When you have a problem with your Windows computer, you'll sometimes be instructed to insert the Windows CD and then start the Recovery Console in order to fix the issue.
So where did you put that XP disc anyway? Hmm!
Why can't we just install the recovery console to the hard drive?
As it turns out, you can indeed install the recovery console as a boot menu option. This won't help if your computer doesn't boot at all, but in many cases you'll find it useful.
Note: If you have a dual-boot setup with Windows Vista, there's a chance that installing this would mess up booting into Vista, so if you have that particular setup? don't use this addition until I can confirm otherwise.
Installing Recovery Console to the Hard Drive:
First you'll need to insert your Windows XP CD into the drive. It's important to note that your CD version of XP has to match the version of XP that you have installed. So if you have SP2 installed but your CD is for SP1, you'll need to read this Microsoft KB article. (There's no "Ah! sure any old disc will do" here, I'm afraid)
Open up the Start \ Run dialog, and then type in the following command, adjusting the drive letter to match your CDROM drive letter:
d:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons
You'll be prompted with a really wide dialog box to confirm that you really want to do this.
Click on "YES" (The installation will think for a minute…) before displaying this screen.
And then you'll get a prompt that the installation was successful (hopefully) .
Accessing the Recovery Console:
Once you have the recovery console installed, you can restart your computer and you should see it in the list of boot option choices:
Once the console loads up, it will ask you which installation you'd like to logon to. You'll have to type the number, in this case you would type "1″, and then be prompted for the administrator password. Type your Admin password if one exists, otherwise just hit the return key.
Type HELP at the command prompt to see a list of all the available commands.
I won't go into detail about how to use the console, as that's really a separate article altogether.
(Read My Previous Post On This Topic)
Change the Boot Menu Timeout:
After you install this, you'll suddenly notice that your computer waits at the boot menu for 30 seconds(far too long in my opinion.) To change this timeout, either right-click on My Computer and choose Properties or use the Win+Break shortcut key.
Select the Advanced tab, and then the Settings button under Startup and Recovery section.
Now you can change the timeout value down to something more reasonable, like 5 seconds or so.
Tip: If you click on the Edit button you'll see the boot.ini file, where you can see the new line for the recovery console.
If you are not a proficient user? it would be prudent to "never attempt to edit this file…" or you will actually need the install CD to fix it ;)
How To Remove The Recovery Console:
To delete the Recovery Console, follow the steps below.
1. Open My Computer.
2. Double-click the hard drive on which you installed the Recovery
Console.
3. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
4. Click the View tab.
5. Click Show hidden files and folders, clear the Hide protected
operating system files check box, and then click OK. If you
receive a warning about displaying protected system files, click Yes to continue.
6. At the root directory, delete the \Cmdcons folder.
7. At the root directory, delete the file Cmldr.
8. Click Start, then Control Panel, then click System.
9. On the Advanced tab under Startup and Recovery, select
Settings.
10. On the Startup and Recovery dialog box, under System startup, select Edit to edit
the startup options file manually. (Boot.ini will automatically display in Notepad).
11. Remove the entry for the Recovery Console. It will look similar to this:
C:\cmdcons\bootsect.dat="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons
12. Save the file and close it.
Caution:
• Modifying the Boot.ini file incorrectly may prevent your computer from restarting. Be sure to delete only the entry for the Recovery Console.
Notes
• To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure. For more information, see Default local groups, Default groups, and Using Run as.
• To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.
• You can only install the Recovery Console feature on x86-based computers.
I Hope you found this article useful?
Gman496 ;)
-
So where did you put that XP disc anyway? Hmm!
Why can't we just install the recovery console to the hard drive?
As it turns out, you can indeed install the recovery console as a boot menu option. This won't help if your computer doesn't boot at all, but in many cases you'll find it useful.
Note: If you have a dual-boot setup with Windows Vista, there's a chance that installing this would mess up booting into Vista, so if you have that particular setup? don't use this addition until I can confirm otherwise.
Installing Recovery Console to the Hard Drive:
First you'll need to insert your Windows XP CD into the drive. It's important to note that your CD version of XP has to match the version of XP that you have installed. So if you have SP2 installed but your CD is for SP1, you'll need to read this Microsoft KB article. (There's no "Ah! sure any old disc will do" here, I'm afraid)
Open up the Start \ Run dialog, and then type in the following command, adjusting the drive letter to match your CDROM drive letter:
d:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons
You'll be prompted with a really wide dialog box to confirm that you really want to do this.
Click on "YES" (The installation will think for a minute…) before displaying this screen.
And then you'll get a prompt that the installation was successful (hopefully)
.Accessing the Recovery Console:
Once you have the recovery console installed, you can restart your computer and you should see it in the list of boot option choices:
Once the console loads up, it will ask you which installation you'd like to logon to. You'll have to type the number, in this case you would type "1″, and then be prompted for the administrator password. Type your Admin password if one exists, otherwise just hit the return key.
Type HELP at the command prompt to see a list of all the available commands.
I won't go into detail about how to use the console, as that's really a separate article altogether.
(Read My Previous Post On This Topic)
Change the Boot Menu Timeout:
After you install this, you'll suddenly notice that your computer waits at the boot menu for 30 seconds(far too long in my opinion.) To change this timeout, either right-click on My Computer and choose Properties or use the Win+Break shortcut key.
Select the Advanced tab, and then the Settings button under Startup and Recovery section.
Now you can change the timeout value down to something more reasonable, like 5 seconds or so.
Tip: If you click on the Edit button you'll see the boot.ini file, where you can see the new line for the recovery console.
If you are not a proficient user? it would be prudent to "never attempt to edit this file…" or you will actually need the install CD to fix it ;)
How To Remove The Recovery Console:
To delete the Recovery Console, follow the steps below.
1. Open My Computer.
2. Double-click the hard drive on which you installed the Recovery
Console.
3. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
4. Click the View tab.
5. Click Show hidden files and folders, clear the Hide protected
operating system files check box, and then click OK. If you
receive a warning about displaying protected system files, click Yes to continue.
6. At the root directory, delete the \Cmdcons folder.
7. At the root directory, delete the file Cmldr.
8. Click Start, then Control Panel, then click System.
9. On the Advanced tab under Startup and Recovery, select
Settings.
10. On the Startup and Recovery dialog box, under System startup, select Edit to edit
the startup options file manually. (Boot.ini will automatically display in Notepad).
11. Remove the entry for the Recovery Console. It will look similar to this:
C:\cmdcons\bootsect.dat="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons
12. Save the file and close it.
Caution:
• Modifying the Boot.ini file incorrectly may prevent your computer from restarting. Be sure to delete only the entry for the Recovery Console.
Notes
• To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure. For more information, see Default local groups, Default groups, and Using Run as.
• To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.
• You can only install the Recovery Console feature on x86-based computers.
I Hope you found this article useful?
Gman496 ;)
-
