, go back to Options | Log and click Stop Log. 11. Next, click Options | Data From to bring up the Data From dialog box. Enable the Log File radio button. At the bottom of the Data From dialog you'll see the perfmon.log field. Click the button to the right of that field and browse to your log file. (Note: Choosing File | Open will not open log files.) Click Open and then click OK. 12. When the log file is open, use the Add Counter button to add the objects and counters that you monitored. Do this for each view needed (chart, alert, log, or/and report); otherwise, the log file's data won't be available.
Download Microsoft's NT powertoy for the sendto option. This tool also works under Windows 2000. Available at: http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/downloads/PowerToys/Networking/NTSendToX.asp
JOINING A DOMAIN- from a command line Need a way to join the domain from the command line? Just use NETDOM, from the Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit Supplement 2. This utility can be used to add NT workstations or stand-alone servers to your domain. It will also create the computer account--if one doesn't already exist--if you use the command with administrator credentials. The syntax, run on one line, is as follows: NETDOM /Domain:Domain1 /user:administrator /password:adminpassword MEMBER computer1 /JOINDOMAIN where "administrator" is the account name and "adminpassword" is the password for the account. So what does this command accomplish? It adds Computer1 to Domain1 by specifying the administrator credentials with the administrator account. If you simply want to create a computer account but won't add the workstation to the domain until later, use the following syntax: NETDOM /Domain:Domain1 /user:administrator /password:adminpassword MEMBER computer1 /ADD
COMMON BLUE SCREEN ERROR MESSAGES Nothing ruins a day quicker than the Blue Screen of Death. It's true too that unless you're an original NT developer, most of the blue screen information isn't exactly easy to decipher. There are a few common Stop messages, however, that can help you narrow the possible reasons for a BSOD. Here are some Stop messages that typically appear in the first few lines of the blue screen: 1. STOP: 0x0000000a 2. STOP: 0x0000001e 3. STOP: 0x00000050 These three error messages are usually caused by one or more of the following conditions or circumstances: * There's a hardware failure involving the memory, processor, or motherboard (particularly Stop messages 1 and 2). * There's a problem related to anti-virus software (typically Stop messages 2 and 3). * There are problems associated with services installed by third-party software (Stop message 3). Armed with this information, you at least have a starting point for your troubleshooting efforts.
Troubleshoot Install Problems USING NTDETECT.COM TO TROUBLESHOOT INSTALL PROBLEMS 1. Make a Windows NT Setup disk, copy Ntdetect.chk from the Windows NT 2. Use the MS-DOS DISKCOPY command to copy the contents of the Windows 3. Replace the Ntdetect.com file on the copy of the Windows NT Setup 4. Rename Ntdetect.chk to Ntdetect.com. 5. Insert the copy of the Windows NT Setup disk you created into the 6. The debug version of Ntdetect.com will display hardware information The contents of the screen at the point of lockup should give you an
SETTING UP A VPN CONNECTION You can establish secure, multiple-protocol VPN connections over the To use PPTP to connect to a server across the Internet, you must After the protocol is loaded, Remote Access Service Setup will be Specify the protocols to run for the VPN port. If you have Service Pack To make a PPTP connection to a target server over the Internet, go to Once you're connected to your ISP, dial the target server to establish
To merge two domains or just move some accounts, the following procedure should help. You'll need the Addusers.exe utility from the Resource Kit. 1. Log on as Administrator to the machine that has the accounts you wish to move. 2. Run the following command: addusers /d <filename> This will create a comma-separated file containing details of all accounts and groups. 3. You don't need the information about global or local groups, so edit the file to remove the [Global] and [Local] sections and their contents. 4. Copy the file to the machine on which you want to create the accounts. 5. Log on as an Administrator to the machine to which the accounts should be added (for a domain, log on to the PDC). 6. Run the following command: addusers /c <filename> This will read in the file and create the accounts.
HARDWARE HEADQUARTERS To generate a detailed hardware configuration report that includes whether or not your hardware is on the HCL, use the handy utility called NTHQ. First, you must create an NTHQ diskette that you can use to reboot the machine. Put a floppy that you can overwrite in your floppy drive. On the NT CD-ROM, go into the Support\Hqtool directory and execute the Makedisk batch file. This batch file will automatically create a bootable floppy that includes the hardware inventory software. Next, shut down NT and restart with that floppy in the drive. (You should first verify that your BIOS is set to boot from your floppy drive rather than your hard disk.) The NTHQ program will automatically start and create a RAM disk on which to store its compressed programs. It will prompt you twice--once to continue with the program and once to choose whether or not you want comprehensive discovery. When the program is finished finding your devices, you can browse around the different device categories within the GUI. Click the Save button to save the report. You'll be prompted for a destination drive. Select the floppy disk, and NTHQ will save the report to Nthq.txt.
ADDING CONTROL
PANEL TO THE START MENU 1. Right-click Start and choose Open. 2. Right-click
anywhere in the resulting Start Menu window and select 3. Close the Start Menu window and click the Start button. Control Panel will
now appear on the Start menu. When you move your
HAVING PERSISTENT PRINTER PROBLEMS? You've probably had to troubleshoot a problem printer more than once. Typically you're told by the printer's manufacturer to uninstall and reinstall the printer driver. You've probably found, however, that this doesn't always fix the problem. Sometimes you have no choice but to remove a printer, but doing so isn't always as simple as it sounds. When you use the Remove or Delete Printer options in Print Manager, the printer connection in NT disappears immediately; however, the spooler simply marks the printer for deletion--NT doesn't actually delete the printer until you reboot the system (i.e., when the spooler service stops and restarts). You can try to stop and restart the spooler service via the Services applet in Control Panel and then reinstall the printer, but if this approach doesn't work, you'll have to edit the associated registry key prior to the reinstall. After you make the registry change, stop and restart the spooler service. Run Regedt32. If you installed the printer locally (My Computer), go to the following registry keys and delete the respective <Printer Name> entries: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\ Windows NT x86\ Drivers\Version-2\<Printer Name> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers\ <Printer Name> If you installed the printer as a network printer (network printer server or \\<server name>), go to the following registry keys and delete the respective <Server Name> and <Printer Name> entries: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Printers\Connections\<Server Name> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Providers\ LanMan Print Services\Servers\<Server Name>\Printers\<Printer Name> At this point, you'll be able to reinstall the printer driver correctly. NOTE: We'll remind you as always that registry editing can be risky, so be sure you have a verified backup before you begin.
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