Command Line Administration in Windows

[Uneek]

My tip for the week...

When administering Windows remotely, there is also another way besides all those fancy GUI ways of the MS resource kit and MMC... when all else fails, or if you're into simplicity, and also to conserve bandwidth, (all that GUI crap takes a lot of resources), or over a slow connection, fail back to the good ol days of DOS and the command line!

When using Win2k with Netsvc.exe installed, it will allow you to start the telnet service on a remote Win box. Just fire up a Command Prompt and type netsvc telnet \
omputername /start[/b] (computername being the target machine on your network). From there just telnet to the target workstation, log on and it's just like you're sitting in front of the box in a command shell. Browse directories, run scripts and batch files, check IP settings, use the net use command to schedule jobs, etc... you get the idea. When you're done, don't forget to turn off the telnet service on the remote workstation! netsvc telnet \
omputername /stop[/b]

[Uneek]

Oh yeah.. one more thing... wanna see what else you can do with the netsvc.exe?  Just type netsvc /?[/b]

[wilnix]

For years now; net use, netstat, and nbtstat have been my favorite command line tools for NT and beyond...


Wilnix

[Tazinator]

Im quite fond of the remote shutdown utility that comes with the Resource kit and net send command myself

[Uneek]

Muahahaha!!! I've had tons of fun using the remote shutdown utility as well as the 'at' utility...  

There's nothing funnier than scheduling pinball to autostart repeatedly at 2 minute intervals on someones PC and let them try to figure out if their computer is possessed... hahaha

[Metgod]

hahahahaha
I haven't used 'at' in years....
didn't know it was available on Windows.
hahah.
I want this resource kit... even though only this machine will work. I'd love to
disassemble the code and look at it too..
is it on the windows cd or at microsoft.com ?
*too lazy to look at cd*

[wilnix]

It's on CD, but you could probably find it online as well. Also, check out Windows Services for Unix. I use those tools quite often.

Wilnix

[Zerored]

Hey, does anybody know of a partitioning re-sizing utility (not part magic) in windows 2000 that...well...allows you to repartition your partitions?

[Tazinator]

To the best of my knowledge the only thing out there is Partition Magic. Resizing active in-use partitions on a Windows machine is a risky thing to do because even Partition Magic screws up now and then.

[wilnix]

There are some other tools out there, but they are even less reliable then Partition Magic. If you have a need for a major change like that, you may want to consider backup, reinstall, restore...

Wilnix

[Metgod]

a good point there

playing with devices at a low level can be hazardous. Hazardous is loosely defined, because it could mean a crash or hang, or something more serious.

either way, you always want to be careful when playing with disks. I would say that that is the most important thing there is in a network.

Met

[wilnix]

smbdie is always fun too...no msg, no wait time...just BAM! all over...but only on boxes that arent keeping up with sec patches...

wilnix

[Link3]

i ve heard that the unix tool "fdisk" is more reliable than partition magic.. is that true ?

[Metgod]

I'd say that largely depends on what you're looking for.

If I remember right, both fdisk (unix/linux and dos) only create and destroy partitions (and similar such things). Partition magic allows you to resize a partition without destroying it (since generally if you rewrite the partition table, data is destroyed).

At least that's how I remember it being... I'd love to hear if fdisk did something similar, but as far as I can tell, it does not (I"ve never used it for that anyway). Of course, there are such technologies as LVM which is quite a nice thing if you ask me. (google for it if you don't know what it is, don't have energy or time to explain).

*goes back to his slumber*

[benthehutt]

Yeah, metty's right, fdisk has less features, it can only create and delete and it wipes the whole thing.  Partition magic is gross though, I don't really like it just cause it's a gawdy GUI.  It can do a heckofalot more though.