A Guide to Windows Power Tools

This eBook will provide you with a practical introduction to some of the most important tools in the resources kits and the Support Tools provided by Windows 2000 and Windows NT Professional editions. Each chapter presents a different group of tools as they relate to various network management tasks. You'll learn about tools that ease computer management tasks, desktop production, and network management. You'll also find out about diagnostic tools, such as the Browser Monitor, and the file and disk tools such as the Compress command. After reading this eBook, you'll master the most important tools in the resources kits and the Support Tools.

Windows 2000 and Windows NT provide a powerful set of graphical tools that network administrators can use to manage network servers and desktop systems. Although Win2K's and NT's built-in graphical tools are powerful and easy to use, they can be cumbersome and even error-prone for highly repetitive tasks. In addition, the tools don't lend themselves to scripting. Fortunately, Microsoft realized early on that network administrators needed a set of powerful and scriptable tools to manage servers and desktop systems from the command line. In response to this need Microsoft created a set of resource kits for the company’s Windows Server and Windows Professional editions. Microsoft's Windows resource kits contain a wealth of tools that let you perform most Windows administrative tasks from the command line. In addition, you can usually incorporate these commands into your own management scripts. The resource kits aren't included in the Windows products; you must purchase the resource kits separately. You can find more information about the resource kits at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit. In addition to the resource kits, Microsoft added an extra set of tools called Windows Support Tools to the Windows installation CD-ROM. The Windows Support Tools folder is on the Windows Server and Windows Professional CD-ROMs in the support folder.